Anchimothon sphinx Bahder & Bartlett, 2025

Anchimothon sphinx Bahder & Bartlett sp. nov.

( Figures 7 – 11 View FIGURE 7 View FIGURE 8 View FIGURE 9 View FIGURE 10 View FIGURE 11 )

Type Locality. Costa Rica, Alajuela Province, Hotel Villa Blanca .

Diagnosis. Body tan, legs and head yellow-fuscous, medioventral process in ventral view constricting then expanding, rounded at apex, aedeagus semi-translucent with gold coloration, bifid process on left lateral side, deeply bifid with dorsal process curled.

Description. Color. Ground color tan ( Fig. 7 View FIGURE 7 ), head and legs pallid, abdomen darker, forewings translucent fuscous, veins pallid, apical margin light red to pink.

Structure. Body length (with wings), male 6.2 mm (n=2), female 6.5 mm (n=4; Table 4). Head. In dorsal view ( Fig 8A View FIGURE 8 ), head narrower than pronotum. Vertex trapezoidal (dorsal view), disc depressed, anterior margin nearly truncate (slightly concave), posterior margin concave, approximately1.5x wider at posterior margin than long at midline, lateral margins with two rows of sensory pits, pits in outer row larger than inner, extending length of margin; in lateral view ( Fig. 8B View FIGURE 8 ), profile rounded, extending slightly beyond eyes. In frontal view ( Fig. 8C View FIGURE 8 ), frons concave medially, lateral margins foliate, moderately narrow, narrowest dorsally, expanding from dorsal margin, constricting slightly before frontoclypeal suture; median carina absent; a row of sensorial pits on lateral margins from dorsal margin to frontoclypeal suture interspersed with additional smaller pits forming partial second row. Frontoclypeal suture nearly truncate (weakly serpentine). Clypeus triangular, narrow and elongated. Compound eyes in lateral view ( Fig. 8B View FIGURE 8 ) nearly hemispherical, emarginated above antennae and along posterior margin. Lateral ocelli near anteroventral margin of eyes, anterior to antennae. Antennae short, scape ringlike, pedicle ovoid, just longer than wide, bearing many sensory plaques, flagellum bristlelike with bulbous base.

Thorax. Pronotum in dorsal view ( Fig. 8A View FIGURE 8 ) short (length about 0.6x vertex at midline). Anterior margin convex (following profile of head), posterior margin broadly concave; tricarinate; in lateral view ( Fig. 8B View FIGURE 8 ), pronotum anteriorly declinate, paradiscal region strongly foliate (apices distinctly exceeding antennae from frontal view, ( Fig. 8C View FIGURE 8 ), forming a C-shaped postantennal crest behind the antennae, ventral margin curled dorsad from anterior view. Mesonotum in dorsal view wider than long at midpoint, tricarinate, middle carina obsolete posteriorly, lateral carinae sinuate, nearly parallel (posteriorly weakly curved medially), becoming obsolete near midpoint ( Fig. 8A View FIGURE 8 ). Forewing broad ( Fig. 9 View FIGURE 9 ), elongate-oval; claval apex near midlength, Pcu and R veins bearing tubercles, Pcu reaching CuP before fusion with A1; composite vein M+R+ScP with short stem before MP branch, branch of RP from RA+ScP soon after, both well proximad of fork in CuA; branching pattern RA 2-branched, RP 2-branched, MP 5-branched, CuA 2-branched; RA branches form open sub-rectangular marginal cell. Hind tibia with lateral teeth absent, apical spinulation 5-6-6.

Terminalia. Pygofer in lateral view ( Fig. 10A View FIGURE 10 ) narrow, irregular in shape, irregularly sinuate on anterior and posterior margin, broadest ventrally, dorsal margin in dorsal view (Fig, 10C) hidden beneath anal tube; in lateral view ( Fig. 10A View FIGURE 10 ), medioventral process angled dorsad; in ventral view ( Fig. 10B View FIGURE 10 ), medioventral process large and spatulate, broadest at base, constricted distally, then expanded beyond midpoint, constricted subapically into broadly rounded apex. Gonostyli in lateral view ( Fig. 10A, D View FIGURE 10 ) broad and spatulate, narrowest basally, apices ( Fig. 10E View FIGURE 10 ) prolonged into acuminate apical process, curved dorsomesad; in ventral view ( Fig. 10B View FIGURE 10 ), appearing slender with large subquadrate projections on inner margin. Aedeagus complex ( Fig. 11 View FIGURE 11 ), asymmetrical, aedeagal shaft tubular, weakly upcurved bearing three lateral processes, two processes (A1 & A2) arising on right lateral side, A1 arising apically, directed cephalad, dorsal margin sinuate, apex curved slightly dorsad, not reaching midpoint, A2 arising from base, directed caudad, dorsal and ventral margins sinuate, reaching midpoint; bifid process (A3) arising proximally on left lateral side, both rami slender, dorsal ramus (A3b) curled in distal half with apex pointing ventrad, ventral ramus (A3b) slender, curved slightly dorsad, angled caudad, terminating at distal margin of A3a curl; endsoma1 complex, bearing six processes; first process (E1) arising at base of endosoma on left lateral side, short, robust angled cephalad and slightly dorsad; second process (E2) stout proximally, tapering distally, arising on left lateral side, just distad of E1, sinuate, reaching midlength of aedeagal shaft, angled cephalad and slightly dorsad; third process (E3) arising on dorsal margin on right side, angled left and curved slightly ventrad and cephalad, broad at base, narrowed apically; fourth process (E4) arising near midlength of shaft on right lateral side of endosoma, slender and elongated, directed cephalad, broadest at base, distally tapering, curved dorsad, apex exceeding dorsal margin of endosoma; fifth process (E5) arising at endosomal apex on left lateral side of endosoma, broad at base, narrowed at apex, angled cephalad; sixth process (E6) arising in middle of dorsal margin near midlength of aedeagal shaft, directed dorsocaudad, distally tapering, apex curved ventrad, approaching apex of A3a. Anal segment in lateral view ( Fig. 10A View FIGURE 10 ), narrow and elongated, reaching apex of gonostyli, narrowest at base, expanding in distal half, lateroventral margins elongated ventrocaudally, apex curved slightly ventrad, into pointed apices; paraproct short and conical.

Plant Associations. Unknown.

Distribution. Costa Rica ( Alajuela Province).

Etymology. The specific name is given as a reference to the shape of the medioventral process in dorsal view, resembling the Great Sphinx of Giza in Egypt.

Material Examined. Holotype male, “ Costa Rica, Alajuela Pr. / Hotel Villa Blanca / 18-VI-2021 / Coll.: B.W. Bahder / Sweeping trailside vegetation / Anchimothon sphinx ♂ ” ( FLREC) . Paratypes ( 3 males, 1 female) same as holotype ( FLREC) .

Sequence Data. Sequence data for the COI, 18S and 28S loci was generated for both A. hippocampus sp. nov. and A. sphinx sp. nov. ( Table 2). The Maximum Likelihood phylogenetic analysis ( Fig. 12 View FIGURE 12 ) supported the monophyly of Anchimothon for the 18S and 28S loci (bootstrap support of 85 and 100 respectively) with both A. hippocampus sp. nov. and A. sphinx sp. nov. resolving within the genus. Maximum Likelihood analysis based on COI demonstrated weak bootstrap support (36) for the monophyly of Anchimothon . The consensus tree generated from the Maximum Likelihood analysis of concatenated data for COI, 18S and 28S showed strong bootstrap support (100) for the monophyly of Anchimothon as well as both novel taxa resolving within the clade.

Remarks. While the novel taxa generally conform to characters established for Anchimothon , both species are unique compared to congeners. Generally, the bifid process on the aedeagus is positioned on the right lateral side (as in A. parishi , A. dubia and A. myriei ), however, in A. sphinx sp. nov. it is positioned on left lateral side and the process on the right lateral side in A. hippocampus sp. nov. not truly bifid. Still, the strong asymmetry of the aedeagus and greatly exaggerated process on the right lateral side relative to the left lateral side, general form of the pygofer and gonostyli support the placement of A. hippocampus sp. nov. in Anchimothon . Furthermore, the molecular data available also support the placement of both taxa within Anchimothon and suggest the morphological deviations observed in the novel taxa require amendment of diagnostic features of the genus.