Epacanthaclisis moiwana ( Okamoto, 1905 )

Zheng, Yuchen, Badano, Davide, Aspöck, Ulrike, Aspöck, Horst, Hayashi, Fumio & Liu, Xingyue, 2025, Revision of the antlion genus Epacanthaclisis Okamoto, 1910 (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae: Dendroleontinae), Zootaxa 5657 (1), pp. 1-100 : 77-79

Epacanthaclisis moiwana ( Okamoto, 1905)

( Figs. 2Q , 39C–D , 45 , 49C )

Acanthaclisis moiwana Okamoto, 1905: 115 (type locality: Japan: “ ḮƜâ ” = [Hokkaido, Sapporo, Jyozan]; holotype in SEHU). Matsumura, 1908: 40 ( Acanthaclisis ). Okamoto, 1910: 286 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Nakahara, 1913: 95 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Okamoto, 1914: 250 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Matsumura, 1931: 1156 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Okamoto, 1932: 1533 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Matsumura, 1933: 16 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Banks, 1941: 2 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Kuwayama & Okamoto, 1950: 401 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Hirai, 1955: 298 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Kuwayama, 1960: 30 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Kuwayama, 1962: 389 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Ishihara 1970: 161 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Stange, 1976: 297 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Krivokhatsky, 1998: 40 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Stange, 2004: 88 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Ao et al., 2010: 51 (misidentification of the holotype of E. batangana ). Yoshitomi et al., 2013: 2 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Sekimoto, 2014: 38 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Matsumoto et al., 2016: 102 ( Epacanthaclisis , larval record). Sekimoto & Yoshizawa, 2016: 36 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Wang et al., 2018: 53 (misidentification of the holotype of E. batangana ). Ikeda & Okui, 2017: 18 ( Epacanthaclisis ). Yang et al., 2018: 63 (misidentification of the holotype of E. batangana ). Yang et al., 2023: 782 (misidentification of the holotype of E. batangana ).

Diagnosis. Adult. Vertex generally dark brown, anteriorly with three dark brown spots ( Fig. 45C ); scape and pedicel generally dark brown ( Fig. 45B ). Pronotum pale brown, medially with a pair of adjacent longitudinal curved dark brown stripes; laterally with a pair of oblique long dark lines on pale brown part; lateral margin black ( Fig. 45C ). Metanotum mostly dark brown. Wings long ovoid, hindwing slightly longer than forewing. Forewing rhegma as a distinct oblique dark brown stripe; cubital area basally with an indistinct dark brown marking. Hindwing rhegma as a short oblique dark brown stripe ( Figs. 39C–D , 45A ). Male abdominal terga 1–2 mostly dark brown; tergum 3 generally yellowish-brown, medially with a slender longitudinal line, posteriorly with a pair of indistinct dark brown spots; tergum 4 generally yellowish-brown, anteriorly with a pair of indistinct dark brown spots, posteriorly with a subtriangular dark brown marking; tergum 5 without anterior pair of tufts of bristles, mostly dark brown, anteriorly yellowish-brown ( Figs. 2Q , 49C ). Male external gonocoxites 9 rounded in ventral view, nearly trapezoid, external margin truncate and slightly concave in cephalic view; the angle of internal gonocoxites 9 parallel in ventral view, and nearly rhomboidal, posterior margin protruded in cephalic view; gonocoxites 11 widely arrow-shaped ( Figs. 45H–L ); ectoproct rounded rhomboidal in lateral view, weakly expanded on distal margin ( Figs. 45D–E ). Female posterior branches of gonocoxites 8 long digitiform, distally covered with stout long setae; gonapophyses 8 transversal ribbon-like, internally constricted; gonocoxites 9 covered with short, stout setae ( Figs. 45F–G ). 3rd instar larva. (based on Matsumoto et al. 2016) Head as long as wide; dorsal head anteriorly with a pair of oblique black bands, posteriorly with a pair of V-shaped black markings, a pair of indistinct dark brown markings fused with anterior pair bands and posterior pair markings; ventral head with a pair of indistinct brownish markings. Mandibular teeth relatively short. Pronotum yellowish-brown, anteriorly with a pair of small black markings, posteriorly with a pair of short black lines, lateral margin generally black. Meso-, metanotum, and dorsal abdominal segments each with a pair of oblique dark brown bands and many dark brown dots. Mesothoracic setiferous processes digitiform, metathoracic setiferous processes tuberculate; anterior mesothoracic setiferous processes curved, 1.2 times as long as the posterior pair; metathoracic setiferous processes relatively short, the posterior pair wider.

Re-description of adult. See Sekimoto (2014).

Description of 3rd instar larva. See Matsumoto et al. (2016).

Material examined. 1♂, JAPAN: Kyushu, Kumamoto County, Yatsushiro City [Â代Ū], Izumi-machi Momigi [ṖḃữÍ], 7–8.VII.2012, N. Kikuchi ( IZCAS) . 1♀, JAPAN: Honshu, Saitama County, Chichibu City [óẍŪ], 19.VIII.2014, Hiroaki Kurushima ( HFC) . 1♂, JAPAN: Shikoku, Ehime County, Toon City [xẚŪ], Kumakogen Town [久万¾原ḃ], Mt. Saragamine [皿ケ¼], 30.VII.2023, Xiaofeng Li ( ZCAU) . 1♀, JAPAN: Honshu, Tokyo, Okutama-machi [奥多Ệḃ], Nippara [B原], 11.IX.2018, Hidemori Yazaki ( IZCAS) . 2♀, same locality as above, 19.IX.2019, Hidemori Yazaki ( HFC) . 1♀, same locality as above, 26.VIII.2020, Hidemori Yazaki ( HFC) . 1♂, JAPAN: Tokyo, Okutama-machi , 29.VII.1997, Tadashi Kubota ( HFC) . 1♂, JAPAN: Tsushima Is., Kamitsushima [上n'ḡ], Kounoki-yama [Î之ÍƜ], 8.VII.2018, M. Kimura ( HFC) .

Distribution. Japan (Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu, Tsushima Is.).

Biology. The larval habitat of this species generally is beneatha thin layer of silt and where it stays slightly concealed keeping the mandibles exposed and spread to capture passing prey. This species coexists with the pit-building myrmeleontina species Baliga micans (McLachlan, 1875) in a same habitat. ( Matsumoto et al. 2016).

Remarks. This species is easily distinguished by the absence of anterior pair of tufts of bristles on the swollen male abdominal tergum 5, whereas the pair of tufts of bristles are all present in other species of the E. moiwana group.

Ao et al. (2010), Wang et al. (2018), and Yang et al. (2018, 2023) mistakenly identified the mislabeled holotype of E. batangana (type status redefined by Yuchen Zheng, see remarks for this species) as E. moiwana from the Japanese Archipelago. In fact, these two species are only similar in their wing markings, but in the genus Epacanthaclisis , wing markings often show similarities among different species. In E. moiwana , the vertex posteriorly has three dark brown spots; the pronotum are pale brown and dark brown, medially has a pair of adjacent longitudinal curved dark brown stripes, laterally has a pair of oblique long dark lines on the pale brown part, and lateral margin is black; the hindwing is slightly longer than forewing; and the female posterior branches of gonocoxites 8 is long digitiform; while in E. batangana , the vertex is mostly dark brown; the pronotum medially has a narrowed pale brown spot and laterally has three pair of different size pale brown markings, the forewing is slightly longer than hindwing, and the female posterior branches of gonocoxites 8 is short digitiform and slender. Additionally, there is a distinct biogeographical difference between the distribution of E. moiwana (type locality: Hokkaido, Japan) and E. batangana (type locality: Shaluli Mountains, Sichuan). Therefore, E. moiwana is an endemic species of the Japanese Archipelago and not distributed in China. The only record of E. moiwana in China is the holotype of E. batangana .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Male abdomens of Epacanthaclisis spp., dorsal view. The E. continentalis group: A. E. continentalis Esben- Petersen, 1935, Khinjan (Afghanistan); B. E. darman Zheng, Badano, U. Aspöck, H. Aspöck & Liu sp. nov., Gyirong (Xizang, China); C. E. hamata Krivokhatsky, 1998, Talas (Kyrgyzstan); D. E. liuyingqiae Zheng, Badano, U. Aspöck, H. Aspöck & Liu sp. nov., Medog (Xizang, China); E. E. victor Badano, Zheng & Liu sp. nov., Zhentang (Xizang, China); F. E. zhiweii Zheng, Badano, U. Aspöck, H. Aspöck & Liu sp. nov., Tsizhong (Yunnan, China); G. E. zuqii Zheng, Badano, U. Aspöck, H. Aspöck & Liu sp. nov., Pianma (Yunnan, China); The E. tuyuezhengi group: H. E. tuyuezhengi Zheng & Liu sp. nov., Yajiang (Sichuan, China); I. E. zhihaoi Zheng & Liu sp. nov., Weixi (Yunnan, China); The E. maculosa group: J. E. jiazhii Zheng, U. Aspöck, H. Aspöck, Hayashi & Liu sp. nov., Baoshan (Yunnan, China); K. E. maculosa (Yang, 1986), Baoshan (Yunnan, China); L. E. minana (Yang, 1999), Dehua (Fujian, China); M. E. minana, Lu-An (Anhui, China); N. E. xiaohongae Zheng & Liu sp. nov., Pianma (Yunnan, China); The E. moiwana group: O. E. banksi Krivokhatsky, 1998, Wenxian (Gansu, China); P. E. longwai Zheng, Hayashi & Liu sp. nov., Lu-An (Anhui, China); Q. E. moiwana (Okamoto, 1905), Yatsushiro (Japan); R. E. ningshana Wan & Wang, 2010, Beijing (China).

FIGURE 39. Habitus of the Epacanthaclisis moiwana group. A. E. banksi Krivokhatsky, 1998, male, Wenxian (Gansu); B. E. banksi, female, Wenxian (Gansu); C. E. moiwana (Okamoto, 1905), male, Yatsushiro (Japan); D. E. moiwana, female, Japan. E. E. ningshana Wan & Wang, 2010, male, Linfen (Shanxi); F. E. ningshana, female, Linfen (Shanxi); G. E. ningshana, holotype male, Ningshan (Shaanxi); H. E. longwai Zheng, Hayashi & Liu sp. nov., holotype male, Lu-An (Anhui).

FIGURE 45. Epacanthaclisis moiwana (Okamoto, 1905), adult, Japan. A–E, H–L. Male, Yatsushiro. F–G. Female, Tokyo. A. Habitus; B. head, frontal view; C. head and thorax, dorsal view; male terminalia: D. lateral view; E. ventral view; female terminalia: F. lateral view; G. ventral view; male genitalia: H. ventral view; I. dorsal view; J. lateral view; K. cephalic view; L. caudal view.

FIGURE 49. The Epacanthaclisis moiwana group, male abdominal terga 4–5, dorsal view. A. E. banksi Krivokhatsky, 1998, Wenxian (Gansu, China); B. E. longwai Zheng, Hayashi & Liu sp. nov., Lu-An (Anhui, China); C. E. moiwana (Okamoto, 1905), Yatsushiro (Japan); D. E. ningshana Wan & Wang, 2010, Beijing (China).