Ceroplastes jos Hodgson & Peronti 2012, spec. nov.

Ceroplastes jos Hodgson & Peronti, spec. nov.

(Fig. 38; Map fig. 103)

Material examined: Holotype ♀: Nigeria, Jos, on a large tree, 29.i.1962, W.J. Hall (BMNH): 1/2 (holotype specimen nearest species name label; misidentified as C. bipartitus).

Paratype ♀, remaining specimen on holotype slide, plus a further slide as for holotype (BMNH): 1/2 (fair; misidentified as C. bipartitus).

Unmounted material. Unknown.

Mounted material. Body rather roundly oval and convex, with distinct, shallow, stigmatic clefts; dorsum with distinct lateral tubercles. Caudal process long and narrow, and narrowing slightly towards apex; probably pointing posteriorly. Length (without caudal process) about 3.0– 3.2 mm, width across venter about 2.4–2.7 mm; caudal process about 1.3–1.8 mm long; width across base of flattened process 0.88–1.0 mm.

Dorsum. Derm membranous except for heavily sclerotised caudal process. Derm apparently with 7 clear areas; each with very few or no dorsal setae; dorsal area either very small or absent, i.e., with both setae and loculate microducts. Dorsal setae each bluntly spinose, with slightly converging sides and a narrow, blunt apex; each subequal to or (more generally) clearly longer than width of basal-socket (length 5.0–6.5 µm; basal socket width 4.5–5.0 µm); present sparsely throughout but scarce or absent in clear areas. Dorsal pores: (i) loculate microducts of complex type, each with 2–4 satellite loculi, each pore about 5.0–7.5 µm widest; those with 3 satellite loculi most abundant, those with 4 and 2 about equally frequent and about 1/6–1/8th as frequent as those with 3 loculi; abundant throughout but absent from all clear areas; wax-plate lines not detected; and (ii) simple microducts probably restricted to lateral clear areas. Preopercular pores not detected, perhaps absent. Anal plates each with 3 long, flagellate dorsal setae placed near posterior margin, each 58–85 µm long, plus a shorter seta near apex, about 38–40 µm long; length of plates 157–170 µm, width of single plate 85–90 µm. Anal tube quite short, about 1.25x length of anal plates; anal ring setae each about 205–215 µm long.

Margin. Marginal setae setose, each about 18–23 µm long, with 8–20 anteriorly between eyespots, and (on each side) 5–8 between eyespots and anterior stigmatic area, 8–12 between stigmatic areas and 16–20 on either side of abdomen; each anal lobe with 2 or 3 slightly longer setae, longest about 30–35 µm long. Stigmatic clefts shallow but distinct, each with a group of bluntly conical stigmatic setae extending in a broad group onto dorsum; each group about 2x as wide than long; anterior groups with 18–25 setae and posterior groups with 24–26 setae; setae rather uniform in size, most 10–13 µm wide and 15–20 µm long but each group generally with a noticeably larger seta about 18–20 µm wide and 20–22 µm long, located towards dorsal apex of group. Eyespots each lens 45–55 µm wide.

Venter. Derm entirely membranous. Pregenital disc-pores abundant around genital opening (segment VII) and across preceding segment, with 22–38+ medially on V plus many disc-pores submedially; segment IV with 9–12 medially + 5–10 in a group submedially, and III with 0–1 medially + 2 or 3 submedially; absent more anteriorly. Spiracular disc-pores present in fairly broad bands of at least 100 pores, each band widening near margin, but not becoming as wide as group of stigmatic setae; with none extending medially past peritreme. Ventral microducts scarce or absent on posterior abdominal segments. Ventral tubular ducts present in a diffuse group of probably 10–25 ducts in cephalic region; also with 1–3 medially + 0–2 submedially associated with mediolateral lobes of abdominal segment III, 1–8 medially + several submedially on IV, and several medially and particularly submedially on V and probably VI; each with a filamentous inner ductule. Submarginal setae frequent, each 10 µm long.

Antennae each with 6 segments, segment III sometimes with a hint of pseudo-articulations; total length 335–375 µm. Clypeolabral shield about 175–205 µm long. Spiracles: width of peritremes 83–90 µm. Legs well developed, each with a small tibio-tarsal articulatory sclerosis; each claw with a small denticle; claw digitules both broad and shorter than tarsal digitules; dimensions of metathoracic legs (µm): coxa 180–190; trochanter + femur 225–245, tibia 155–165, tarsus 90–100, and claw 28–31.

Discussion. Although labelled Ceroplastes bipartitus, these specimens differ as discussed above under C. bipartitus. C. jos is also very similar to C. sinoiae Hall but C. sinoiae is currently only known from southern Africa whereas C. jos is only known from Nigeria. C. jos differs from C. sinoiae in having (character-states on C. sinoiae in brackets): (i) a much narrower caudal process, more or less parallel-sided (more or less triangular and about as broad basally as long); (ii) seven clear areas, the medio-dorsal area obscure or absent (dorsal area present); (iii) each group of stigmatic setae about twice as wide as long (about as wide as long); (iv) ventral tubular ducts present medially on posterior abdominal segments (believed to be absent), (v) loculate microducts with 3 satellite loculi most abundant and pores with 4 satellite loculi present (pores with 2 satellite loculi most abundant, those with 4 loculi absent), and (vi) dorsal setae quite sharply pointed (blunter).

At present, this species is only known from the original material off a large unknown tree in Nigeria, collected by W.J. Hall in 1962.

Name derivation: the specific name jos is taken from the upland area of Nigeria, the Jos Plateau, where it was collected.