Anchimothon hippocampus Bahder & Bartlett, 2025

Anchimothon hippocampus Bahder & Bartlett sp. nov.

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

Type Locality. Costa Rica, Puntarenas Province, Loma .

Diagnosis. Body yellow-fuscous, wings dark fuscous. Male terminalia with medioventral process of pygofer very large, heart-shaped in ventral view. Aedeagus bearing simple falciform processes on lateral margins (right process small and upcurved, left process large and downcurved). Anal segment in lateral view with ventroapical margin strongly produced, subapical ventral margin appearing deeply concave.

Description. Color. Ground color yellow-orange generously washed with fuscous ( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 ), venter paler. Forewings dark fuscous, veins pallid, apical margin red, abdominal tergites, sternites and terminalia dark fuscous ( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 ).

Structure. Body length (with wings), male 3.1–3.3 mm (n=3), female 3.6–3.8 mm (n=3; Table 3). Head. In dorsal view ( Fig 3A View FIGURE 3 ), head narrower than pronotum. Vertex trapezoidal, disc concave, median carina present; anterior margin nearly truncate (slightly concave), posterior margin concave, posterior margin about 1.7x length of midline; lateral margins with two conspicuous rows of sensory pits, pits in outer row oval and uniform in size and larger than irregularly sized pits in inner row; in lateral view ( Fig. 3B View FIGURE 3 ), head rounded in profile, extending slightly beyond eyes. In frontal view ( Fig. 3C View FIGURE 3 ), frons concave medially, lateral margins foliate, moderately narrow, narrowest dorsally, expanding from dorsal margin, constricting slightly before frontoclypeal suture; median carina absent; a row of sensorial pits on lateral margins from dorsal margin to frontoclypeal suture interspersed with additional smaller pits (mostly along lateral carinae forming partial second row). Frontoclypeal suture nearly truncate (weakly serpentine). Clypeus triangular, narrow and elongated. Compound eyes in lateral view ( Fig. 3B View FIGURE 3 ) nearly hemispherical, emarginated above antennae and along posterior margin. Lateral ocelli near anteroventral margin of eyes, anterior to antennae. Antennae short, scape ringlike, pedicle ovoid, just longer than wide, bearing many sensory plaques, flagellum bristlelike with bulbous base.

Thorax. Pronotum in dorsal view ( Fig. 3A View FIGURE 3 ) narrow (midline about 0.7x length of vertex) midline), convex at anterior margin, broadly concave at posterior margin; tricarinate (lateral carinae following posterior margin of head); in lateral view ( Fig. 3B View FIGURE 3 ), paradiscal region strongly foliate (apices distinctly exceeding antennae from frontal view, Fig. 3C View FIGURE 3 ), forming a C-shaped postantennal crest behind the antennae, ventral margin curled dorsad from anterior view. Mesonotum in dorsal view ( Fig. 3A View FIGURE 3 ), slightly wider than long at midpoint, at midline about 2x cumulative length of vertex + pronotum; tricarinate, median carina obsolete posteriorly, lateral carinae parallel and distinctly sinuate, obsolete posteriorly. From lateral view ( Fig. 3B View FIGURE 3 ) mesonotum arched above level of pronotum and head, pronotum anteriorly declinate. Forewing ( Fig. 4 View FIGURE 4 ) broad, elongate oval, leading and trailing margins subparallel (weakly expanded distally); claval apex just distad of midlength, Pcu vein bearing tubercles (absent on base of R), Pcu reaching CuP before fusion with A1; composite vein M+R+ScP with short stem before MP branch, branch of RP from RA+ScP soon after, both forks well proximad of CuA fork, first fork of MP well distad of CuA fork; branching pattern RA 2-branched, RP 2-branched, MP 5-branched, CuA 2-branched. RA branches enclosing open subrectangular marginal cell. Hind tibia with lateral teeth absent, apical spinulation 5-6-6.

Terminalia. Pygofer in lateral view ( Fig. 5A View FIGURE 5 ) narrow, irregularly sinuate at anterior and posterior margin, narrowed medially, broadest basally, medioventral process strongly curved dorsad; in ventral view ( Fig. 5B View FIGURE 5 ), medioventral process broad, taller than wide, apex strongly medially envaginated, rounded laterally (appearing broadly cordate). Gonostyli in lateral view broad ( Fig. 5A View FIGURE 5 ), large and broad, irregularly spatulate, apex truncate with triangular process dorsoapically, dorsal margin broadly triangular, angulate just distad of midpoint, bearing complex dorsal process present in basal third, process crescent-shaped, opening posteriorly, internal tooth-like process arising at midpoint, angled posteriorly; ventral margin broadly convex except truncated processes of inner margins extending slightly ventrad (to form short and broad truncate projection; in ventral view ( Fig. 5B View FIGURE 5 ), relatively slender and subparallel sided, broadest near base, each bearing a large medial process in basal ¼, processes sub-quadrate, posterior margin rounded, anterior margin linear, margins narrowing posterior to inner processes. Aedeagus ( Fig. 6 View FIGURE 6 ) bilaterally asymmetrical, shaft irregularly tubular, upcurved bearing two processes; first process (A1, Fig. 6A View FIGURE 6 ) arising just before midlength on right dorsolateral side, relatively short, slender, falciform and upcurved; second process (A2) on left lateral side ( Fig. 6B View FIGURE 6 ), arising at level with A1, broader and more elongated, falciform and downcurved, broad basally tapering distad; endosoma complex, retrorse, asymmetrical, bearing five processes; first pair of processes (E1 & E2) arising dorsoapically, nearly straight, tapering distad, approximately reaching midlength of shaft, third process (E3, Fig. 6A View FIGURE 6 ) arising subapically on right lateral side, slightly shorter than E1 and E2; fourth process (E4) arising on left lateral side, angled ventrad and cephalad, slightly longer than E1 and E2, fifth process (E5) stout, taping distad, arising medially, approximately as long as E4.Anal segment in lateral view ( Fig. 5A View FIGURE 5 ) slightly sinuate on dorsal margin, ventral margin sinuate (broadest just before midlength), lateroapical margins strongly produced into elongated downward projecting horn-like distally tapering processes (giving subapical ventral margin a strongly convave appearance); epiproct and paraproct apical, short.

Plant Associations. African oil palm ( Elaeis guineensis Jacq. , Arecaceae ).

Distribution. Costa Rica ( Puntarenas Province).

Etymology. The specific name is derived from the Latin term ‘ hippocampus ’ (derived from the Greek root ‘hippos’ = horse + Latin “campus” = sea-animal) as a reference to the shape of the anal segment, which resembles a seahorse.

Material Examined. Holotype male, “ Costa Rica, Puntarenas Pr. / Loma , roadside / 06-VI-2021 / Coll.: B.W. Bahder / Sweeping palms / Anchimothon hippocampus ♂ ” ( FLREC) . Paratypes ( 18 males, 6 females) same as holotype ( FLREC) .