Deleproctophylla Lefebvre 1842

Deleproctophylla Lefèbvre, 1842 Figs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 Deleproctophylla Lefèbvre, 1842: 6 (emended to “ Theleproctophylla ” by Rambur, 1842: 351). Type species: Ascalaphus australis Fabricius, 1893, by subsequent designation by van der Weele (1908). Diagnosis. Adult. Head breadth at widest point, including compound eyes, slightly larger to width of mesothorax at wing base. Compound eye with deep median furrow, lateral margins slightly indented at furrow. Antenna not reaching pterostigma; club pyriform, wide. Forewing elongate; hindwing broadest at RP fork. Forewing membrane largely hyaline, with brown markings in a few species; hindwing membrane largely hyaline with brown markings or infuscations in apical half. Abdomen without pleuritocavae. Male genitalia. Ectoproct with prominent “ pincer-like ” ventral projection, with bifurcating cylindrical branch in distal half, apex bent downward and inward; branch and apex with robust, spiniform setae. Tergite 9 sub-rectangular in lateral view, with prominent ventral thumb-shaped projection. Sternite 9 with caudal paired lateral lobes and a median, prominent sub-rectangular lobe; setae on median lobe spine-like. Complex of gx 9 + 11 proportionally small in comparison to tip of abdomen; gx 11 arch-shaped, projecting caudally and slightly curved downward in lateral view; gp 11 forming a furrow, with short setae; gx 9 widely set apart, with a dorso-apical, upward fold, resembling a smooth hook in lateral view. Female genitalia. Ectoproct elongate, with short ventral projection. Tergite 9 subrectangular. Gx 9 wider than long. Tergite 8 subrectangular. Gx 8 distinct, not fused and widely set apart, wider than long, slightly prominent. Gp 8 caudally prominent, appearing subtriangular in lateral view (except for D. gelini). Larva. Head capsule not dilated posteriorly; ocular tubercle cylindrical with small apical protuberance; mandible with three teeth, median tooth largest and positioned closer to apical than to basal tooth; meso- and metathorax each with two pairs of sub-equal cylindrical scolus-like processus; anterior abdominal spiracle lateral; dorsal abdominal series of spiracles composed of eight cylindrical scolus-like processus, ventral series composed of two anterior scolus-like processus and six tubercle-like processus; sternite 8 with short odontoid processus; sternite 9 with short rastra with four digging setae; body dolichasters elongated, stick-shaped. Comparative notes. Potential synapomorphies of Deleproctophylla include: i) male ectoproct with caudal projection and median bifurcating branch, ii) male gx 9 widely separated from each other and from gp 11, with apical fold; iii) female ectoproct with caudal projection. Deleproctophylla is one of the few genera of Ascalaphini characterized by prominent male ectoproct with median branch, such as Bubopsis McLachlan, 1898, and Phalascusa Kolbe, 1897 (Tjeder 1992). However, in Deleproctophylla species, the ectoproct branch develops inward or dorsally (i. e., D. gelini), while in the sympatric species of Bubopsis, the branch extends basally and ventrally. These traits, combined with the characteristic pigmentation pattern of Deleproctophylla, allow easy identification from other ascalaphid genera with elongated ectoproct. In addition, to the obvious coloration differences, Deleproctophylla is immediately set apart from Libelloides in the shape of the male ectoproct, which is proportionally shorter, simpler in shape and lacking branch in the latter. However, these two genera share a similar conformation of the gx 9 + 11 complex, especially in the shape of gx 9. The larvae of these two genera are also very similar in body shape, tooth arrangement, and the position, development, and shape of thoracic and abdominal series of scolus-like processus. The larvae of Deleproctophylla can be distinguished by those of Libelloides in the head capsule, which is not dilated posteriorly and the dolichasters covering the body, which are mostly stick-shaped and do not expand apically into a wide rosette (Badano and Pantaleoni 2014). Remarks. One of the most unusual features of Deleproctophylla is the presence of the so-called phylla, large, paired, membranous, leaf-shaped structures protruding from the female abdomen (Figs 2 F, 3 F) (H. Aspöck et al. 1980; Tjeder 1992). The genus name derives from this trait. The phylla consist of the male spermatophore, which remains attached to the female genital opening after mating but is shed when she lays eggs. The evolutionary significance of this prominent structure remains unclear, but it may serve to reduce competition between males by preventing remating with an already fertilized female. In a few other ascalaphid genera, such as Bubopsis McLachlan, females also retain the spermatophore after mating, but in none of them are these structures as large and striking as in Deleproctophylla.