Litophallus inornatus Bahder & Bartlett, 2025

Litophallus inornatus Bahder & Bartlett gen. et sp. n.

( Figures 5–9 View FIGURE 5 View FIGURE 6 View FIGURE 7 View FIGURE 8 View FIGURE 9 )

Type Locality. Spring Garden , Portland Parish, Jamaica .

Diagnosis. Pale species, uniformly white with slight yellow mark on genae. Head tear drop shaped in lateral view (subelliptical). Sinuate process arising from first antennal segment. Aedeagus and endosoma simple, lacking armature, recurved directly cephalad at base of endosoma.

Description. Color. Ground color ( Fig. 5 View FIGURE 5 ) white in males, light yellow in females. Head with faint orange-red band from eye to front of head (weaker in males), females also with brown-orange marking along ventral margin of head extending from band to clypeus. Body otherwise pale. Wings clear, without distinct markings.

Structure. Body length male ( n = 1): 4.0 mm with wings; 2.1 mm without wings ( Table 5), female ( n =1) 5.3 mm with wings, 2.5 mm without ( Table 5).

Head. In dorsal view ( Fig. 6A View FIGURE 6 ), vertex narrowly triangular, disc deeply concave, lateral margins in contact at head apex, anterior margin medially emarginate, posterior margin concave, rounded; lateral margins thickened and foliate, bearing small sensory pits. In lateral view ( Fig. 3B View FIGURE 3 ), head profile subelliptical, vertex concave, apex rounded. In frontal view ( Fig. 6C View FIGURE 6 ), lateral margins of frons touching for entire length, bearing row of sensory pits. Antennal scape bearing elongate projection, curved laterad; pedicel elongated, sinuate, apexally expanded, angled cephalad and slightly laterad. Eyes oval with emargination on posterior margin.

Thorax. Pronotum, in dorsal view ( Fig. 6A View FIGURE 6 ), narrow (about 0.5x vertex at midline) with anterior margin rounded; posterior margin deeply concave; median carina obsolete, lateral carinae extending to lateral margins; in lateral view ( Fig. 6B View FIGURE 6 ), dorsal margin anteriorly declinate, gently curved. Mesonotum in dorsal view, elongated (about equal in length to vertex+pronotum collectively), longer at midlength than greatest width, tricarinate, median carina complete to posterior margin, lateral carinae sinuate, faint. Forewings ( Fig. 7 View FIGURE 7 ) spatulate, apex of clavus in proximal third, C5 cell closed, branching pattern RA 3-branched, RP 2-branched, MP 8-branched, CuA 2-branched, anastomosed to fuse with composite vein CuP+Pcu+A1.

Male Terminalia. Pygofer, in lateral view ( Fig. 5A View FIGURE 5 ), narrow and irregular on anterior and posterior margin, lateral margin of pygofer opening projected into short beak-like projection, hooked ventrad; in ventral view ( Fig. 8B View FIGURE 8 ), medioventral process present as low, rounded lobe. Gonostyli, in lateral view ( Fig. 8A View FIGURE 8 ), slender and elongated, scoop-like, curved on dorsal (concave) and ventral (convex) margins, apex acute; in ventral view ( Fig. 8B View FIGURE 8 ), medial margins strongly sinuate, forming two lobes (and median concavity), proximal smaller than distal lobe. Aedeagus ( Fig. 9 View FIGURE 9 ) simple, shaft straight (lacking projections); endosoma a simple, membranous, translucent, retrorse lobe, lacking processes, reaching midpoint of aedeagal shaft. Anal tube, in lateral view ( Fig. 8A View FIGURE 8 ), subrectangular and simple, dorsal and ventral margins irregularly sinuate, reaching gonostylus apex, quadrate in dorsal view ( Fig. 8C View FIGURE 8 ); paraproct small and subapical.

Plant associations. Coconut palm ( Cocos nucifera L.).

Distribution. Jamaica.

Etymology. The specific name is derived from the Latin word ‘ inornatus ’ (unadorned), a reference to the absence of processes on the aedeagus. The name is intended as masculine to agree with the genus.

Material examined. Holotype male “ ♂ ” ( FLREC) “ Jamaica, Portland Parish / Spring Garden / 15. II.2022 / sweeping coconut palms / Coll.: B.W.Bahder // Holotype / Litophallus inornatus ♂ ”; paratype 1 female, same data as holotype ( FLREC).

Remarks. Aside from geography, P. inornatus sp. n. differs from P. schellenbergii in color (white or yellowish in the former, Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 , vs yellowish with red markings in the latter, Figs. 9A, B View FIGURE 9 ). P. inornatus sp. n. also has a shorter head (length ~0.5x greatest width, vs. ~0.8x in P. schellenbergii ).