Afroptera cylindrata Abdalla & Mansell & Sole 2019, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Abdalla, Ishtiag H.
name: Mansell, Mervyn W.
name: Sole, Catherine L.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Neuroptera
Nemopteridae
Afroptera
Afroptera cylindrata

description: Afroptera cylindrata Abdalla & Mansell sp. nov.
(Figs 50, 54, 60, 83, 154)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: B76C99C0-B966-4863-995F-D2ACE5F0DAD6
Etymology. The name of this species is derived from the Latin adjective cylindrata (cylindrical) for its markedly slender elongate forewings, which resemble a cylinder in profile.
Type locality. SOUTH AFRICA, Northern Cape Province. Richtersveld National Park, Cornell’s Kop, 28°25’S 16°53’E.
Diagnosis. A medium-sized species (Fig. 54). General colouration yellow. This species can readily be distinguished from all other Afroptera species by the elongate slender forewings (Figs 54, 83).
Description. Size (mm). Male: body length 9.3 (8–10.7); forewing 23.6 (20.3–26.4); hind wing 53.4 (45–63.4); antenna 20.8 (18.5–22.8); Female: body length 10.9 (8.5–13.1); forewing 23.4 (22.4–26.3); hind wing 50.2 (44.4– 57.3); antenna 14.8 (12.5–18.7). Holotype ♂: body length 9.2, forewing 22.6, hind wing 53.4, antenna 22. (N = 37)
Head. Frons and clypeus yellow. Vertex brown with pale yellowish hind margin. Palpi dark brown. Antennae brown proximally, dark brown distally, long, almost as long as forewings (Figs 54, 83), with black setae. Apical segment mainly membranous and longer than penultimate segment (Fig. 60).
Thorax. Yellow, pruinose (Fig. 50). Pronotum with ill-defined longitudinal mid and lateral stripes. Midstripe appears as central shading at hind margin of pronotum while the lateral stripes form two transverse brown spots posteriorly. Fore and hind margins with erect long black hairs, with smooth long white hairs spread behind fore margin hairs. Long white hairs admixed with long, black hairs cover distal anterior lateral sides of pronotum. Prescutum midstripe appears as faint brown shading centrally. Antero-lateral side of prescutum covered with long, rigid black hairs admixed with a few long white hairs, disc covered in dense long black hairs. Mesoscutum with distinct dark brown lateral stripes, disc covered with long (but not longer than on prescutum), stiff black hairs; pleurites pruinose with two clusters of smooth long hairs on each side of mesoscutum.Area between pre- and mesoscutum dark brown. Mesoscutellum with distinct dark brown longitudinal midstripe. Short white hairs spread over disc. Long white hairs present posterior-laterally. Metanotum with two clusters of long white hairs on each side.
Forewings. Elongate, slender, with acute apex, slightly emarginated before apex (Figs 54, 83). Venation brown. Costa whitish, other veins yellowish brown, proximal Cx shaded brown. Proximal costal cells increase in size towards pterostigma. Pterostigma brown, broad basally, long but not reaching C. In holotype, 23 Cx present before pterostigma in right wing, 24 in left. Nine crossveins between R and M before origin of Rs in right wing, 12 in left. Eleven radial crossveins before pterostigma in right wing, 9 in left. Hind wings brown. Portion just before dark area lighter than proximal portion. Crossveins shaded light brown. Dark area dark brown, shorter than white area. Legs yellow with short yellow hairs. Coxae pruinose, with black hairs. Apices of femora tinged dark brown.
Abdomen. Greyish, pruinose, particularly laterally on tergites and venter. Dorsum dark brown with yellowish hind margin to tergites, with long white hairs. A few long black hairs intermingled with white hairs present on tergites 5–9. Venter with sparse short black hairs. Apex with long black hairs.
Variation. Some males have white hairs intermixed with black hairs on the thorax. Some males also have a more acute tip to the forewings.
Type material examined. SOUTH AFRICA, Northern Cape Province. Holotype ♂, NEUR08906, Richters- veld, Cornells Kop, 28°25’S 16°53’E, (2816 Bd), 145m, 9.x.1974, M.W.Mansell, H.D.Brown / Collected at mercury vapour light, arid rocky terrain. Paratypes: 14♂ 7♀, same data as holotype. (SANC). NAMIBIA, Karas Region. 8♂ 5♀ NEUR08931, Obib Poort, 28°06’S 16°42’E, 1.xi.1999, M.W.Mansell, C.H.Scholtz, light; 1♂ 1♀, NEUR12587, Diamond Area no. 1, Klinghardtberge, 27°19’S 15°46’E, (2715 Bd), 20 / 21.x.1974, M.W.Mansell, H.D.Brown / Collected at mercury vapour light, arid rocky terrain. (All SANC).
Distribution and habitat. This species is known from three localities in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa and southern Namibia (Fig. 154). The range is mainly centred in the Richtersveld Bioregion of the Succulent Karoo Biome (Mucina & Rutherford 2006). (See description of the habitat under distribution of A. parva).
description: Published as part of Abdalla, Ishtiag H., Mansell, Mervyn W. & Sole, Catherine L., 2019, Revision of the southern African genera Nemopterella Banks and Nemia Navás (Neuroptera: Nemopteridae: Nemopterinae), with descriptions of new genera and species, pp. 1-89 in Zootaxa 4635 (1) on pages 37-39, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4635.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/3335102