Banus spiculatus, VIRAKTAMATH & WEBB & YESHWANTH, 2025

Banus spiculatus sp. nov.

Figs 1C–F View FIGURES 1 , 8 View FIGURES 8 BC, 11B, 15A–F

Diagnosis. Externally very similar to B. umbratus , but male pygofer 2.3× as long as height at base in lateral view and aedeagus elongate almost straight, with lateral process proximad of gonopore.

Description. Head as wide as pronotum. Crown about 0.7–0.9× as long as interocular distance. Pronotum 1.9–2.0× as wide as long medially, 1.5–1.7× as long as median length of crown and slightly shorter than exposed mesonotum. Female sternite VII posterior margin with small median lobe.

Male genitalia. Pygofer about 2.3× as long as wide in lateral view posteriorly narrowed and conically rounded. Subgenital plate about 2.5× as long as wide at base. Connective stem as long as arms. Aedeagus L-shaped, dorsal apodeme well-developed, about 0.33 as long as shaft; shaft straight, long exceeding length of pygofer, gradually narrowed much more so beyond gonopore and pointed apically; lateral retrorse process arising proximad of gonopore, almost reaching basal 0.33 of shaft.

Measurements. Male 4.4–4.6 mm long, 1.1 mm wide across eyes and also across posterolateral angles of pronotum. Female 4.6 mm long, 1.1 mm wide across eyes and also across lateral angles of pronotum.

Material examined. HOLOTYPE ♂, INDIA: Maharashtra: Matheran 915m, CAV149, 23.xi.1977, C.A. Viraktamath ( UASB) . PARATYPES: INDIA: 1♂, 5♀, data as in holotype; Maharashtra : 5♂, Mahabaleshwara 1381m, 20.xi.1977, C.A. Viraktamath; Karnataka : 1♂, Jog Falls 9.v.1976, B. Mallik ; 1♂, 12 Km W Jog Falls , 18.xi.1976, B. Mallik ; 2♂, 3 Km W Yellapur , 15.xi.1977, C.A. Viraktamath ; 7♂, Mudigere 970m, 8.iv.1975 (1♂), 23.v.1975 (3♂), 22.v.1976 (1♂), 2.vi.1878 (2♂), C.A. Viraktamath ; 2♂, Agumbe , 23.xi.1982, H.V. Anantha Murthy ; 3♂, Sirsi: Nilkunda , 2.xii.2005 (1♂), 4.iii.2006 (2♂), Radhamani, T.R.; Kerala : 3♂, Thekkady 884m, 26.iii.1977, B. Mallik (1♂), 27.iii.1977, C.A. Viraktamath (1♂), 27.iii.1977, S. Viraktamath (1♂) ; 2♂, Maraiyur 1066m, 24.iii.1977, C.A. Viraktamath; Tamil Nadu : 1♂, Yercaud 1370m, 20.ix.1978, C.A. Viraktamath ; 1♂, Valparai 1066m, 13.iv.1978, A.R.V. Kumar ; 1♂, Thandigudi 1311m, 19.v.2010, at light, A.N. Reddy ( NBAIR, NPC, UASB) .

Etymology. The specific epithet is the Latin participle spiculatus, -a, -um (=spiculate), referring to the prolonged spine-like apical half of aedeagal shaft.

Remarks. This species resembles both B. curvatus and B. umbratus , but differs from both of them in having almost a straight aedeagal shaft with the apical half narrowed and forming a spine-like process; the connective with the stem as long as the arms and the pygofer narrowed posteriorly and about 2.3× as long as broad in lateral view. It also differs from B. curvatus in having a lateral retrorse process proximad of the gonopore.