Atisne Wygodzinsky 1966

Tatarnic, Nikolai J. & Cassis, Gerasimos, 2011, The thread-legged bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Emesinae) of Lord Howe and Norfolk Islands, Zootaxa 2967, pp. 21-43 : 23

Atisne Wygodzinsky 1966

Atisne Wygodzinsky 1966: 92 (new genus, type species: Nesita derelictus Wygodzinsky 1956 , by original designation); Maldonado, 1990: 98 (catalogue); Cassis & Gross 1995: 291 (catalogue).

Diagnosis. Atisne is separated from other members of the Leistarchini by the following combination of characters: apex of anterior acetabulum rounded, asymmetrical foreclaws ( Fig. 3 F), eighth sternite of the male visible, unornamented male pygophore and dorsal sclerotization of the phallus ( Fig. 2 E: modified from Wygodzinsky 1966). This genus can be distinguished from other Lord Howe Island emesines by the presence of the proximoventral forefemoral process ( Figs. 1 , 2 B–C, 3B–C, E).

Remarks. The discovery of a second species of Atisne from Lord Howe Island does not require an alteration of the diagnosis of the genus. Aside from size, characters of the forefemora, and colouration, these two species are very similar in morphology.

Wygodzinsky (1956) originally described the type species, A. derelictus , as a member of the endemic Madagascan genus, Nesita Bergroth. He later erected the monotypic genus Atisne for its inclusion, and suggested that it was instead more closely related to Gomesius Distant ( Wygodzinsky, 1966) . The latter contains five species in the eastern Indo-Pacific, with the most eastward species occurring in New Guinea (Irian Jaya and Papua). Atisne shares with Nesita , Gomesius, Orthunga Dohrn (Afrotropical) and Tinnunga Wygodzinsky (Madagascan), the presence of a proximoventral process on the forefemora, which may represent a synapomorphy for these taxa. The female genitalia of Atisne also bear discussion. In particular, separated third gonapophyses in Atisne , a trait shared with the Collartidini Wygodzinsky, 1966 , possibly represents the plesiomorphic condition. This condition is also found in the eastern Australian endemic genus, Armstrongula Wygodzinsky, 1950 .

The sister-genus to Atisne remains unknown, and at present no comparable species is known to exist in New Caledonia, New Zealand or mainland Australia.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Lateral photographs of females of Atisne derelictus (above) and Atisne reidi (below).

FIGURE 3. A – D Atisne derelictus, female: A, Head, dorsal view; B, foreleg, lateral view; C, foreleg, medial view; D, female external genitalia, ventral view. E – H Atisne reidi: E, Foreleg, medial view; F, foreclaw; G, apex of female abdomen, dorsal view; H, female external genitalia, lateral view. GN = anterior gonapophysis; GN III = third gonapophysis; ST VIII = gonocoxite.

FIGURE 2. A, Atisne derelictus, head and pronotum. B, Atisne reidi, proximoventral forefemoral process. C – E Atisne derelictus: C, Proximoventral forefemoral process; D, paramere (redrawn from Wygodzinsky 1966: Fig. 20 I); E, aedeagus (redrawn from Wygodzinsky 1966: Fig. 20 J). F – I Emesopsis cirratus: F, Paramere; G, head and pronotum, lateral view; H, hemelytron; I, aedeagus. (Not to scale.)