Sturnidoecus somnodraco Bush 2017, new species
Creators: name: Bush, Sarah E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Phthiraptera
Philopteridae
Sturnidoecus
Sturnidoecus somnodraco

description: Sturnidoecus somnodraco Gustafsson & Bush, new species
(Figs 420–426)
Type host. Quelea quelea quelea (Linnaeus, 1758) — red-billed quelea. Other host. Qualea quelea lathami (Smith, 1836) — red-billed quelea. Type locality. Hahn, Dakar, Senegal.
Diagnosis. Sturnidoecus somnodraco n. sp. is the only known species in its species group, and males are separated from all other Sturnidoecus by their peculiar genitalia (Figs 423–425). Both the mesosome and the parameres are unique within the Brueelia -complex, and not easily comparable with any other group within Sturnidoecus. The lack of as 2 in St. somnodraco (Fig. 422) suggests a close relationship with St. mon n. sp. (Fig. 408), which is the only other Sturnidoecus species that also lacks this seta. However, the chaetotaxy of both sexes of St. somnodraco is more similar to that of St. sturni (Table 11).
Female St. somnodraco can be identified by the lack of as3 (Fig. 422) and the shape of the subgenital plate (Fig. 426), which is unique within Sturnidoecus. Unlike St. sturni (Fig. 383) or St. mon (Fig. 412), in which the subgenital plate is roughly triangular, the subgenital plate of St. somnodraco (Fig. 426) is largely oval, with a narrow median process more reminiscent of Mirandofures n. gen. (e.g. Fig. 105) than Sturnidoecus.
Description. Both sexes. Head shape, structure, and chaetotaxy as in genus description and Fig. 422; as1 absent. Preantennal nodi slender but distinct. Coni slender, reaching far beyond distal margin of scapes. Preocular nodi small and bulging. Postocular nodi small; pos located far posterior to nodi. Gular plate broader than long, angular, with prominent median point. Thoracic and abdominal segments as in genus description and Figs 420– 421. Posterior margin of pterothorax convergent to median point. Sternal plates wide, present on segments II–VI in both sexes.
Male. Abdominal chaetotaxy as in Table 2 and Fig. 420. Male genitalia as in genus and species group descriptions and Figs 423–425. Measurements ex Quelea quelea quelea (n = 2): TL = 1.13–1.16; HL = 0.40; HW = 0.40; PRW = 0.24; PTW = 0.36 –0.37; AW = 0.47–0.52. Ex Q. q. lathami (n = 1): TL = 1.20; HL = 0.41; HW = 0.40; PRW = 0.24; PTW = 0.36; AW = 0.50.
Female. Abdominal chaetotaxy as in Table 2 and Fig. 421. Subgenital plate oval with narrow distal extension of median section (Fig. 426). Vulval margin more or less flat (Fig. 426), with 6–9 long, slender vms on each side, and 10–11 short, thorn-like vss on each side; 4–6 vos on each side, with varying size; distal 2 vos approaching vss. Measurements ex Quelea quelea quelea (n = 2): TL = 1.32–1.36; HL = 0.42–0.43; HW = 0.43–0.44; PRW = 0.25– 0.26; PTW = 0.39; AW = 0.58–0.59.
Etymology. The species epithet is derived from Latin “ somnus ” for “sleep” and “ draco ” for “dragon. This refers to the shape of the male genitalia (Figs 423– 425), that are reminiscent of the head of a dragon, sleeping with its arms tucked underneath its chin and elbows protruding laterally.
Type material. Ex Quelea quelea quelea: Holotype ♂, Hahn, Dakar, [Dakar Region,] Senegal, 16 Jun. 1955, P. Morel, Brit. Mus. 1964-685 (NHML). Paratypes: 1♂, 2♀, same data as holotype (NHML).
Additional material examined (non-types)
Ex Quelea quelea lathami: 1♂, Vwaza Wildlife Reserve, Vwaza, Khuta Maji, Malawi, 15 Oct. 2009, Swati Patel, MLW-3746, FMNH-INS 0 0 0 0 0 29 0 79, FMNH-468582 (FMNH).
Remarks. Sturnidoecus somnodraco was included in the phylogeny of Bush et al. (2016: specimen 322), and was strongly supported as a sister to the St. basilewskyi species group (specimens 318–321)
description: Published as part of Bush, Sarah E., 2017, Morphological revision of the hyperdiverse Brueelia - complex (Insecta: Phthiraptera: Ischnocera: Philopteridae) with new taxa, checklists and generic key, pp. 1-443 in Zootaxa 4313 (1) on pages 255-258, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4313.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/883161