Brachysandalus erythromelas ( Walker, 1873 ) Liu & Cai, 2024

Liu, Yingqi & Cai, Wanzhi, 2024, Revision of Australian Brachysandalus with the description of nine new species including one cavernicolous species (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae), and observations on male extragenital structure and leg teratology, Zootaxa 5490 (1), pp. 1-112 : 26-29

Brachysandalus erythromelas ( Walker, 1873) comb. nov.

( Figs. 10 , 11 )

Pirates erythromelas Walker, 1873: 128 . Type locality: Australia ( Port Essington ).

Pirates (Brachysandalus) brevicoxis Stål, 1874: 60 . Type locality: Australia (Cape York). Synonymized by Cassis & Gross (1995: 341).

Pirates brevicoxis : Lethierry & Severin (1896: 124).

Sirthenea erythromelas : Lethierry & Severin (1896: 129); Maldonado Capriles (1990: 372); Chłond (2018: 3, 4), excluded from Sirthenea without proposing a new status.

Brachysandalus brevicoxis : Maldonado Capriles (1990: 345).

Peirates erythromelas : Cassis & Gross (1995: 341).

Type specimen examined. Holotype of Pirates erythromelas Walker, 1873 , macropterous male, Type, Port Essington, 46 13, 109. Pirates erythromelas ( NHM) (only examined images of the P. erythromelas type). Lectotype of Pirates (Brachysandalus) brevicoxis Stål, 1874 (present designation), macropterous female, Typus, Cape York, Thorey, brevicoxis Stål, NHRS-GULI 000000118 ( NHRS).

Other specimens examined. [all macropterous]. QUEENSLAND. 1 female, Hammond Island , 20–23.xii. 1962 R, J. Docherty B.M. 1963-283 ( NHM) . NORTHERN TERRITORY. 1 female, Groote Eylandt, Gulf of Carpentaria , 14.i.1929, Rev. Warren, Pirates brevicoxis Stal, Det. By A. Musgrave, K 60182 ( AM) .

Diagnosis.

Macropterous male and female known, body medium sized. Black and orange, with anterior pronotal lobe reddish orange, posterior lobe orange, hemelytron with clavus and corium orange, membrane with a yellow, oval spot involving apical 1/2 of clavus and adjoining area of corium between veins Pcu+1A and Cu and a whitish, flexed stripe along R and M veins on membrane ( Figs. 10 , 11 ). Body relatively flat ( Figs. 10 , 11 ); fore femur armed below with rows of dark brown bristly setae but without distinct tubercles ( Fig. 11C ); fore tibia gradually thickened to apex, apical half distinctly reflexed, fossula spongiosa occupying nearly 1/2 tibial length and mid tibia with fossula spongiosa occupying about 1/3 its length ( Fig. 11C ).

Redescription.

Macropterous male ( Fig. 10 ) and female ( Fig. 11 )

Colouration ( Figs. 10 , 11 ): Black and orange. Head black; antenna with scape black, pedicel and basiflagellum blackish brown, distiflagellum brown; labium with basal two visible segments black and third segment brown; anterior pronotal lobe reddish orange, posterior lobe orange; scutellum reddish orange; thoracic pleura reddish brown to blackish brown, sterna reddish orange to brown; legs black except tarsi dark brown; hemelytron with clavus and corium orange, membrane blackish brown, with a yellow, oval spot involving apical 1/2 of clavus and adjoining area of corium between veins Pcu+1A and Cu and a whitish, flexed stripe along R and M veins on membrane; connexivum orange-brown, abdominal sternites orange-brown except posterior margin of sternite VI, most of posterior of sternite VII blackish.

Structure ( Figs. 10 , 11 ): Body medium sized, relatively flat compared to other species in the genus. Body wholly covered with golden, short pilosity; scape, lateral margins of head and pronotum also with brown, short setae; legs densely covered with golden pubescence, also with yellowish brown to brown, suberect setae of varying lengths.

Head: Anteocular region elongate triangular, clypeus near its base slightly elevated and knobbed above mandibular plates. Interocular region with arcuate convex sulcus at posterior border of eyes, a small pit near base. Postocular region almost rounded to neck. Neck with lateral tubercles tiny. Ventral surface of head tumid before eyes. Antennae with all segments covered with short yellowish brown pilosity and sparse longer setae; scape thickest, pedicel thinner, then basi- and distiflagellum thinnest. Eye reniform, reaching dorsal margin but not reaching ventral margin of head in lateral view, width of eye shorter than width of interocular space in dorsal view in female. Ocelli moderately developed, slightly raised, separated from each other by about diameter of single ocellus in female. Labium with ventral surface sparsely covered with longish setae.

Thorax: Anterior pronotal lobe elliptical, stripes on anterior pronotal lobe obscure, median longitudinal sulcus on basal half of anterior pronotal lobe deep and surrounded with an oval depression, posterior margin of pronotum straight in middle and slightly oblique laterally. Scutellum with “Y” shaped ridges thin, disc flat and smooth, scutellar process short, apex rounded and horizontal in lateral view. Propleuron with integument finely faintly granulate, set off from dorsal surface by a faint carina. Mesopleuron integument minutely granulate, sparsely pilose. Metapleuron with integument finely granulate, metapleural sulcus distinctly bicarinate and arcuate, pilose with whitish dense hairs posteriorly.All sternites with tiny granules, moderately pilose. Mesosternum carinated in middle, metasternum with disc flat. Hemelytron well developed, distinctly exceeding tip of abdomen in male and slightly exceeding tip of abdomen in female.

Legs: Fore leg with coxa with golden pilosity; trochanter unarmed, sparsely hairy; femur strongly fusiform, greatly incrassate near base narrowing distally, much thicker than other femora, armed below with rows of dark brown bristly setae but without distinct tubercles; tibia gradually thickened to apex, apical half distinctly reflexed, fossula spongiosa occupying nearly 1/2 tibial length. Mid leg with coxa globular; femur only slightly thickened; tibia with short golden to yellowish brown pilosity for whole length, with fossula spongiosa about 1/3 its length. Hind coxae separated from each other by more than width of one coxa; femur cylindrical, tibia with brush of setae, denser at apex.

Abdomen: Connexivum with golden pilosity as elsewhere on sternum. Spiracles situated below connexival suture, about halfway between anterior and posterior margin of each segment. Each spiracle with two impressed shiny roundish areas, one postero-ventrally and one anteriorly near anterior margin of segment. In female, venter of abdomen flat, all sterna appearing narrow medially except VII extremely enlarged.

Male genitalia: No specimen available for dissection.

Measurements: [of holotype male of Pirates erythromelas when available, followed by one female]. Body length 15.30 (♂), 14.80 (♀); maximum width of abdomen 4.59 (♂), 4.68 (♀); length of head 2.25 (♂), 1.97 (♀); length of anteocular region? (♂), 0.76 (♀); length of postocular region? (♂), 0.45 (♀); width of head across eyes 1.80 (♂), 1.44 (♀); width of interocular space 0.63 (♂), 0.56 (♀); width of interocellar space 0.18 (♂), 0.22 (♀); length of eye in dorsal view? (♂), 0.60 (♀); width of eye in dorsal view? (♂), 0.45 (♀); lengths of antennal segments I–IV 0.81 (♂), 0.76 (♀) / 2.70 (♂), 2.05 (♀) /? (♂), 2.09 (♀) /? (♂), 1.80 (♀); length of visible labial segments I–III? (♂), 0.76 (♀) /? (♂), 1.21 (♀) /? (♂), 0.57 (♀); length of pronotum 3.33 (♂), 3.44 (♀); length of anterior pronotal lobe? (♂), 2.05 (♀); length of posterior pronotal lobe? (♂), 1.36 (♀); width of anterior pronotal lobe,? (♂), 2.73 (♀); width of posterior pronotal lobe? (♂), 3.80 (♀); length of scutellum 1.53 (♂), 1.63 (♀); maximum width of scutellum 2.07 (♂), 1.71 (♀); length of hemelytron 10.71 (♂), 10.92 (♀); length of fore tibia? (♂), 2.47 (♀); length of fossula spongiosa on fore tibia? (♂), 0.76 (♀).

Distribution. Australia (Queensland and Northern Territory). Cassis & Gross (1995) recorded this species also from South Australia and Western Australia, but these specimens were not located and examined in the present study.

Comparative notes. This species may be separated from other Australian Brachysandalus species by the relatively flat body shape, the fore femur armed below with rows of dark brown bristly setae but without distinct tubercles and the apical half of the fore tibia distinctly reflexed.

Remarks. The female specimen from Hammond Island (Qld) differs from the lectotype in having the pronotum, scutellum and thoracic pleura pale yellow, and the head and appendages darker.

Figures

FIGURE 10. Brachysandalus erythromelas (Walker, 1873), holotype, macropterous male, habitus, dorsal view.

FIGURE 11. Brachysandalus erythromelas (Walker, 1873), lectotype of Pirates (Brachysandalus) brevicoxis Stål, 1874, macropterous female, habitus. A, dorsal view; B, ventral view; C, lateral view. Scale bar = 3.00 mm.