Plinthisus Species­Groups

Sweet, Merrill H. & Slater, James A., 2004, An analysis of species­groups of the genus Plinthisus Stephens (Hemiptera: Rhyparochromidae) in the Ethiopian Region with the description of eight new species, Zootaxa 533, pp. 1-56 : 5-6

Key to Ethiopian Plinthisus Species­Groups

1. Scent gland auricle curving or pointing caudad ( Figs. 18–21, 23, 26 ); auricle sometimes expanded distad into a tear­drop shape ( Fig. 21 )................................................. 2

— Scent gland auricle recurved, first curving caudad then cephalad. ( Figs. 22, 24–25, 27 ); auricle apex, if expanded, scimitar­shaped ( Figs. 24–25 ) ..................................... 8

2. Pronotum with at least posterior lobe heavily punctate ( Figs. 1–2 ); brachypter coleopteroid, hemelytra extending caudad to at least tergum 5 ( Fig. 2 ) ....................... 3

— Entire pronotum appearing impunctate, with no more than micropunctures on posteriorlobe;brachypterwithhemelytratruncate,extendingonlytoabdominaltergum4( Fig. 5 ) ....................................................................................................................................... 7

3. Male profemur with one row of 2–3 spines ( Fig. 115 ); less than 1.8 mm in body length ......................................................................................................... Pulchellus Group

— Male profemur with two rows of many spines, inner row with at least 2 major spines ( Figs. 110–113 ); more than 2.2 mm in body length ..................................................... 4

4. Bucculae very large, much wider than width of labium and extending anteriorad beyond tylus ( Fig. 8 ); brachypter without fringe of membrane on hemelytron, abdominal tergal sutures 4–5 and 5–6 transverse, not curving caudad, tergum 6 greater in length than either tergum 4 or 5 ( Fig. 39 ) ........................................ Rudebecki Group

— Bucculae not wider than width of labium, not extending anteriorad beyond tylus ( Figs. 9–10 ), brachypter with fringe of membrane on hemelytron ( Fig. 2 ); abdominal tergal sutures 4–5 and 5–6 curving caudad, tergum 6 much shorter than either tergum 4 or 5, ( Fig. 40–41 )................................................................................................................... 5

5. Entire dorsum, pleura, and abdominal venter coarsely and evenly punctate; eyes either greatly foreshortened, more than twice as high as long, or very small, eye width 1/6 of interocular space Brachyoccus Group

— Anterior lobe of pronotum, proepisternum and abdominal venter impunctate to finely punctate, much less punctate than posterior lobe of pronotum; eye normal, less than twice as high as long or, width greater than 1/4 interocular width ............................... 6

6. Sparsely clothed above with short sericeous decumbent hairs, body hairs shorter than antennal hairs and less than width of metatibia; in brachypter, male protibia ( Fig. 110 ) lightly curved, armed beneath only with small tubercles of equal size........................... .......................................................................................................... Tineoides Group

— Densely clothed above with long upright hairs, hairs longer than antennal hairs and twice width of metatibia; male protibia ( Fig. 113 ) strongly curved, armed beneath with mixed large and small tubercles .......................................................... Hirsutus Group

7. Body nearly glabrous, with at most very short decumbent hairs ( Fig. 5 ); profemur mutic, convex below ( Fig. 117 ) Fynbosi Group

— Body densely clothed with long semi­erect hairs; profemur ( Fig. 120 ) flattened and sulcate beneath, armed with a single spine ...................................... Zuurbergi Group

8. Scent gland auricle strongly recurved, reaching anterodorsal corner of granulose scent area, dividing scent gland area ( Figs. 24–25 ); over 1.9 mm in length .......................... 9

— Scent gland auricle with only apex curved cephalad, not dividing the granulose scent area ( Figs. 22, 27 ); under 1.8 mm in length ................................................................ 10

9. Dorsal body surface granulose­pebbled in texture ( Fig. 6 ); profemur convex beneath ( Fig. 118 ) ........................................................................................ Peninsularis Group

— Dorsal body surface polished, shining in texture ( Fig. 7 ); profemur flattened and sulcate beneath ( Fig. 119 ) ....................................................................... Lamprus Group

10. Head, pronotum, scutellum and hemelytra coarsely and densely punctate­granulose ( Figs. 3–4 ), no trichobothriumlike seta on eye ( Fig. 12 ) ........................ Ericae Group

— Head, pronotum, scutellum and hemelytra smooth, lightly punctate with well­separated punctures, eye with a long trichobothriumlike seta............................................ 11

11. Lateral margins of hemelytra ecarinate; brachypterous hemelytron with posterior margin transversely truncate, without membrane, barely reaching 4th abdominal tergum; body densely pilose above .................................................. Drakensbergensis Group

— Lateral margin of hemelytra carinate; brachypterous hemelytron with posterior margin oblique, with fringe of membrane, and reaching at least 5th abdominal tergum; body sparsely clothed with short decumbent sericeous hairs above ........... Ptilioides Group

Figures

FIGURES 18 – 27. Mesopleuron and metapleuron, male. 18, P. rudebecki. 19, P. hirsutus. 20, P. brachyoccus. 21, P. pulchellus. 22, P. e r i c a e. 23, P. fynbosi. 24, P. peninsularis, 25, P. lamprus. 26, P. z u u r b e rg i. 27, P. drakensbergensis. Abbreviations: au—auricle, hm—hemelytron, mf – metapleural flange, mp—mesepimeron, mps—mesopleural sulcus, ms – mesepisternum, mt—metepisternum, sa—scent area, tls – trichobothriumlike setae. Figures 24 to 27 on the next page.

FIGURES 1 – 7. Plinthisus spp., dorsal view. 1, P. (Isioscytus) pulchellus n. sp., macropter. 2, P. pulchellus, brachypter. 3, P. (Nanoplinthisus) ericae n. sp., macropter. 4, P. e r i c a e, brachypter. 5, P. (Nanoplinthisus) fynbosi n. sp. 6, P. (Nanoplinthisus) peninsularis n. sp. 7, P. (Nanoplinthisus) lamprus n. sp. Figures 6 to 7 on the next two pages.

FIGURES 110 – 120. Male prothoracic leg, inside (anterior) view. 110, P. (Locutius) herbarum Lindberg, 1958. 111, P. (Plinthisus) brevipennis, Latreille, 1807. 112, P. (Dasythisus) indentatus Barber, 1918. 113, P. hirsutus. 114, P. brachyoccus. 115, P. pulchellus. 116, P. ericae. 117, P. fynbosi. 118, P. peninsularis. 119, P. lamprus. 120, P. zuurbergi. 121, P. drakensbergensis. Abbreviations: ats—apical tibial spine, fs—profemoral spines, fsl—profemoral sulcus, pcs—procoxal spine, tbs—protibial spine, tsl—protibial sulcus, tt—protibial tubercles, sr—spur.

FIGURES 8 – 17. Head and anterior part of pronotum, male, lateral view. 8, P. (Plinthisus) rudebecki Slater, 1964. 9, P. (Plinthisus) hirsutus Slater, 1964. 10, P. (Plinthisus) brachyoccus n. sp. 11, P. pulchellus. 12, P. e r i ­ cae. 13, P. fynbosi. 14, P. peninsularis. 15, P. lamprus. 16 (p. 46), P. (Nanoplinthisus) zuurbergi n. sp. 17 (p. 46), P. (Nanoplinthisus) drakensbergensis n. sp. Abbreviations: at—antenniferous tubercle, bc—buccula, br—buccular ridges, cs—collar sulcus, j—juga, js—jugal sulcus, la—first labial segment, l—lorum, pppropleural pore, pps—propleural suture, tls—trichobothriumlike setae, ts—tylar sulcus, ty—tylus, v—vertex.

FIGURES 38 – 50. Abdomen structures. 38 (p. 48), lateral view, male, P. e r ic a e. 39 – 48, left dorsal view, male. 39, P. rudebecki. 40, P. hirsutus. 41, P. brachyoccus. 42, P. pulchellus. 43, P. e r i c a e. 44, P. fynbosi. 45, P. peninsularis. 46, P. lamprus. 47, P. zuurbergi. 48, P. drakensbergensis. 49 – 50, dorsal abdominal segments 5 – 8, female. 49, P. pulchellus. 50, P. fynbosi. Abbreviations: e—epipleurite of connexivum, h—hypopleurite of connexivum, oj— oblique juncture of hypopleurites 4 & 5, pl—plectrum on tergum one, sg—scent gland scar, sp – spiracle, spl—secondary plectrum, St 3 — sternum 3, St 7 — sternum 7, Tg 2 — tergum 2, Tg 6 — tergum 6, Tg 7 — tergum 7, tr—trichobothrium. Figures 44 to 50 on the next page.