Paraputo liboensis Liu, Tan & Xing, 2025

Paraputo liboensis Liu, Tan & Xing , sp. nov.

( Figs 1–3 View FIGURE 1 View FIGURE 2 View FIGURE 3 )

Material examined. Holotype: 1 ♀ (mounted singly on a slide), CHINA: Guizhou Prov., / Libo County, Qinglongtan, / 25°19′40″N, 107º58′43″E / 742 m altitude, / on Liquidambar formosana ( Altingiaceae ), / 16.August.2022, / Zhixiang Tan & Shitao Meng leg., ( GUGC). GoogleMaps Paratypes: 5 ♀♀, same data as holotype; 3 ♀♀ on 2 slides ( GUGC) and GoogleMaps 2 ♀♀ on 1 slide ( BFUC). The slide labels are written in Chinese.

Adult female

Appearance in life ( Figs 1 View FIGURE 1 and 2 View FIGURE 2 ). Adult females found situated close to specimens of Megalocryptes buteae Takahashi, 1942 under carton shelters built by the ant Crematogaster sp. ( Fig. 1 C View FIGURE 1 ). Body contents of adult female black; antennae and legs yellowish-brown. Dorsum of adult specimen covered in powdery white wax secretions with segmentation evident and with rather irregular short, broad white wax projections around margins, those toward posterior end slightly longer than those further anteriorly ( Fig. 2 B, C View FIGURE 2 ).

Slide-mounted adult female ( Fig 3 View FIGURE 3 ) (n = 6). Body broadly oval to rotund, 2.2‒2.5 (2.4) mm long and 1.4‒1.6 (1.4) mm wide; derm membranous. Anal lobes prominent and membranous, each ventral surface with long apical seta, 108‒172 (132) μm long. Antennae each 322‒364 (340) µm long, with 8 segments and bearing many flagellate setae; subapical segment with 1 or 2 fleshy setae and apical segment with 3 or 4 fleshy setae. Eyespot present on margin, not associated with discoidal pores. Legs well developed, stout, bearing many flagellate setae; hind coxa wider than long, 172‒184 (178) μm wide, 88‒108 (91) μm long; hind trochanter + femur 246‒270 (269) μm long; hind tibia + tarsus 198‒224 (222) μm long; tarsal digitules pointed, each 29‒56 (43‒50) µm long; claw stout and curved, 33‒37 (33) μm long, without a denticle; claw digitules knobbed, each as long as claw. Ratio of lengths of hind tibia + tarsus to trochanter + femur about 1: 1.21‒1.25 (1.21); ratio of lengths of hind tibia to tarsus 1: 0.46‒0.62 (0.48). Translucent pores present on hind coxa, femur and tibia. Clypeolabral shield 179–246 (193) µm long, labium 193‒230 (203) µm long, ratio of lengths of labium to clypeolabral shield 1: 0.93‒1.07 (1.05). Circulus present, 120‒138 (123) µm long and 114‒130 (114) µm wide, situated between abdominal segments III and IV, divided by intersegmental line. Ostioles prominent, with inner edges of lips sclerotized, each lip with 3‒11 short setae and a few trilocular pores. Anal ring 64‒96 (94) μm long and 57‒85 (85) µm wide, situated almost one times its length from apex of abdomen, bearing 20‒26 setae, of which 6 longer than others, each 43‒79 (49‒55) µm long, and 14‒20 shorter setae each 18‒42 (22‒41) µm long, shorter than anal ring length. Cisanal and obanal setae stout, each 61‒99 (68‒99) μm long. Dorsal setae short, each 12‒22 (13‒21) μm long on head and 8‒18 (12‒18) μm long on abdomen; flagellate setae flanking anal ring longer, each 42‒74 (48‒60) μm long. Cerarii numbering 18 pairs. Anal lobe cerarii (C 18) each containing 8‒13 conical setae of different sizes (large setae each 16‒25 (16‒20) μm long and 6.0‒8.5 (6.1‒7.0) μm wide at base), 3‒6 flagellate auxiliary setae and a concentration of 18‒22 trilocular pores. Cerarii on abdominal segments III‒VII (C 12 ‒C 17) each containing 8‒14 conical setae and 2‒6 flagellate auxiliary setae (not shown on Fig. 3 View FIGURE 3 ); other cerarii each containing 4‒10 conical setae and 1‒5 flagellate auxiliary setae (not shown on Fig. 3 View FIGURE 3 ), and have 0‒4 intermediate conical setae present between the cerarii.

Dorsum. Setae flanking anal ring long, each 18‒49 (25‒41) µm long. Trilocular pores each 3.1‒3.4 (3.1‒3.4) µm wide, evenly distributed. Multilocular disc-pores and oral collar tubular ducts absent. Discoidal pores of 2 sizes present: a large type, each larger than a trilocular pore, 3.5‒4.3 (3.5‒4.0) µm wide; and a small type each as wide as a trilocular pore, 3.2‒3.4 (3.2‒3.4) µm wide.

Venter . Trilocular pores same size as those on dorsum but slightly less numerous, evenly distributed. Multilocular disc-pores each 8.5‒9.7 (8.8‒9.4) µm in diameter and mostly each containing 10 loculi (but several each with 9 or 8 loculi); with 18‒24 pores in a nearly double row posterior to vulva; 24‒32 in a more-or-less double row at posterior edge of abdominal segment VII; and 8‒12 in a single row at posterior edge of abdominal segment VI. Oral collar tubular ducts of 2 sizes: a large type, each with outer ductule 6.0‒8.5 (7.4‒8.4) μm long and 3.7‒4.5 (4.0‒4.3) μm wide, forming groups on margins of posterior abdominal segments, each side with 0‒2 on segment III, 3‒9 on IV, 7‒14 on V, 5‒15 on VI, and 4‒8 on segment VII; and a small type, each with outer ductule 4.0‒5.8 (4.3‒5.1) μm long and 2.9‒3.2 (2.9‒3.2) μm wide, numbering 1‒3 in medial area posterior to vulva and a few on margins of posterior abdominal segments V‒VI. Ventral setae slender, mostly each 17‒45 (20‒42) μm long, but some on head and abdomen longer and more flagellate, each 50‒71 (56‒71) μm long. Discoidal pores of same 2 sizes as those on dorsum, scattered.

Host plant. Altingiaceae : Liquidambar formosana .

Distribution. China (Guizhou province).

Etymology. The species is named after its type locality “Libo”, combined with the Latin suffix -ensis, meaning “originating from”.

Remarks. Paraputo liboensis Liu, Tan & Xing sp. nov. is most similar to P. rotundus ( Morrison, 1922) in having normally more than 18 anal ring setae, and 8-segmented antennae. However, P. liboensis differs from P. rotundus by having the following features (condition in P. rotundus given in parentheses): (i) cerarii numbering 18 pairs (17 pairs); and (ii) translucent pores present on hind coxa, femur and tibia (present on hind femur and tibia only).

In China, P. liboensis is most similar to P. platani Zhang & Wu, 2017 in both having the same number of pairs of cerarii, long dorsal setae flanking the anal ring, and an anal ring bearing more than six setae. However, P. liboensis differs from P. platani by having the following features (condition in P. platani given in parentheses): (i) anal ring bearing 20‒26 setae (9‒11 setae); (ii) translucent pores present on hind coxa, femur and tibia (present on hind coxa only); and (iii) anal lobes membranous (each lobe with a large sclerotized area).