Pair Of Sclerites Research Articles

Two New Species of Tagalis Stål (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Emesinae: Saicini) from Panama and Brazil, with an Analysis of the Male Genitalia Morphology

Tagalis matamorosae n. species and Tagalis pagu n. species are described from specimens collected in Barro Colorado (Panama) and Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), respectively. Among the species of Tagalis, both new species have coloration patterns and genital structure particularly different. Tagalis matamorosae n. species is the unique species with a gonoplac composed by a pair of sclerites, and T. pagu n. species shows the posteromedial process of pygophore with a curvature exclusive within the genus. Digital images of external morphological characters and of the genitalia are provided. To facilitate the identification of the new species, an updated key to the species of Tagalis is presented. Male genital structures along the genus and its taxonomic and phylogenetic implications are discussed.

Ovoviviparity and genital evolution: a lesson from an earwig species with coercive traumatic mating and accidental breakage of elongated intromittent organs

Ovoviviparity or viviparity has evolved independently in animals and involves adaptations in females to accommodate developing embryos for a prolonged duration in their bodies, a condition which has likely to have influenced the evolution of the male genitalia. We aimed to ascertain whether the elongated male genitalia of the ovoviviparous free-living earwig species Marava arachidis (Dermaptera: Spongiphoridae) delivers sperm directly to the female ovaries where fertilization occurs. Males mated coercively with females by grabbing the female antenna with their mouth parts. Although females resisted the mating attempts, pairs mated 3.3 times on average over 15 h. The elongated intromittent organ, known as a virga, was inserted into the long-tubed spermatheca during insemination. Surgical ectomy of the spermatheca confirmed that sperm migrated from here to the ovaries with a variable delay. A pair of sclerites in the male genitalia frequently inflicted wounds near the spermathecal opening, while the single, thin virga sometimes broke off during mating. However, unlike earwigs bearing a ‘spare’ virga, damage was restricted to the tip of the virga, without which the males could still inseminate the females. We discuss the evolution of the genitalia in this insect in the light of sexual selection and sexual conflict over mating and fertilization.

Beetles (Coleoptera) of Peru: A Survey of the Families. Trogossitidae

Diversity in Peru: 1 subfamily, 1 tribe, 2 genera, 4 species. Recognition: This small family has about 600 species world-wide. Adult. Body wide and flattened in Lophocaterinae, flat or conglobate in Peltinae and Rentonium-group, elongate and cylindrical in Trogossitinae. Body mostly bare or sparsely pubescent but sometimes also with tufts of setae, scales, dense pubescence or long hairs. Anterior margin of frons straight to very deeply emarginate, with two “horns” at sides. Antennal insertions partly covered by edge of frons or visible in dorsal view. Eyes not emarginate or posteriorly emarginate. Antennae 8–11-segmented, with conspicuous 1–3-segmented club or with widened distal antennomeres that may be distinctly asymmetrical in Trogossitinae. Mandible bidentate, rarely unidentate (Corticotomus). Male submentum with tuft of setae (ctenidium) in some Trogossitinae. Pronotum usually transverse in Peltinae and Lophocaterinae; elongate in some Trogossitinae (Nemozoma, Airora). Lateral carina almost always present, reduced only in some Trogossitinae (Corticotomus). Procoxa transverse. Coxal cavities internally open and externally closed (Trogossitinae) or widely open (Peltinae, Lophocaterinae). Elytra usually regularly punctate, with or without carinae. Metacoxae extending laterally to meet elytral epipleura. Wings usually present. Radial cell as long as wide or shorter than wide, sometimes very reduced or absent. Medial field with two to four veins, wedge cell and no medial fleck. Trochanters triangular. Femora sometimes clavate. Tibiae often with row of spines along outer side; apex of tibia with row of spines and two spurs (one of them hooked) or only with hooked spur or spurs reduced. Tarsi 5-5-5; basitarsus sometimes partially fused with tarsomere 2 and tarsal pattern seemingly 4-4-4 or 4-4-5; tarsomeres 1–4 never with membranous lobes; terminal tarsomere usually as long as combined length of tarsomeres 1–4; claws large, without denticles; empodium bisetose, strongly projecting. Abdomen with five or six ventrites. Aedeagus cucujiform, usually inverted. Tegmen usually with anterior ventral strut and two opposing dorsal struts, and composed of two or three parts. Penis with two anterior struts. Ovipositor lightly sclerotized, except for baculi, moderate in size with sparsely pubescent coxites and styli. Larva: Body elongate, cylindrical. Color white or pale, but sclerotized areas distinctly pigmented (head capsule, thoracic and abdominal terga, and urogomphi). Median endocarina usually present, usually extending between frontal arms. Frontal arms V-shaped, straight (Trogossitinae, Lophocaterinae) or curved (Peltinae). Five stemmata usually present and arranged in a pattern with two anteriorly and three in a posterior row. Mandibles bidentate; mola absent (Trogossitinae, part of Lophocaterinae) or present (Peltinae, part of Lophocaterinae. Prothorax usually with one large dorsal sclerite. Mesoand metathorax usually with pair of sclerites

Rediscovery of Cereopsis studeri Koch, 1891, a forgotten Mediterranean soft coral species, and its inclusion in the genus Nidalia Gray, 1835 (Octocorallia, Alcyonacea, Nidaliidae)

Cereopsis studeri was described by G. von Koch in 1891 with material from Naples. However, it was subsequently synonymized, erroneously identified, and overlooked in subsequent soft coral literature of the twentieth century. After the original description, this species was not recorded or correctly described for 120 years. The study of newly collected material from the North Western Mediterranean permits the re-description of this forgotten species and its assignation to the genus Nidalia in the family Nidaliidae. The main features of Nidalia studeri com. nov. are: colony torch-like, a capitulum light orange in colour, not laterally flattened, dome-shaped and not distinctly projecting beyond the stalk, introvert with sclerites transversally placed in two longitudinal rows per interseptal space, anthocodial crown with 28–38 sclerite rows, points separated from polyps distally, formed by 6–9 pairs of sclerites, and the presence of intermediate points (secondary points) between principal (interseptal) ones. Nidalia studeri is here compared with its closest congeners, especially with the Indonesian species N. simpsoni, species from the West Indian Region N. dissidens, N.occidentalis, N. deichmannae, and the recently described Nidalia aurantia from the Mid-Atlantic Ocean. This is the first time that the genus Nidalia and the family Nidaliidae have been reported with certainty for the Mediterranean Sea.

Revision of the subgenus Metaeuops Legalov of Euops Schoenherr (Coleoptera, Curculionoidea, Attelabidae) from the Papuan region

The subgenus Metaeuops Legalov (stat.n.) of Euops Schoenherr is revised. The group is restricted to New Guinea and some small neighboring islands. It contains four previously described species: E. coelestinus Pascoe, E. ruficornis Voss, E. tibialis Voss, and E. violaceus Pascoe, and 14 new species: Euops arfakensis sp. n., E. biru sp. n., E. coeruleus sp. n., E. curvipes sp. n., E. illegalovi sp. n., E. judithae sp. n., E. oops sp. n., E. paratibialis sp. n., E. piceus sp. n., E. dintelmanni sp. n., E. ratcliffei sp. n., E. swartensis sp. n., E. tenuiflagellaris sp. n. and Euops torricelliensis sp. n.. Euops ruficornis Voss, formerly a subspecies of E. femoralis Voss, is recognized as a distinct species without any close relationship to E. femoralis Voss. Lectotypes are designated for E. coelestinus Pascoe, E. ruficornis Voss, E. tibialis Voss, and E. violaceus Pascoe. All species are described, and the characters relevant for their identification, especially the male genitalia, are illustrated. A key to the species is provided. A cladistic analysis is performed that confirms the monophyly of Metaeuops. The most important apomorphy of the group is a pair of sclerites in the mid portion of the male endophallus. Two additional characters imply secondary reduction in a few species: the subtriangular mesotibia of the males and a siphon-like extension of the female spermatheca. The original description of Metaeuops by Legalov contained contradictions between the diagnostic characters proposed and the characters present in the type species. Therefore, the concept of the genus is here modified.

The structure and mode of action of the posterior adhesive organ ofPseudobenedenia nototheniaeJohnston, 1931 (Monogenea: Capsaloidea)

An account is given of the structure and mode of action of the opisthaptor of the monogeneanPseudobenedenia nototheniaeJohnston, 1931, from the skin of the fishNotothenia neglecta, caught in December 1969 at a depth of 40 m offSigny Island (60° 43′ S., 45° 36′ W.), South Orkney Islands. The opisthaptor has a roughly hexagonal central loculus surrounded by a septum which is continuous with six radiating septa. It is armed with 14 marginal hooklets and three pairs of sclerites which function as anchors. The opisthaptor obtains adhesion through gripping the host's skin with the muscular rim, and through close contact by the marginal membrane. These form a water-tight seal, the surface area of which is about one-quarter of that of the ventral surface of the opisthaptor. The seal enables the opisthaptor to function as an underwater sucker. Contraction of muscles associated with the opisthaptor, in particular the extrinsic muscles, can generate a pressure difference across the wall of the opisthaptor some 50 times greater than that required to support the weight of the parasite, thus suggesting that reserves are available to resist dislodging forces such as increased water flow. The instability and tendency to slide of the sucker is counteracted by anchorage from the hooklets and sclerites. The structure and mode of action of the opisthaptor ofP. nototheniaeare discussed in relation to studies made by other authors on similar adhesive organs.