Colpoptera japortla Bahder & Bartlett, 2024

Colpoptera japortla Bahder & Bartlett , sp. nov.

( Figures 2–7 View FIGURE 2 View FIGURE 3 View FIGURE 4 View FIGURE 5 View FIGURE 6 View FIGURE 7 )

Type locality. Spring Garden   GoogleMaps , Portland Parish, Jamaica (18.222517, -76.632347) ( Fig. 1 View FIGURE 1 ).

Etymology. The specific epithet ‘ japortla ’ is an amalgamation of Jamaica and Portland Parish, and is intended to be used as a noun in apposition.

Diagnosis. Body pale, elongate. Vertex rectangular, approximately 2.5× as wide as long at midlength. Gonostyli broadly rounded ventrally, capitulum relatively short and broad, bearing helical ridge. Aedeagus with elongated subapical processes, bifurcate at base with dorsal branch much longer than ventral, and short curved ventral paired processes. Male anal tube elongated, downturned, ventral margin sinuate with distinctive concavity near midlength.

Description. Color. Body pale, generally testaceous with diffuse irregular darker shading, slight fuscous wash on pronotum and mesonotum, forewing transparent, fuscous in basal 2/3, paler distad of clavus.

Head. In dorsal view, vertex broader than wide (width approximately 2.5× length at midline), nearly rectangular, anterior margin truncate, approximately level with anterior margin of eyes, posterior margin concave, median carina present, transverse carina at fastigium ( Fig. 3A View FIGURE 3 ). In lateral view, head profile generally rounded (slightly angled at fastigium at transverse carina), vertex declined, weakly projected in front of eyes. Frons in lateral view curved in dorsal third, face declinate ( Fig. 3B View FIGURE 3 ). In frontal view, frons peltate, widest just above frontoclypeal suture; dorsal margin (at transverse carina) truncate, lateral margins curved, expanding from dorsal margin, reaching widest point just below antennae then constricting strongly, frontoclypeal suture convexly arched ( Fig. 3C View FIGURE 3 ). In lateral view, gena bearing incomplete longitudinal carina from a point approximately near the junction of the lateral carinae of the frons with the frontoclypeal suture to (but not reaching) the posterior margin of the lateral ocellus. Eye obliquely oval, weakly emarginated near antenna; lateral ocellus conspicuous near anteroventral margin of eye. Antennae short, scape ring-like, pedicel slightly longer than wide and cylindrical bearing many sensory plaques, flagellum bristle-like with bulbous base.

Thorax. Pronotum in dorsal view narrow, widest at midpoint with anterior margin convex, posterior margin concave, tricarinate, carina at midline contiguous from anterior to posterior margin, lateral carinae extending from anterior margin of pronotum, arched laterad, becoming obsolete before posterior margin ( Fig. 3A View FIGURE 3 ). Mesonotum along midline about 2.4× longer than head and pronotum combined, and about 1.25× wider than long, tricarinate at anterior margin, two additional carinae arising at mid carina near anterior margin, extending diagonally to just beyond lateral carinae, slightly sinuate ( Fig. 3A View FIGURE 3 ). In lateral view, greatly raised, angled where diagonal carinae arise at mid carina ( Fig. 3B View FIGURE 3 ).

Forewing elongate, broadest basally, narrowed distally to rounding apex (weakly pointed near apex of MP); costal margin convexly arched, trailing margin constricted at claval apex, veins reticulate, especially distally; MP and CuA forked proximad of claval apex ( Fig. 4 View FIGURE 4 ).

Male terminalia. Pygofer in lateral view quadrate, anterior and posterior margins subparallel, anterior margin convexly sinuate, posterior margin nearly linear, medioventral process lacking ( Fig. 5 View FIGURE 5 ). Gonostyli in lateral view broad and generally rounded with stout capitulum on anterio-dorsal surface, capitulum semi-helical with sclerotized curved ridge, apex blunt with caudal surface rounded, anterior margin appearing hooked ( Fig. 5 View FIGURE 5 ). Aedeagus nearly symmetrical with two pairs of processes ( Fig. 6 View FIGURE 6 ); first pair (A1 & A2) larger, bifurcated at base, resulting in two projections per process (A1a and A1b on right lateral side and A2a and A2b on left lateral side) arising on ventral margin, curving dorsad and cephalad initially, arching with apex pointing ventrad, nearly reaching base ( Fig. 7A, B View FIGURE 7 ). Second pair (A3 & A4) arising on ventral side at midline, robust, short, strongly sinuate, less sclerotized than A1 and A2, curving from ventral side laterally, approximately half length of A1b and A2b ( Fig. 7C, D View FIGURE 7 ). Anal segment elongated and downcurved, irregularly sinuate in lateral view, dorsal margin angled ventrad approximately at ¼ length from base, ventral margin with strong invagination approximately at 2/3 from base, apex distad of invagination falcate.

Plant associations. Unknown, collected by sweeping herbaceous weeds.

Distribution. Jamaica (Portland Parish).

Type material. Holotype, male: “ Jamaica, Portland Parish / nr. Spring Garden / 15. II.2022 / sweeping weeds / Coll.: B.W.Bahder // Holotype / Colpoptera japortla ♂” ( FLREC); GoogleMaps

Paratypes (1 male, 2 females): same data as holotype ( FSCA) GoogleMaps .

Sequence Data. For the COI gene, a 531 bp product (GenBank Accession No. OR466122) and for the 18S gene, a 1,367 bp product (GenBank Accession No. OR470697) were generated. Based on the phylogenetic analyses performed, there was strong bootstrap support for Colpoptera japortla sp. nov. resolving adjacent to an unidentified species of Colpoptera from Florida, U.S.A. based on COI (90) and 18S (100) ( Fig. 8 View FIGURE 8 ). Furthermore, the tree from the concatenated COI and 18S data demonstrated further support (98) for the placement of Colpoptera japortla sp. nov. adjacent to the unidentified species from Florida.

Remarks. The general habitus of Colpoptera japortla sp. nov. appears similar to many described species of Colpoptera . The most similar species appears to be C. rotunda Caldwell from Yucatan, Mexico ( Caldwell 1945) based on salient features and the general form of the terminalia. However, Colpoptera japortla sp. nov. differs from C. rotunda by possessing paired ventral processes on the aedeagus that are absent in C. rotunda , also, each gonostylus of C. rotunda bears an elongated, falcate capitulum, whereas C. japortla sp. nov. bears a short, stout capitulum with a helical ridge. The other species recorded from Jamaica, C. sinuata , differs in overall coloration (specifically forewing color and pattern) as well as the structure of aedeagus. While C. sinuata does possess ventral processes, they are much narrower compared to C. japortla sp. nov. and shape of dorsal processes in C. sinuata are more similar to each other in size and not curved whereas these processes in C. japortla sp. nov. have the distal pair singficantly longer than the basal pair, with all processesses distinctly curved.

Very little data exist for Nogonidid taxa that would allow for generating a tree from combined COI and 18S data. As new taxa are discovered and previously described taxa become available for analysis, this shortcoming can be addressed. Regardless, the morphological features (lack of lateral process seen in Jamaha and less produced head/relatively short wings compared to Neocolpoptera ) observed in the new species support placement in the genus Colpoptera .