Psacasta granulata (A. Costa, 1847 )

Carapezza, A. & Kerzhner, I. M., 2005, Species of the subgenus Psacasta s. str. (Heteroptera: Scutelleridae), Zoosystematica Rossica (China) 14 (1), pp. 55-60 : 58-59

Psacasta granulata (A. Costa, 1847) , sp. dist.

Tetyra granulata A. Costa, 1847: 36 . Syntypes: Italy (south and Sicily); probably in Zoological Institute, University of Naples.

Psacasta conspersa (non Germar, 1839): Puton, 1881a: 12. Misidentification.

Psacasta marmottani Puton in Puton & Lethierry, 1887: 298, syn. n. Syntypes: Algeria (Oran and Messerghin); Musém National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris.

Psacasta transcaspica Jakovlev, 1889 d: 311 (syn. Horváth, 1911c: 574, with marmottani). Holotype: ♀, Turkmenistan (Ashkhabad); Zoological Institute, St.Petersburg.

Type specimens examined. Holotype of P. transcaspica .

Other material examined. Spain: 2 ♂, Valladolid, Tordesillas ; France: 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Montigny sur Loing ; Italy: 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Sicily, Palermo ; 1 ♂, Messina, Dinnamare ; Morocco: 1 ♂, Port Lyautey; 1 ♂, Taroudant ; 1 ♀, Marrakech; Algeria: 1 ♀, Orleansville ; Tunisia: 1 ♀, Le Kef ; 1 ♂, Gammart ; Egypt: 1 ♀, Kirdassah ; 1 ♂, Abukin ; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Cairo, Abu Rauash ; Israel: 1 ♀, Hebron ; 2 ♀, Jericho ; Jordan: 1 ♂, Madaba; Syria: 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Tartus; Turkey: 1 ♀, Adana; Turkmenistan: 1 ♂ (genitalia dissected), Imam-baba .

Diagnosis. Body length: in specimens from the continuous belt extending from Canary Islands through North Africa, Middle East and Turkmenistan ♂ 8.0-9.3, ♀ 8.3-9.4 mm; specimens from southern France and Spain are smaller, 6.3- 6.8 mm in both sexes, and provided with a reduced number of teeth in the lateral lobes of conjunctiva; topotypical specimens from Sicily are intermediate as far as concerns both body length (♂ 8.0-8.4, ♀ 7.8) and number of teeth in the lateral lobes of conjunctiva. This species resembles in coloration pale specimens of P. e. conspersa . General colour of dorsum generally dirty yellow, but sometimes brownish or reddish, with obscure pattern; yellowish callose speckles not numerous; antennal segments 1 and 2 red. Sides of pronotum with callose impunctate yellow stripe. For other characters, see the key.

Distribution. Italy (south and Sicily), France (south), Spain, Portugal, Canary Islands, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, and Turkmenistan.

Comments. Puton (1881a) misidentified as P. conspersa specimens from SW Europe resembling P. conspersa in the size and coloration, but clearly differing in the ratio of antennal segments (segment 3 half as long as segment 2) and structure of aedeagus. The earliest available name for this species is T. granulata erroneously placed by Puton in synonymy with T. conspersa . Subsequently, P. granulata was described as P. marmottani from Algeria, and the latter name was used in the literature. P. transcaspica from Turkmenistan was correctly placed in synonymy with P. marmottani, but Kerzhner (1964) erroneously placed both names in synonymy under P. exanthematica . Seidenstücker (1975) restored P. marmottani as a good species. The name P. granulata has not been used as valid name after 1881, but P. marmottani was only rarely used in the last 50 years and not deserving conservation under Art. 23.9.1 of the Code.