Aspiralizoros gen. nov. for Spiralizoros ceylonicus (Zoraptera: Spiralizoridae), an endemic species overlooked for more than a century

Zoraptera is among the least studied insect orders, and basic information is lacking for many species. Filippo Silvestri described this order in 1913 based on three species ( Zorotypus guineensis , Z. ceylonicus , and Z. javanicus ), but interestingly, none of these species have been observed or des...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	International journal of tropical insect science Vol. 44; no. 5; pp. 2463 - 2470
Main Authors:	Kočárek, Petr, Kočárková, Ivona
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Cham Springer International Publishing 01-10-2024
Subjects:	Biomedical and Life Sciences Entomology Life Sciences Original Research Article Indomalayan region Zoraptera New genus Spiralizoridae Taxonomy Sri Lanka Polyneoptera
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Summary:	Zoraptera is among the least studied insect orders, and basic information is lacking for many species. Filippo Silvestri described this order in 1913 based on three species ( Zorotypus guineensis , Z. ceylonicus , and Z. javanicus ), but interestingly, none of these species have been observed or described again. Although the original descriptions were prepared precisely, male copulatory organs, which are essential for identification and classification, were not presented, nor were descriptions of wing venation. Zorotypus ceylonicus Silvestri, 1913 was tentatively classified into the genus Spiralizoros Kočárek, Horká & Kundrata, 2020 based on its external morphology. In this study, we assessed unidentified Zoraptera deposited in the Biological Museum of Lund University, Sweden, and found numerous examples of Z. ceylonicus collected in 1962 in five different localities in Sri Lanka. We found that this species shared the ground morphology of the male copulatory organ with the genus Spiralizoros , but in contrast to all other members of this genus, it had a short and uncoiled intromittent organ that ended in tiny hooks and a spiky structure. Based on the characteristics of the male genitals, we describe a new nominotypical genus, Aspiralizoros gen. nov. Detailed supplementary descriptions of the morphology of male genitalia and wings of A. ceylonicus (Silvestri, 1913), comb. nov., are presented here and discussed in the context of current knowledge.
ISSN:	1742-7592 1742-7592
DOI:	10.1007/s42690-024-01307-4