Caphodus Oman , 1938

Caphodus Oman, 1938 View in CoL

Figs. 1–6 View FIGURE 1 View FIGURE 2 View FIGURE 3 View FIGURE 4 View FIGURE 5 View FIGURE 6

Caphodus Oman, 1938: 375 View in CoL .

Type species by original designation: Caphodus maculatus Oman, 1938

Length 4.2 to 5.8mm. Head as wide as or slightly narrower than pronotum. Ground color whitish, with brown and orange markings; crown with pair of large orange maculae centrally and with smaller dark brown markings anteriorly; pronotum anteriorly with 2 or 3 large orange maculae, medially with two pairs of orange maculae; forewing with two prominent brown spots- one between clavus and A1 and one basad of central anteapical cell, with numerous false brown veins, with brown coloration at wing apex, veins tan toward base and brown toward apex, reflexed costal veins brown; face and venter with extensive dark brown coloration; legs whitish with dark brown markings, setal bases dark brown. Crown produced, longer medially than next to eyes; texture shagreen on anterior 1/3, smooth on posterior 2/3. Ocelli large; close to eyes. Face with frontoclypeus long, narrow; clypellus constricted subbasally and expanded toward apex; lorae large; antennae arising near middle of eye; mesial margin of eye notched. Profemur row AV with numerous very short, stout setae along basal 2/3 of femur; intercalary row with ~15 long fine setae; AM 1 present, situated ventrally. Protibia macrosetae 1+4. Hind tarsomere I long, slender; apex with four apical platellate setae, innermost seta platellate.

Male. Pygofer longer than tall in lateral view; with several rows of long macrosetae near apex; dorsally barely incised around segment X; with two pairs of process arising posteriorly or posteroventrally. Valve triangular; width more than 2x median length. Subgenital plates long, triangular; with complete row of macrosetae near lateral margin; with numerous fine setae laterally. Connective with anterior arms closely appressed; with stem shorter than anterior arms; articulated with aedeagus. Styles with base broadly bilobed; preapical lobe present or absent; apophysis short to long. Aedeagus with one or two pairs of long processes arising from base; shaft symmetrical and tubular or asymmetrical and flattened. Segment X sclerotized dorsally and laterally; with pair of ventral processes.

Female. Sternite VII variable in shape. Ovipositor straight ventrally or slightly concave; extending beyond pygofer apex. First valvifer with or without unique posterior extension. First valvula with elongated baculiform sculpturing dorsally, baculiform elements grading together ventrally, nearly forming strigate pattern; sculpturing reaching dorsal margin, extending 2/3 to 3/4 length of valvula. Second valvula with obtusely triangular, serrated teeth dorsally on 1/2 to 2/3 length of valvula. Gonoplac with four to five stout setae apex; with several stout setae ventrally.

Notes. Given new observations of the male genitalia of C. obliquus and ovipositor of all three species, Caphodus is redescribed here.

Oman et al. (1990) listed Caphodus in Deltocephalinae but did not place the genus to a tribe, and Zahniser & Dietrich (2013) placed it in Scaphoideini based on morphological similarity to some members of that group. The phylogenomic analyses of Cao et al. (2022) showed that the Caphodus is closely related to Scaphoidula Osborn, 1923 within a clade including most genera placed in Pendarini . Based on that result and a re-assessment of morphological characters defining tribes of Deltocephalinae, Zahniser et al. (in press) moved Caphodus to Pendarini .

Key to species

1. Males.............................................................................................. 2

1’. Females..............................................................................................4

2(1). Aedeagus shaft dorsoventrally flattened, wide, asymmetrical; dorsal-most pair of pygofer processes arising from dorsoapical corner of pygofer, elongate and with 4 to 5 dorsal teeth subapically................................... C. maculatus

2’. Aedeagus shaft not flattened, wide, or asymmetrical; dorsal-most pair of pygofer processes arising from posterior margin of pygofer, at mid-height or lower, not elongate and without dorsal teeth.............................................3

3(2’). Aedeagus with two pairs of processes arising from near base; dorsal-most pair of pygofer processes longer than ventral pair............................................................................................ C. obliquus

3’. Aedeagus with one pair of processes arising near base; dorsal-most pair of pygofer processes shorter than ventral pair.............................................................................................. C. panamensis

4(1’). Sternite VII strongly produced medially, apex lingulate.............................................. C. obliquus

4’. Sternite VII not produced medially, shallowly or deeply excavated; apex medially with pair of shortly produced teeth......5

5(4’). Sternite VII shallowly excavated; first valvifer without accessory process............................. C. panamensis

5’. Sternite VII deeply excavated; first valvifer with distinct club-like accessory process...................... C. maculatus