Triozocera macrognathus Cook 2022, new species
Creators: name: Cook, Jerry L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Strepsiptera
Corioxenidae
Triozocera
Triozocera macrognathus

description: Triozocera macrognathus, new species
Figs. 3, 8–13
Specimens examined: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Independencia Province, ESE Jimani, S. of Lago Limon, 18° 24´N, 71°, 44´W, 20 m, at light, 19 IV 1992, M. A. Ivie, D. S. Sikes, and W. Lanier, in alcohol (MTEC); DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Independencia Province, 4 km S of Los Pinos, Loma de Vientos, semiarid deciduous forest with pastures, 18° 35´N, 71°46´W, 455 m, 23 VII 1997, R. Davidson, J. Rawlins, S. Thompson, C. Young, pinned (CMNH)
Male Description (all measurements in mm.):
Diagnosis: Male with antennal segments robust, segment III and IV, with flabella, about equal in length, although IV is slightly shorter. Head much wider than long and somewhat barbell-shaped, reduced between eyes. Eyes with 15–16 facets, 13 visible dorsally. Maxillary palp about as long as base, attached ventrally, near middle of base. Scutellum longer than wide, not triangular. Wing with two detached veins; R 2 in line with R 1 with only a small gap between, making it look much like a single vein; long R3, about two times as long as R 2; CuA 1 shorter than CuA 2. Legs with sparse short hairs. Aedeagus long, slender, curved.
Male description: Total length 2.50–2.76, head width in dorsal view 0.76–0.79, head length in dorsal view 0.24–0.28, radial wing length 1.95–2.16.
Head in dorsal view (Fig. 8) dark brown except antennae lighter brown, wider than long, slightly narrowed in center, somewhat barbell-shaped; antefrons (between antennae) broadly angled from point at apex, protruding between antennal bases; epicranial plates (= vertex plates) adjacent to eyes, clearly separated in center, separation wider posteriorly, wider at anterior, tapering posteriorly (Fig. 8). Eye width in lateral view 0.22–0.23, length 0.37– 0.39, 15–16 total facets (ommatidia), 13 facets visible in dorsal view, few very short hairs at margin (Fig. 8). Antennae seven-segmented (Fig. 9), robust, average width approximately 0.08, lengths: I 0.03–0.04, II 0.04–0.05, III + flabella 0.73–0.81, IV + flabella 0.63–0.75, V 0.29–0.33, VI 0.6, VII 0.18–0.21; all segments with short hairs throughout (Fig. 9); mandibles absent; maxilla with long curve subapical palp emerging from near middle of base (Fig. 3), palp robust, narrowing towards apex, about equal in length to base, with short hairs throughout base and palp; maxilla lengths: base 0.19–0.29, palp 0.21–0.26, palp width varying, average 0.07.
Thorax with dorsal sclerites shaped as in Fig. 10; scutellum longer than wide, irregularly shaped; prescutum about as long as wide, with faint dark band in center (Fig. 10); area between scutellum and postnotum membranous, irregularly shaped. Scutellum more than twice as long as wide. Leg segments as in Fig. 11; visible short hairs sparse, mostly along margins of all segments; sensory pits on tarsal segments II and III, terminal tarsal claws on all legs, length of segments as follows: protrochanter 0.31, profemur 0.37, protibial 0.26, protarsus I 0.14, protarsus II 0.12, protarsus III 0.10, protarsus IV 0.07, protarsus V 0.08, mesotrochanter 0.32, mesofemur 0.38, mesotibia 0.42, mesotarsus I 0.31, mesotarsus II 0.15, mesotarsus III 0.12, mesotarsus IV 0.07, mesotarsus V 0.05, metatrochanter 0.23, metafemur 0.55, metatibia 0.40, metatarsus I 0.31, metatarsus II 0.17, metatarsus III 0.12, metatarsus IV 0.08, metatarsus V 0.04. Hind wings with two detached radial veins (Fig. 12), R 1 extending past half wing length to wing margin; detached R 2 curved, starting near end of R 1 and extending to near wing margin, in line with R 1; R 1 about 2.5x as long as R 2; R 3 long, almost two times as long as R 2; R 4 and R 5 distinct with an area of overlap, combined extending to near wing margin; MA extending to wing margin; CuA 1 shorter than CuA 2; CuA 1 extending about 2 / 3 to wing margin, CuA 2 nearly to wing margin; CuP absent.
Abdomen about as long as thorax; genital capsule long; aedeagus (Fig. 13) thin as is typical for the genus, sshaped in side view, greatest length 0.48.
Female: Unknown
Types: Holotype, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Independencia Province, ESE Jimani, S. of Lago Limon, 18° 24´N, 71°, 44´W, 20 m, at light, 19 IV 1992, M. A. Ivie, D. S. Sikes, and W. Lanier, in alcohol deposited in MTEC; Paratype, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, Independencia Province, 4 km S of Los Pinos, Loma de Vientos, semiarid deciduous forest with pastures, 18° 35´N, 71°46´W, 455 m, 23 VII 1997, R. Davidson, J. Rawlins, S. Thompson, C. Young, pinned deposited in CMNH.
Distribution: Known only from type localities in the Dominican Republic.
Host: Unknown
Etymology: The specific epithet macrognathus combines two Greek roots, macro- meaning large and -gnathus meaning jaw. This refers to the large maxilla and its palp, which is easily seen and very distinctive in this species.
Discussion: While the maxilla of Triozocera macrognathus n. sp. is a distinctive character, there are other species in Triozocera with maxillae of somewhat similar shape. Triozocera buehrheimi has a maxilla with a long palp that is attached subapically to the maxillary base, although not as close to the center of the base as is seen in T. macrognathus n. sp. The maxillary base of T. buehrheimi is also much narrower, as is the palp, compared to that of T. macrognathus n. sp. The antefrons and epicranial plates of T. macrognathus n. sp. and T. buehrheimi are also similar in shape but the structure of the antenna is quite different, having slender segments in T. buehrheimi compared to the robust antenna of T. macrognathus n. sp. Shape of sclerites of the thorax are also distinctly different between these species. The wing of T. buehrheimi has R 2 and R 3 veins that are similar to those of T. macrognathus n. sp., but T. buehrheimi has both an MA 1 and CuP vein that are absent in T. macrognathus n. sp.
The wing of T. macrognathus n. sp. is most like that of T. tecpanensis. Both of these species have similar radial veins, although not with the exact same shapes. The relative lengths of MA, CuA 1, and CuA 2 between these two species are also similar. However, the maxilla is quite different, with T. tecpanensis having a short, nearly apical maxillary palp. There are many other morphological differences in other parts of the body.
description: Published as part of Cook, Jerry L., 2022, Two new species of Triozocera Pierce, 1909 (Insecta: Strepsiptera: Corioxenidae) from the Caribbean Islands, pp. 141-150 in Zootaxa 5214 (1) on pages 146-150, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5214.1.7, http://zenodo.org/record/7382098