Proteatingis minuta Shofner and Cassis, 2024

Shofner, Ryan & Cassis, Gerasimos, 2024, Phylogenetics and taxonomy of the Indo-Australian genus Ulonemia sensu Drake (Hemiptera: Tingidae), with the recognition of new genera and species collected from Proteaceae in Australia, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 200 (2), pp. 360-425 : 411-412

Proteatingis minuta Shofner and Cassis sp. nov.

( Figs 13K, L , 14K, L , 16 , 18 )

Zoobank registration: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3C43C61F-180E-4D86-BE9C-2B1D3F4B19E5 .

Type material

Holotype: AUSTRALIA: Tasmania: Bronte Park, 7.8 km E of Marlborough Hwy on Serpentine Rd , 42.08998°S 146.5667°E, 972 m, 23 Feb 2014, G. Cassis and J. Karras, Hakea sp. ( Proteaceae ), 1 ♂ (UNSW_ ENT 00046255 ) (TMAG).

Paratypes: AUSTRALIA: Tasmania: Bronte Park, 7.8 km E of Marlborough Hwy on Serpentine Rd, 42.08998°S 146.5667°E, 972 m, 23 Feb 2014, G. Cassis and J. Karras, Hakea sp. ( Proteaceae ), 3 ♂ ( UNSW _ ENT 00046257 , UNSW _ ENT 00046259 , UNSW _ ENT 00046261 ), 2 ♀ ( UNSW _ ENT 00046263 , UNSW _ ENT 00046265 ) ( TMAG) , Hakea sp. ( Proteaceae ), 3 ♂ ( UNSW _ ENT 00046256 , UNSW _ ENT 00046258 , UNSW _ ENT 00046260 ), 3 ♀ ( UNSW _ ENT 00046262 , UNSW _ ENT 00046264 , UNSW _ ENT 00046266 ) ( UNSW) .

Other material examined

AUSTRALIA: Tasmania: Bronte Park, 7.8 km E of Marlborough Hwy on Serpentine Rd, 42.08998°S 146.5667°E, 972 m, 23 Feb 2014, G. Cassis and J. Karras, Hakea sp. ( Proteaceae ), 2; nymph ( UNSW _ENT 00046267, UNSW _ENT 00046269) ( TMAG), Hakea sp. ( Proteaceae ), 2; nymph ( UNSW _ENT 00046268, UNSW _ENT 00046270) ( UNSW).

Diagnosis: Proteatingis minuta is recognized by the following combination of characters: small body size, less than 2.8 mm; head black; eyes black; anterior margin of collum curved, projecting forward; collum moderately inflated, forming a hood, hood subequal to slightly exceeding height of pronotal disc; costal area uniseriate; metasternal carinae straight, parallel, width between metasternal carinae equal to width between mesosternal carinae.

Male: Macropterous; 2.66 ± 0.04 mm (N = 7) ( Table 3 ). COLORATION. Greenish grey, pronotal disc golden-brown. Head: black; spines dark golden-brown, black distally; bucculae straw-coloured, clypeus black, genae black; eyes black to reddish-black. Antennae: black. Labium: mottled brown and black, with LIV darkening to black. Pronotum: disc golden-brown, areolae darkening to dark brown on posterior projection; calli black; collum and paranota brown, areolae silvery to translucent; lateral carinae brown to golden-brown, straw-coloured posteriorly; medial carina brown anteriorly, with black macula at apex of disc, with dark brown band posterior to disc, straw-coloured on the posterior projection. Thoracic pleura and sterna: proepisternum golden-brown anteriorly, black posteriorly, proepimeron and supracoxal lobes golden-brown; mesepisternum mostly black, mesepimeron and supracoxal lobes golden-brown; metepisternum black to golden-brown on supracoxal lobes; peritreme of metathoracic gland straw-coloured; pro-, meso-, and metasternum black; sternal carinae straw-coloured. Hemelytra: discoidal area either greenish grey or brown, occasionally variable; costal area dark brown to brown; proximal juncture R + M vein and cubitus vein dark brown to black; cubitus vein with dark brown band medially. Legs: tarsi black, tarsal claws brown; tibiae dark brown proximally, fading to golden-brown distally; femora dark brown to black; coxae black. Abdominal venter: golden-brown; abdominal sterna mostly golden-brown, darkening to black dorsally, posterior edge of sternites II–VIII dark brown across length; spiracles dark brown to black; pygophore brown darkening to black posteriorly. VESTITURE. Head: straw-coloured arcuate setae in bands from antenniferous tubercles to occipital spines and from frontal spines along either side of medial spine to back of head; bucculae with arcuate setae; dense globules of wax encircling eye, and from frons to apex. Occipital and medial spines with golden-brown decumbent setae, erect distally. Antennae: AI–AIII with white sparse, decumbent setae, AIV with white semi-erect to erect aciculate setae; distal ends of AII and AIII with dense ring of microtrichia. Pronotum: anterior margin glabrous, rarely with short setae; paranotal margins, medial and lateral carinae, and disc with arcuate scale-like setae; disc with numerous punctures with six to eight triangular tuberculate processes distributed evenly around internal rim; calli with short golden-brown setae, globules of wax often covering calli. Thoracic pleura and sterna: anterior portion of proepisternum, proepimeron, posterior portion of mesepisternum, mesepimeron, and metepisternum with arcuate setae and tubercle-lined punctures as on pronotal disc; anterior portion of pro- and mesepisternum glabrous; sternal carinae with sparse distribution of arcuate setae; all surfaces covered with globules of wax, propluron heavily coated with wax. Legs: coxae to tibiae with white to straw-coloured arcuate setae; ventral surface of tarsi with semi-erect aciculate setae. Hemelytra: costal margins sparsely covered with arcuate setae; discoidal area veins with sparse distribution of arcuate setae; sutural area veins glabrous or occasionally with very sparse distribution of arcuate setae. Abdominal venter: moderate distribution of arcuate setae, with white wax coating entire abdomen. STRUCTURE. Head: spines rounded apically; frontal spines upright, parallel or convergent distally, less than half the length of AI; medial spine straight, stout, height 2× that of frontal spines, width about one-quarter to one-third of height; occipital spines straight, up to half their length protruding beyond collum. Antennae: AI and AII short, AI 2× longer than AII; AIII longer than the pronotal width across humeral angles, AIV weakly clavate. Labium: moderate length, exceeding anterior margin of metasternum. Pronotum: strongly convex; collum apex inflated to subglobose, height equal to disc; medial and lateral carinae appearing decurrent to disc but weakly areolate, carinae areolate over posterior third, uniseriate; medial and lateral carinae equal thickness, lateral carinae divaricating; paranota curved, following disc, hardly upturned, mostly one areole wide, two areolae wide anteriorly, not exceeding height of hemelytra. Thoracic sterna: mesosternal and metasternal carinae elevated, uniseriate, areolae rectangular; mesosternal carinae straight, parallel, metasternal carinae curved, slightly ovate, convergent posteriorly. Legs: legs thin; femora tapered proximally. Thoracic pleura: peritreme large, loop-like, strongly depressed medially, with dorsal extension reaching hemelytral margin. Hemelytra: areolae small and uniformly sized in discoidal and subcostal areas, increasing in size in subcostal area posterior from juncture of R + M and cubitus veins; sutural area areolae similar to discoidal area proximally, increasing in size to 5× distally; costal area areolae large, rectangular; costal area uniseriate, subcostal area mostly biseriate, discoidal area increasing from one to six areolae wide, sutural area one to eight areolae wide. Male genitalia: pygophore ( Fig. 19A, B ); parameres ( Fig. 19C–E ); dorsal plate Y-shaped ( Fig. 19F ); aedeagus with paired mid-size endosomal lobal sclerites ( Fig. 19F–H ).

Female: Macropterous; 2.67 ± 0.03 mm (N = 5) ( Table 3 ). COLORATION. Mostly as in male. Discoidal area of hemelytra with more pronounced dark brown mottling than in male; costal area veins dark brown, with costal margin banded straw-coloured and dark brown. VESTATURE. As in male. STRUCTURE. As in male.

Plant associations: Recorded from Hakea sp. , 16 specimens ( Proteaceae ).

Distribution: Known from near Bronte Park in the Top Marshes Conservation Area, Tasmania, Australia ( Fig. 16 ).

Etymology: Named for its diminutive size in relation to all other species of this genus.

Remarks: This species is diminutive compared to all other Proteatingis ; however, it is extremely similar both genetically and morphologically to Pr. burckhardti and in the absence of molecular data can only be reliably differentiated via its body size and geographic location.

Figures

Figure 13. Dorsal habitus photos of Proteatingis species:Pr. astibosetes sp. nov.male western morph (A), male eastern morph (B), female western morph (C), female eastern morph (D); Pr. burckhardti stat. nov. male large morph (E), male small morph (F), female large morph (G), female small morph (H); Pr. howardi sp. nov. male (I), female (J); Pr. minuta sp. nov.male (K), female (L); Pr. mjobergi stat. nov. male (M), female (N); Pr. xouthos sp. nov.male (O), female (P). Scale bar = 1 mm.

Figure 14. Lateral habitus photos of Proteatingis species: Pr. astibosetes sp. nov. male western morph (A), male eastern morph (B), female western morph (C), female eastern morph (D); Pr. burckhardti stat. nov. male large morph (E), male small morph (F), female large morph (G), female small morph (H); Pr. howardi sp. nov. male (I), female (J); Pr. minuta sp. nov.male (K), female (L); Pr. mjobergi stat. nov. male (M), female (N); Pr. xouthos sp. nov.male (O), female (P). Scale bar = 1 mm.

Figure 16. Distribution map for Proteatingis astibosetes sp. nov., Pr. burckhardti stat. nov., Pr. howardi sp.nov., and Pr. minuta sp. nov.Locality information taken from the PBI database.

Figure 18. Male genitalia of Proteatingis howardi sp. nov.: pygophore, dorsal view (A); pygophore, ventral view (B); left paramere, dorsal view (C); right paramere, lateral view (D); right paramere, dorsal view (E); aedeagus, dorsal view (F); aedeagus, ventral view (G); aedeagus, right lateral view (H). See Methods for abbreviations. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.

Figure 19. Male genitalia of Proteatingis minuta sp. nov.: pygophore, dorsal view (A); pygophore, ventral view (B); left paramere, dorsal view (C); right paramere, lateral view (D); right paramere, dorsal view (E); aedeagus, dorsal view (F); aedeagus, ventral view (G); aedeagus, right lateral view (H). See Methods for abbreviations.Scale bars = 0.1 mm.