Culex (Melanoconion) brachiatus Hutchings & Sallum, 2008, n. sp.
Creators: name: Hutchings, Rosa Sá Gomes
name: Sallum, Maria Anice Mureb
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2008
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Diptera
Culicidae
Culex
Culex brachiatus

description: Culex (Melanoconion) brachiatus n. sp.
(Fig. 2 A–G)
Culex (Melanoconion) coppenamensis Form 2 of Sallum & Hutchings 2003: 615 (distribution, systematics notes, male genitalia); Hutchings et al. 2005: 433 (species distribution).
Description. Adult male indistinguishable from that of Cx. phyllados except for characters of the genitalia. See Sallum & Hutchings (2003) for details (as Cx. coppenamensis Form 1). Male genitalia. Tergum IX as figured (Fig. 2 A). Gonocoxite globose, outer margin convex, inner margin nearly straight; ventrolateral setae strongly developed; ventromesal surface with small, scattered setae from base to level of distal division of subapical lobe, setae stronger basally; lateral surface with a well-developed patch of long, slender setae at level of subapical lobe (Fig. 2 B); proximal part of ventrolateral surface with a few scales; subapical lobe distinctly divided, divisions separated, proximal division unique at base, columnar, not clearly divided into 2 arms at apex, proximal arm shorter than distal arm, each arm bearing 1 long, robust, sinuous, apically hooked seta (setae a and b), seta b more slender than seta a; distal division divided into 2 arms, a proximal, relatively short and broad arm and a long, strong columnar arm arising from base at lateral surface (Fig. 2 D), most proximal arm with 6 apical setae, including 1 long, strong, apically hooked seta (h) and 1 shorter, narrow, pointed saberlike seta (s) inserted in a small tubercle at base of seta h, both h and s arise from separate tubercles at proximal side, 3 subequal, narrow appressed foliform setae (f), and 1 long, strong, saberlike seta (s) inserted at distal side; distal columnar arm (Fig. 2 D) with one foliform seta (l) at apex, seta l strongly enlarged, not strongly asymmetrical, striate at base with a well developed basal expansion (Fig. 2 D). Gonostylus (Figs. 2 B, C) short, strong, narrowed at midlength, appearing curved and widened in distal 0.5 (in lateral view), tapered distally and bearing ventral crest of short, scattered spicules from widened part, not reaching tip of apical snout; apical snout long; gonostylar claw short, leaflike. Phallosome (Fig. 2 E) with lateral plate slightly longer than aedeagal sclerite; aedeagal sclerite narrow and curved in lateral view with anterior margin thickened and sclerotized, distal end narrowly fused to base of lateral plate; distal part of lateral plate with apical, ventral and lateral processes; apical process short, broad at base, somewhat curved on ventral side, apical margin straight and smooth, pointed on dorsal side, dorsal edge concave; ventral process short, somewhat hooklike, pointed, curved laterally; lateral process elongate, somewhat triangular, directed dorsolaterally, tapered to apex, apex pointed; base of lateral plate with short dorsal process and basally continuous with thickened margin of aedeagal sclerite; aedeagal sclerite not connected by dorsal aedeagal bridge. Proctiger elongate; paraproct distally narrowed, basally expanded at articulation with basal plate and posterolateral margin of tergum X; paraproct crown with 10–14 simple blades; 2 cercal setae (Fig. 2 F). Tergum X (Fig. 2 F) large, somewhat rectangular in outline, rounded at apex; medial surface convex, widened and projecting distally. Tergum VIII with an intermediate V-shaped emargination separating the two lateral lobes and possessing scattered setae forming a concentrated distal setal group (Fig. 2 G).
Holotype. Adult male with dissected genitalia on microscope slide (specimen number PNJ-000803_09), BRAZIL: Amazonas state, Novo Airão municipality, Parque Nacional do Jaú, Jaú River, Miratucu Stream, 01°47'02"S, 061°49'01"W, 26–27 July 1995, collected in UV light trap (1800–0600 h) inside forest along stream, R.W. Hutchings coll., deposited in the Invertebrate Collection of the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, accession number DIPTE-511.
Paratype. Adult male with dissected male genitalia on microscope slide (specimen number PNJ- 000803_20), same data of holotype, deposited in Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo (FSP-USP), São Paulo, Brazil, accession number E-11497.
Other material examined: Culex coppenamensis (Fig. 3): 14 specimens (7 pinned adult males, 7 male genitalia on microscope slides), as follows:
BRAZIL: Amazonas state, Manaus municipality, Road BR- 174 km 68, Fazenda Porto Alegre, 02°21'18"S, 59°57'27"W, collected with CDC trap inside 10 ha. upland “terra firme” forest fragment, 1800– 0 600 h, 4–5 Jun 2002, Hutchings & Aquino coll., 3 males, 3 male genitalia (specimen numbers Fam-002004, Fam-002005, Fam-002009); 10–11 Jul 2002, Aquino & Alves coll., 1 male, 1 male genitalia (specimen number Fam-002347); 6–7 Aug 2002, Hutchings et al. coll., 1 male, 1 male genitalia (specimen number Fam- 002703); 02°22'53"S, 59°56'32"W, collected with CDC trap inside 100 ha. upland “terra firme” forest fragment, 1800–0600 h, 8–9 Oct 2002, Hutchings et al. coll., 1 male, 1 male genitalia (specimen number Fam- 003519); 02°22'00"S, 59°57'51"W, collected with CDC trap inside secondary forest, 1800–0600 h, 30 Apr – 0 1 May 2003, Menezes and Aquino coll., 1 male, 1 male genitalia (specimen number Fam-005199).
Distribution and bionomics. Culex brachiatus is known from the Parque Nacional do Jaú, Novo Airão municipality, Amazonas state, Brazil. Specimens were collected along a stream inside upland “terra firme” forest using a UV light trap. Nothing is known about the bionomics of this species.
Etymology. The name brachiatus, Latin for ‘with arms / branches’, was chosen because this species is distinguished in having the distal division of the subapical lobe of the gonocoxite subdivided into two arms.
Taxonomic notes. Culex brachiatus can be recognized by the following characters of the male genitalia: 1) the gonostylus has a long apical snout, and the ventral subapical crest of spicules is restricted to the widened part and does not reach the apex of the apical snout (Fig. 2 C); 2) the distal arm of the distal division of the subapical lobe is more or less straight and bears one foliform seta (l) that is not strongly asymmetrical (Fig. 2 D); and 3) the foliform seta (l) is striated at the base (Fig. 2 D).
description: Published as part of Hutchings, Rosa Sá Gomes & Sallum, Maria Anice Mureb, 2008, Two new species of Culex subgenus Melanoconion (Diptera: Culicidae) from the Amazon forest, pp. 41-50 in Zootaxa 1920 on pages 45-49, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.274574