Valid Names Results

Ceroputo Šulc, 1898 (Pseudococcidae)

Nomenclatural History

• Ceroputo Šulc 1898: 1. Type species: Ceroputo pilosellae Šulc . accepted valid name
• Puto Ferris 1918d: 62;. . incorrect synonymy (discovered by Tang1992: 392)
• Leococcus Kanda 1959: 239. Type species: Leococcus erigeroneus Kanda . junior synonym (discovered by Tang1992: 388)
• Australiputo Danzig & Gavrilov-Zimin 2014: 169;. . incorrect synonymy (discovered by Gullan2021: 1)

Remarks

• Systematics: Subfamily: Phenacoccinae (Choi & Lee) Ceroputo was synonymised with Puto by Ferris (1918), but treated as a valid genus by Tang (1992). Hardy et al. (2008) treated Ceroputo as a genus of the mealybug subfamily Phenacoccinae, which they redefined. The molecular phylogenetic studies by M. Bora Kaydan (pers. comm.) also have confirmed the placement of C. pilosellae in the Pseudococcidae near some species of Phenacoccus. (Williams, et al., 2011). Williams, et al. (2011) In Danzig & Gavrilov-Zimin, 2014, Leococcus was treated as a junior synomym of Puto rather than of Ceroputo as determined by Tang (1992). Although they did not examine specimens of Australiputo, Gavrilov-Zimin & Danzig (2012) and Danzig & Gavrilov-Zimin (2014) considered that Ceroputo should be included in the Pseudococcidae and should be treated as a subgenus of Puto. However, Gullan (2021) reassessed the morphology of Australiputo and determined that the genus should be resurrected. Her detailed comparison of the adult females of the two named species of Australiputo showed that they differ from the female of the type species of Ceroputo as follows (features of C. pilosellae in parentheses): body margin with 25 pairs of distinct cerarii, each on a sclerotised area, plus several smaller clusters of setae and trilocular pores (18 pairs and no smaller clusters); cerarian setae conical (lanceolate to conical with flagellate apex); multilocular and quinquelocular disc pores absent (both present); body large, 5.0–8.5 mm long, shape broadly oval (up to 3.5 mm long, oval); antennal segments II–V each long relative to width, with L:W ratio of each of these segments 4.0–6.5 (ratios of 2.1–3.1); and labium with acute apex and about 1/6 size of clypeolabral shield (apex rounded, only slightly smaller than clypeolabral shield). For mealybug taxonomy, the above differences are highly significant. Therefore, she concluded that any resemblance of Australiputo to Ceroputo is due to convergence. Thus Australiputo is resurrected from synonymy with Ceroputo, and A. casuarinae stat. rev. and A. eucalypti stat. rev. revert to Australiputo. The phylogenetic analysis done in Choi & Lee (2022) showed that the type species of Ceroputo was placed within Phenacoccinae instead of Putoidae and supports the transfer of Ceroputo to Phenacoccinae from Putoidae.
• Structure: Adult female: eye height as great as or greater than length of first antennal segment (usually very much smaller in typical Phenacoccus, except Ph. solenopsis); antennae with 8-9 segments; 0-2 (usually 0) antennal intersegmental sensilla present between each of segments III-IV, IV-V and VI-VII; 2 campaniform sensilla on each surface of each trochanter; claw lacking basal spurs; claw digitules capitate but tarsal digitules either capitate or not; more than 17 pairs of cerarii on sclerotised plates; long tubular ducts present or absent on frons (anterior to mouthparts); trilocular pores on venter usually smaller than those on dorsum, and pores in cerarii at most only slightly larger than those on rest of dorsum; quinquelocular pores sometimes present. First-instar nymph: 6-segmented antennae; multilocular pores with >5 loculi absent. Adult male of C. pilosellae (adult males unknown in other species): head with one pair of dorsal and one pair of ventral simple eyes plus a pair of lateral ocelli; with 2 pairs of lateral filaments on posterior abdominal segments (each filament from glandular pouch on each side of abdominal segments VII and VIII); penial sheath 1-segmented, apex of aedeagus simple (Afifi, 1968). (Williams, et al., 2011)
• General Remarks: Good definition and characters for Ceroputo given by Williams (1985) and Williams, et al. (WilliaGuMi2011).

Keys

• MoghadWa2022: pp.20-22 ( Adult (F) ) [Pseudococcidae in Iran]

Associated References

• BenDov1994: catalog, pp. 54
• ChoiLe2022: taxonomy, pp. 364,365
• DanzigGa2014: taxonomy, pp. 138
• Ferris1918d: taxonomy, pp. 62
• GavrilDa2012: phylogeny, taxonomy, pp. 97-111
• Gullan2021: morphology, taxonomy, pp. 1-16
• HardyGuHo2008: molecular data, morphology, taxonomy, pp. 59
• MoghadWa2022: diagnosis, key, taxonomy, pp. 21, 32
• Tang1992: taxonomy, pp. 388
• Willia1985: description, taxonomy, pp. 35, 60-61
• WilliaGuMi2011: morphology, taxonomy, pp. 1-22
• ZhangWa2023: diagnosis, history, taxonomy, pp. 284-285

8 Species