Arge altaica Gussakovskij, 1935

1. Arge altaica Gussakovskij, 1935

( Figs 2 View FIGURE 2 , 3 View FIGURE 3 )

Arge altaica Gussakovskij, 1935: 228 (key), 244 (description), 398 (key), 410 (description), ♀; Taeger et al. 2010: 124. Current status. Arge altaica Gussakovskij, 1935 .

Type locality. Russia, Altai, Teletskoye Lake, near Artybash Village.

Holotype: ♀, <golden circle> // Том[скаЯ]. г[убернЯ]., Телец[кое] оЗ[еро]. около [села] Артыб[аш]. [ Russia, Tomsk Province, Teletskoe Lake, near Artybash Village , 51°47'N 87°15'E], 16.05.[19]09, ЕмельЯнов [ Emelyanov] // Arge altaica Guss., 1935 , ♀, Gussakovskij det. [lost]. GoogleMaps

Neotype (designated here): ♀, <golden circle> // Горный алтай, Улаганский р-[айо]н, пойма в устье р[еки]. Чулышман, Телецкое оЗ[еро]., окр[естности]. турбаЗы, 51.36°N, 87.75°E, h = 439 м. [ Russia, Altai Territory, Ulagan District, floodplain at the mouth of the Chulyshman River , Teletskoye Lake , vicinity of the tourist resort, 51°36'N 87°75'E], 13.06.2011, В.К. Зинченко [ V. K. Zinchenko] // Arge altaica Gussakovskij, 1935 , ♀, det. Basov S.A., 2022 // GoogleMaps Neotype of A. altaica Guss. , des. Basov S.A. <red label> [ ISEA] .

Description. Female ( Fig. 3 View FIGURE 3 ). Body length 8.0 mm; fore wing length 7.2 mm.

Colour. Head, thorax and legs black with barely visible metallic blue lustre on head and dorsum. Saw sheath mostly black, in basal part yellowish, its base black. Abdomen yellow with black spots on tergites 1–2 (according to V.V. Gussakovskij (1935) in holotype these tergites completely black) and 4–7, spots transversal, not occupying margins of segments, with indistinct borders (spots result from pigment colouration, not darkening of abdomen at drying as sometimes found in species with completely yellow abdomen). Antennae black. Mandibles black, reddish in middle. Mouthparts brownish. Spurs and claws on legs yellowish-red. Wings uniformly darkened, slightly fainter towards apex. All veins and pterostigma brownish-black. Pubescence of head, thorax and wings mostly brown. Abdomen, legs, mouthparts and antennae almost entirely in light pubescence.

Head. Head behind eyes clearly expanded (dorsal view). Distance between eyes 1.5 × vertical diameter of eye; eye with vertical diameter 1.8 × its horizontal diameter. Postocellar area weakly convex, without anterior and lateral furrows. POL: OCL: OOL as 1.3: 1.0: 1.2. Medial fovea broad, flat and shallow below, distinctly deepened above and open towards frontal area. Lateral carinae almost parallel and only slightly convergent at bottom, dorsally distinct and blunt, ventrally indistinct, but joining and forming blunt indistinct median carina reaching only to level of tentorial fossae. Supraclypeal area slightly elevated with rare punctures. Malar space shorter than diameter of frontal ocellus. Clypeus with distinct semi-circular median excision, more than half of its width.

Antennae. Antennal length 1.2–1.3 × maximum head width; flagellum narrow, almost straight and slightly widened towards apex, its apex rounded. Antennal setae short and densely adherent.

Thorax. Mesonotum smooth and shiny, with scattered punctures; scutellum flat and bluntly rounded at apex.

Legs. Middle and hind tibia with preapical spurs; tibial spurs simple. Basal tarsomere of hind tarsus longer than next three tarsomeres combined.

Wings. In fore wing, cell 3Rs with anterior margin approximately equal to posterior margin. Vein 3r-m roundly curved at obtuse angle. Veins B and M of fore wing join up at same point on vein R. Membrane of cell 1Rs densely covered with setae. Wing margin between veins M and Cu ciliate, its setae as long as width of vein M.

Abdomen. Saw sheath 1.5 × as long as wide, simple, parallel-sided (ventral view), smoothly tapering to apex; in lateral view narrow; ventrally with almost straight apex at acute angle. Saw sheath densely covered on inner side with short and blunt spines.

Lance in lateral view triangular, gradually tapering towards apex, with sparse annuli, distinctly visible only in middle part. Width of lance approximately equal to width of lancet. Apical third of dorsal margin with pronounced keel with irregular and indistinct denticles, remaining part of dorsal margin with longitudinal deep fossa. Lancet with straight dorsal and ventral margins. Annuli straight and inclined towards apex dorsally, in apical part incomplete. Annular spines (ctenidia) short, simple, 0.3–0.5 × as long as width of annulus. Ventral margin with 17 well-distinct and normally sclerotised serrulae. Serrulae smooth, with only indistinct denticles on posterior margin; subtriangular, but rounded at apex, oblique at apex and base of lancet, almost equilateral in middle. Between serrulae present two unequal straight pore canals of marginal sensilla.

Remarks. The holotype of this species was confirmed lost while being transported for study in 2018 (A. Shinohara, personal comm.). No images of the holotype have been previously published. The photographs of the holotype provided by Dr Hideho Hara are insufficient for a current analysis of the characters of this taxon and thus the proper taxonomic placement of A. altaica . However, they do allow the new specimen to be reliably designated as a neotype.At present, different authors ( Lee et al. 2015, Choi et al. 2016) give sometimes contradictory redescriptions of this species. To avoid misinterpretation of the species diagnosis, it is important to designate the neotype here.

The record of this species in Korea ( Lee et al. 2015) seems questionable and concerning material needs to be revisited. Despite the indication of findings of the males of A. altaica by Choi et al. (2016), their description has not been published; therefore these data are also questionable and it should be assumed (according previous our experiences) that they may be coloured differently from females.