Venustsalda, Zhang, Weiting, Song, Jingjing, Yao, Yunzhi & Ren, Dong, 2012

Zhang, Weiting, Song, Jingjing, Yao, Yunzhi & Ren, Dong, 2012, A new fossil Saldidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Leptopodomorpha) from the Early Cretaceous in China, Zootaxa 3273, pp. 63-68 : 64-67

Genus Venustsalda gen. nov.

Type species. Venustsalda locella gen. et sp. nov.

Diagnosis. Compound eyes large, covering most of head in lateral view. Rostrum reaching to the base of hind coxae. Posterior pronotal margin indented distinctly. Forewings covering abdomen, macropterous; medial fracture and costal fracture long; hypocostal ridge and associated secondary hypocostal ridge present on hemelytra; corial vein reaching to outermost cell; veins on membrane forming six closed cells. In male, parandrium tapered.

Etymology. The generic name is a combination of the Latin “ venust- ” (meaning “charming”) and “ Salda ” (the type genus of this family). Gender feminine.

Distribution. China.

Remark. It is indubitable to classify this species into the family Saldidae based on the combination of characters: compound eyes large, rostrum long, posterior margin of pronotum concave, hemelytra with costal fracture and medial fracture, membrane with few cells. The new genus has six cells on its membrane, which is different from the normal cell number in Saldidae . In most saldids, the innermost cell (first cell) is longest, whereas in this new genus the normal innermost cell seems to be divided into two cells, and then finally form six cells on membrane. Therefore, the six-cells system is speculated to be derived from the five-cells system. According to its long medial fracture and costal fracture, we intend to put this genus in Chiloxanthinae .

Both Venustsalda gen. nov. and Brevrimatus Zhang, Yao & Ren, 2011 come from the same formation; but the former easily differs from the latter in body size less than 6.5 mm (vs. reaches to 8.0 mm), medial fracture fused together with costal fracture (vs. medial fracture short, not connect with costal fracture), membrane with six closed cells (vs. membrane with five closed cells), and forewings surpassing the end of abdomen (vs. forewings at most reach to the end of abdomen).

Venustsalda gen. nov. is similar to Oligosaldina Statz & Wagner, 1950 in body size, but can be distinguished from the latter: forewing with costal fracture (vs. without costal fracture), body dorsal surface smooth, without long hair (vs. body covered by long hair), membrane with six cells (vs. five cells).

PLATE 1. Photograph of Venustsalda locella gen. et sp. nov., Holotype, CNU-HET-LB2010335.

Propentacora froeschneri (Lewis), initially assigned to the genus Oreokora ( Lewis 1969) in the subfamily Saldinae , was transfered to the genus Propentacora in Chiloxanthinae ( Polhemus 1977, 1985). Venus tsalda gen. nov. compared with Propentacora (Lewis): length of hemelytra over 4 mm (vs. less 3mm), membrane with six cells (vs. five cells), the innermost cell (first cell) shorter than the third cell (vs. the innermost cell longest, cells reduced gradually from the inner to the outer as the normal arrangement), and corial vein reaching to the outermost cell (vs. corial vein continue between cells three and four).

Salda is an extant genus with two fossil species. Most members of Salda have four cells and the fossil species S. exigua Germar & Berendt, 1856 has only three cells. Venustsalda gen. nov. has six cells, more than that in Salda .