Brancucciana (Rubriascopus) orientalis, Stehlík & Jindra, 2008

Stehlík, Jaroslav L. & Jindra, Zdeněk, 2008, New taxa of the Largidae and Pyrrhocoridae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) from the Oriental Region, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 48 (2), pp. 611-648 : 632-635

Brancucciana (Rubriascopus) orientalis sp. nov.

( Figs. 28, 37 )

Type material. HOLOTYPE: J, INDONESIA: TANIMBAR ISLANDS: YAMDENA: S Yamdena, Lorulun village 20 km NE of Saumlaki, 10.i.-5.ii.2007, S. Jakl lgt. ( PPUA). PARATYPES: The same data as holotype, 8 JJ 9 ♀♀ ( ZJPC). NUSA TENGGARA TIMUR PROVINCE: ALOR: 5 km NW of Kalabahi, 1.-8.iii.2006, 1 ♀, S. Jakl lgt. ( ZJPC). TIMOR: W Timor, Bursen env., 50 km S of Kupang, 28.i.-9.ii.2006, 2JJ, S. Jakl lgt.( ZJPC). SUMATRA: BANDA ACEH PROVINCE: Langsa, 20.xii.1976, 1 J 1 ♀, E. Diehl lgt. ( EHIA). PHILIPPINES: MINDANAO: Dapitan, 1 J, Baker lgt. ( USNM).

Description. Colouration ( Fig. 28). Body pale brown with reddish tinge. Antennae, apex of clypeus, labium, membrane, and legs black.

Structure. Paraclypei strongly gibbous; clypeus medially rounded, not ridged, depressed before apex, distinctly widened apically; antennifers prominent, laterally rounded. Lateral pronotal margins rather narrow. Profemora with one larger and one small tooth apically.

Pygophore ( Fig. 37 ). Ventral wall nearly flat, ventral rim medially distinctly elongated and raised vertically, sides of this projection parallel, ending horizontally with small erect hairs. Ventral rim infolding orthogonally falling into genital chamber. Lateral rim only slightly rounded; lateral rim infolding stretching away from median projection on ventral rim and regularly round concave. Parameres long, convergent, gradually slenderized, adpressed on ventral rim infolding, and ending in apex of ventral rim median projection; body of the paramere pale, apex blackened and rounded with two minute denticles one above another in form of a pipe wrench.

The species fully agrees in other structural characters including the punctation with the subgeneric diagnosis of Rubriascopus Stehlík & Jindra, 2006 ( STEHLÍK & JINDRA 2006d).

Measurements (all in mm). Males (n = 6). Body length 8.65 (8.50-9.50); head: width (including eyes) 1.61 (1.51-1.73), interocular width 0.89 (0.84-0.92); lengths of antennomeres: 1 – 1.14 (1.03-1.29), 2 – 1.24 (1.19-1.35), 3 – 0.73 (0.70-0.86), 4 – 1.66 (1.57-1.73); pronotum: total length 1.57 (1.43-1.70), pronotal collar length 0.33 (0.32-0.35), callar lobe length 0.30 (0.24-0.35), pronotal lobe length 0.97 (0.86-1.05), width 2.84 (2.54-3.13), scutellum: length 1.16 (0.97-1.35), width 1.43 (1.24-1.67); corium: length 4.48 (4.05-5.02), width 1.71 (1.57-1.84).

Females (n = 7). Body length 9.02 (7.99-10.31); head: width (including eyes) 1.68 (1.57- 1.84), interocular width 0.94 (0.86-1.03); lengths of antennomeres: 1 – 1.25 (1.13-1.35), 2 – 1.34 (1.24-1.40), 3 – 0.84 (0.76-0.92), 4 – 1.64 (1.57-1.75); pronotum: total length 1.68 (1.57-1.89), pronotal collar length 0.34 (0.30-0.40), callar lobe length 0.33 (0.30-0.38), pronotal lobe length 1.04 (0.92-1.13), width 3.05 (2.81-3.40), scutellum: length 1.23 (1.13-1.57), width 1.60 (1.48-1.84); corium: length 4.73 (4.32-5.45), width 1.87 (1.73-2.11).

Variation. In the specimens from Sumatra, antennomere 4 is whitish with only its apex black.

The size of the specimens varies considerably among populations from various islands; relatively small specimens originate from the Tanimbar Islands. Similar variability was recorded also in Brancucciana (Rubriascopus) pygmaea (Distant, 1903) , in which specimens from Sri Lanka are smaller than those from India ( STEHLÍK & JINDRA 2006d).

Differential diagnosis. The only described species of the subgenus, B. (R.) pygmaea , differs from B. (R.) orientalis sp. nov. by the following characters: body colouration vividly red, paraclypei less gibbous, clypeus narrower with indicated longitudinal median ridge, its apex very narrow and not widened, and lateral margins of the pronotum narrower. Pygophores of both species have similar structure, but in B. (R.) pygmaea ( Fig. 38 ) the median projection on the ventral rim is somewhat lower and somewhat wider basally and its lateral margins are not parallel.

Etymology. The species epithet is the Latin adjective orientalis (= eastern), referring to the more eastern distribution of this species compared to B. (R.) pygmaea ( India, Sri Lanka).

Distribution. Widely distributed in Indonesia (Sumatra; Nusa Tenggara (= Lesser Sunda) Islands: Alor, west of Timor; Tanimbar Islands: Yamdena) and Philippines (Mindanao).

Figures

Figs. 35-39. Pygophore (posterior view). 35 – Armatillus sulawesiensis sp. nov.; 36 – A. orthocephaloides (Breddin, 1912); 37 – Brancucciana (Rubriascopus) orientalis sp. nov.; 38 – B. (R.) pygmaea (Distant, 1903); 39 – Euscopus tristis sp. nov.