Corresponding author: Sam W. Heads (
Academic editor: D. Eades
A new species of the genus
Neotropical tridactyloids are both diminutive and cryptic, and being collected only rarely, are also underrepresented in collections. The tridactyloid fauna of Central America in particular is extremely diverse and yet simultaneously poorly documented. Indeed, only 19 tridactyloid species are recorded from Mesoamerica compared to over 100 known from South America (
The genus
The holotype is deposited in the Entomology Collection of the Illinois Natural History Survey (INHS), Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois, and was studied using an Olympus SZX12 zoom stereomicroscope with 1× and 2× objectives. Drawings were produced with the aid of a
The new species is readily separated from other small, variegated
Holotype ♂ of
♂: Belize, Toledo District, hand collected on shore of Rio Grande at night, approx. 2 hrs after sunset, 28.1 km NNW of Punta Gorda,
The specific epithet honors the Mopan, a Mayan people that live primarily in the southern part of Belize where the new species was collected. There is considerable ethno-historic and toponymic evidence to suggest that the Mopan have lived in this region since before the Spanish conquest (
Ordinarily, we would hesitate to describe a new species based on a single specimen. However, given the number of robust morphological apomorphies there can be no doubt that
1 | Frontal folds poorly-developed; frontoclypeal lobe absent; uncus reduced with retrograde apex; brachium long, about twice the length of the cercus | 2 |
– | Frontal folds well-developed; frontoclypeal lobe present; uncus large with either retrograde or dorsolaterally directed apex; brachium almost equal in length to slightly longer than cercus | 3 |
2 | Inferior frontal fold pale cream or white with two small black spots; pronotum black with broad yellowish white margins; brachium strongly claviform | |
– | Inferior frontal fold entirely pale cream or white, lacking black spots; pronotum black with broad yellowish white margins and a distinctive median yellow stripe with black spots in anterior half; brachium fusiform | |
3 | Inferior frontal fold with shallow depression above the frontoclypeal lobe; dorsal valves of endophallus with weakly sclerotized tubercle-like rugosities | 4 |
– | Inferior frontal fold with deep invagination above the frontoclypeal lobe; dorsal valves of endophallus with more or less developed lobes bearing well-sclerotized rows of posteriorly directed denticles | 5 |
4 | Frontal depression lenticular and flanked by two small black spots; posterior margin of abdominal tergum 10 with median membranous region unilobate | |
– | Frontal depression ovoid and lacking black spots; posterior margin of abdominal tergum 10 with median membranous region bilobed | |
5 | Median ocellus nascent or entirely lost; lateral lobes of inferior frontal fold with prominent rounded callosities or pits; frontoclypeal lobe well-developed | 6 |
– | Median ocellus present; lateral lobes of inferior frontal fold with a shallow longitudinal sulcus; frontoclypeal lobe weakly developed ( |
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6 | Median ocellus entirely lost; apices of superior and inferior folds strongly overlapped or fused forming a nasiform process; subgenital plate broadly rounded | 7 |
– | Median ocellus nascent; apices of superior and inferior folds closely approximated but not overlapping ( |
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7 | Nasiform process formed from strongly overlapping apex of inferior frontal fold and flanked by deep, ovoid cavities; lateral lobes of inferior frontal fold with two swollen callosities, the dorsalmost at least twice as large as the ventral ( |
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– | Nasiform process formed from fused apices of the superior and inferior frontal folds and flanked by deep sinuous furrows; lateral lobes of inferior frontal folds with large outer and smaller inner pits each bordered by very weak carinulae; apex of basal plate strongly bifurcate; dorsal valves of endophallus with well-developed denticular lobes |
Head capsules of representative Scrofulosa Group species.
We are very grateful to the people of the Toledo District, particularly the local guides who work hard to make fieldwork in the region possible. Many thanks also go to Michael E. Slay, Jean K. Krejca, JoAnn Jacoby, Geoffrey B. Hoese, Christy M. Slay and Bruno Kuppinger for their assistance in the field; to JoAnn Jacoby for help with background research in formulating the specific epithet; and to two anonymous reviewers for constructive comments on the manuscript. Support was provided by the Subterranean Ecology Institute, Inc. and an NSS International Exploration Grant (to SJT) and by a Herbert Holdsworth Ross Award for Biological Systematics from the Ross Foundation at the University of Illinois (to SWH).