Abstract
Cryptes utzoni Lin, Kondo Cook sp. n. (Hemiptera: Coccidae) is described based on adult female morphology and DNA sequences from mitochondrial and nuclear loci. This Australian endemic species was found on the stem of Acacia aneura (Fabaceae) in Western Australia. All phylogenetic analyses of three independent DNA loci show that C. utzoni is closely related to C. baccatus (Maskell), the type and only species of Cryptes Maskell, 1892. The adult female of C. utzoni is described and illustrated and a table is provided of the characters that differ among adult females of the two species of Cryptes now recognised (C. baccatus and C. utzoni) and a morphologically similar Western Australian species, Austrolichtensia hakearum (Fuller). There is deep genetic divergence in COI among samples of C. baccatus, suggesting the possibility of a species complex in this taxon.
Highlights
Soft scales (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) are one of the most species-rich families of scale insect and are diverse on all continents except Antarctica (García Morales et al 2016)
During field trips of discovery funded by the Australian Biological Resources Study (Australian Government, Department of Environment and Energy) to find undescribed eriococcid scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Eriococcidae), numerous species of other scale insect families were found
According to Miller & Hodgson’s (1997) cladistic study based on morphology, the Coccinae is distantly related to the Eulecaniinae and the Filippiinae
Summary
Soft scales (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Coccidae) are one of the most species-rich families of scale insect and are diverse on all continents except Antarctica (García Morales et al 2016). During field trips of discovery funded by the Australian Biological Resources Study (Australian Government, Department of Environment and Energy) to find undescribed eriococcid scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccomorpha: Eriococcidae), numerous species of other scale insect families were found. Some of these are currently undescribed and many have been collected at only one location. Adult females of the coccid (Fig. 1A) look similar to those of Austrolichtensia hakearum (Fuller) (Coccidae, subfamily Filippiinae) (Fig. 1B) in being partly embedded in a white wax platform but, when slide-mounted, they more closely resemble Cryptes baccatus (Maskell) (Coccidae, subfamily Eulecaniinae)
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