Triatoma barberi Usinger

Sandoval-Ruiz, César Antonio, Cervantesperedo, Luis, Mendoza-Palmero, Fredy Severo & Ibáñez-Bernal, Sergio, 2012, The Triatominae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae) of Veracruz, Mexico: geographic distribution, taxonomic redescriptions, and a key, Zootaxa 3487, pp. 1-23 : 9-11

Triatoma barberi Usinger

( Fig. 5 )

Triatoma barberi Usinger 1939 , p. 44. Type locality: Mexico, Cuernavaca.

Diagnosis. Adult body length 16–20mm. Body ground color usually black or dark brown, Head granulose and as long as pronotum; first antennal segment not reaching level of apex of clypeus. First rostral segment slightly shorter than second. Pronotum uniformly black. Anterolateral angles rounded. Hemelytra not reaching apex of abdomen, extending to urotergite VII. Basal and apical portion of corium with red or orange markings. Legs short and stout. Connexival segments black on anterior third not forming a continuous band, red or orange on posterior portion ( Lent & Wygodzinsky 1979).

Distribution. Mexico (Colima, Distrito Federal, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Michoacán, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Tlaxcala and Veracruz) ( Lent & Wygodzinsky 1979, Zárate & Zárate 1985, Vidal et al. 2000, Galvão et al. 2003, Salazar-Schettino et al. 2010).

Records in Veracruz. Municipality of San Andrés Tuxtla, Estación de Biología Tropical “Los Tuxtlas”.

Comments. T. barberi undoubtedly is the most significant vector of Chagas disease to humans at central and western Mexico (Trans-Mexican volcanic belt). It has been collected from sea level to localities above 2000 meters where climatic conditions could be hot or temperate according to altitude, and is frequently associated with human dwellings, presenting high natural infection to T. cruzi . In sylvan ecotopes T. barberi is associated with Neotoma mexicana ( Zárate & Zárate 1985, Salazar-Schettino et al. 2010). We considered that its presence at San Andrés Tuxtla is fortuitous because the ecological condition of the place is not adequate as compared with the sites in which the species has been regularly collected. Nevertheless, we suspect that T. barberi could be present at xeric scrub lands of Cofre of Perote valley, which have similar ecological conditions to Puebla state localities were this triatomine has been collected ( Sosa-Jurado et al. 2004).

Material examined. 1 3: San Andrés Tuxtla, 18.45°N, – 95.212°W. 300 msnm, 1972-6-22, H. Brailovsky. IBUNAM: CNIN:HEM-sn540. H. Brailovsky det. Additionally, in order to confirm the taxonomic identity of the Veracruz specimen, we examined: 1 Ƥ: Jalisco, Guadalajara, Municipio 6, 17-IX-1987, K. Lozano, CNINHETRED0000454. 1 3: Puebla, Tecomatlan, XI-1943, F. Islas, CNINHETRED0000446.

Figures

FIGURES 2 – 5. Triatomine species known to occur in Veracruz, Mexico: 2) Belminus costaricensis (female from Costa Rica, El Limón, IBUNAM); 3) Eratyrus cuspidatus (male from Veracruz, “ Los Tuxtlas, ” IBUNAM); 4) Meccus pallidipennis (female from Veracruz, “ Los Tuxtlas, ” IBUNAM); 5) Triatoma barberi (female from Mexico, Jalisco, Guadalajara, IBUNAM). Photographs by C. A. Sandoval – Ruiz.