Biobiocoris setosus Carvalho, 1985

Forero, Dimitri, 2009, Description of One New Species of Chileria and Three New Species of Orthotylus, with Nomenclatural and Distributional Notes on Neotropical Orthotylinae (Heteroptera: Miridae: Orthotylini), American Museum Novitates 3642, pp. 1-50 : 4-9

Biobiocoris setosus Carvalho

Figures 1 , 3–4

Biobiocoris setosus Carvalho, 1985: 253 [n. sp.]; Schuh, 1995: 83 [catalog].

DIAGNOSIS: Recognized by the uniform dark brown color (fig. 1); short and strongly transverse head (fig. 1); vestiture composed of simple bristlelike setae, and sericeous setae; genital capsule with reclined opening, located at the center, without tergal processes (fig. 3); left paramere trapezoidal, with a bifid process directed ventrally; vesica with two spicules; left spicule slightly sinuate, apically bifurcate, shorter ramus broad and denticulate, longer ramus hook-shaped; right spicule with three rami, basal and subbasal ones bifurcate, apical one simple.

DISTRIBUTION: Biobiocoris setosus is known from Valparaíso (Region V) through Los Lagos (Region X), including the Santiago Metropolitan Region, of Chile. This is the first time B. setosus has been recorded from Argentina, in the Neuquén Province (fig. 4).

DISCUSSION: Carvalho (1985) described the new genus and species Biobiocoris setosus from two localities in Chile: El Abanico, Bio Bio (Region VIII), and Vegas del Flaco, Cordillera de San Fernando, O’Higgins (Region VI). Several new localities (fig. 4) and detailed illustrations of the male genitalia are here provided for B. setosus (fig. 3). The paratype illustrated (fig. 3, AMNH_PBI 00190645) is topotypic with the holotype (cf. Carvalho, 1985: 253). The latter is deposited in the California Academy of Sciences, but was not available to me during this project.

In species of Orthotylini the vesica protrudes from the phallotheca through its opening. Nonetheless, the basal rami of vesica’s right spicule has the longer ramus usually coming off the aedeagus through the phallobase, not through the opening of the phallotheca (e.g., AMNH_PBI 00190645) (fig. 3), although this is not the case in all specimens examined (e.g., AMNH_PBI 00103758) (fig. 3). This situation is also common in species of Lopidella (M. D. Schwartz, personal commun.). It is not known what is causing this situation, or if having this large ramus coming through the phallobase is causing any damage to the conjunctiva.

There is also some variation regarding the curvature and serration of the basal and subbasal rami (fig. 3). This variation is found even in specimens of the same population and, therefore, is not considered species diagnostic.

I am placing Biobiocoris in the Orthotylus species group of Orthotylini because of the complex, heavily sclerotized vesica (see Schuh, 1974: 278). Affinities of Biobiocoris with other species of the Orthotylus group are unclear. Carvalho’s decision (1985) to treat this taxon as a monotypic genus is accepted here (see also Schuh, 1995, 2006a). Future research, in particular on the phylogenetic relationships among members of the Orthotylus species group ( Schuh, 1974), would help clarify the relationships of this taxon with other Orthotylinae .

Carvalho (1985) compared Biobiocoris with Melanotrichus Reuter and Incacoris Carvalho. He distinguished Biobiocoris from both genera only by head characters ( Carvalho, 1985). In addition, Incacoris has a different vesical structure ( Carvalho, 1961) and genital capsule. The aperture of the genital capsule in Incacoris is nearly vertical and circular, displaced to the right, with a dorsal process on the far left, next to a flat vertical area, and a small, acute process above the insertion of the left paramere (personal obs.). Biobiocoris lacks any processes on either the aperture or the dorsal surface of the genital capsule, and the aperture occupies a central position on the genital capsule. In Incacoris , the left paramere is elongate, apically notched, with a dorsal sensory lobe ( Carvalho, 1961), and without any ventral processes as in Biobiocoris . Because some authors consider Melanotrichus as a synonym of Orthotylus Fieber (e.g., Kerzhner and Schuh, 1995), further comparisons of Biobiocoris with Melanotrichus or Orthotylus (s.l.) are not adequate until a comprehensive study of Orthotylus and related groups is made on a world basis.

The ventral margin of the left paramere has a process with two prongs (fig. 3). A similar structure of the left paramere is present in some species of the New Zealand endemic genus Tridiplous ( Eyles, 2005) , for instance T. penmani (his fig. 63). Biobiocoris , nonetheless, has a different vesica structure with the left spicule apically bifurcated, while in species of Tridiplous the left spicule has a subbasal prolongation that is apically bifurcated. No known Neotropical Orthotylinae have a left paramere with a ventral bifid process, or similar vesical structure (e.g., Carvalho, 1984, 1985; Carvalho and Costa, 1992a, 1992b).

PARATYPES: CHILE: Bio-Bio [Region VIII: Biobio]: El Abanico , [37.33333 ° S 71.51667 ° W], 30 Dec 1950, Ross and Michelbacher, 13 ( AMNH _ PBI 00190645 ) ( USNM) . [Libertador General Bernardo O’Higgins – Region VI: Colchagua]: Vegas del Flaco, Cordilleras de San Fernando , [34.95 ° S 70.46666 ° W], Nov 1957, L. E. Peña, 13 ( AMNH _ PBI 00190646 ) ( USNM) .

OTHER SPECIMENS EXAMINED: ARGEN- TINA: Neuquen: Lago Lacar, Pucara, 40.18333 ° S 71.5 ° W, Jan 1952, N. Kormilev, 173 (AMNH_PBI 00080088–AMNH_PBI 00080104), 2♀ ( AMNH _ PBI 00080105 , AMNH _ PBI 00080106 ) ( UCB) . CHILE: Araucania – Region IX: Malleco: El Radal , 38.9833 ° S 72.4 ° W, 141 m, 28 Sep 1959, Unknown, 43 ( AMNH _ PBI 00103592 – AMNH _ PBI 00103595 ) , 18♀ ( AMNH _ PBI 00103622 – AMNH _ PBI 00103639 ) ( CNC) . Bio-Bio – Region VIII: Nuble: Las Trancas , Chillan , 36.92136 ° S 71.49416 ° W, 01 Feb 1983, L. Escobar and Veas, 33 ( AMNH _ PBI 00107640 – AMNH _ PBI 00107642 ) , 9♀ ( AMNH _ PBI 00107644 – AMNH _ PBI 00107652 ) ( USNM) ; 07 Jan 1991, L. E. Peña, 153 ( AMNH _ PBI 00190909 – AMNH _ PBI 00190923 ) , 27♀ ( AMNH _ PBI 00190924 – AMNH _ PBI 00190950 ) ( USNM) . Las Trancas , region andina, 36.92136 ° S 71.49416 ° W, 06 Feb 1966, L. E. Peña, 13 ( AMNH _ PBI 00107643 ) ( USNM) . Libertador General Bernardo O’Higgins – Region VI: Colchagua: Vegas del Flaco , Cordilleras de San Fernando , 34.95 ° S 70.46666 ° W, 29 Nov 1959, 133 ( AMNH _ PBI 00103579 – AMNH _ PBI 00103591 ) , 17♀ ( AMNH _ PBI 00103605 – AMNH _ PBI 00103621 ) ( CNC) ; Nov 1957, L. E. Peña, 1♀ ( AMNH _ PBI 00190647 ) ( USNM) . Los Lagos – Region X: Llanquihue: Hornohyinco [sic], S of Lago Chapo, 41.51865 ° S 72.45052 ° W, Nov 1968, L. E. Peña , 3♀ ( AMNH _ PBI 00190906 – AMNH _ PBI 00190908 ) ( USNM) . Maule – Region VII: Curico: La Jaula , los Quenes , 35.08333 ° S 70.8 ° W, 20 Jan 1991, L. E. Peña, 13 ( AMNH _ PBI 00107600 ) ( USNM) . Region Metropolitana De Santiago: El Manzano , 34.1 ° S 71.85 ° W, 06 Feb 1983, Madariaga, 23 ( AMNH _ PBI 00107630 , AMNH _ PBI 00107631 ) , 8♀ ( AMNH _ PBI 00107632 – AMNH _ PBI 00107639 ) ( USNM) . Valparaiso – Region V: C[err]o [de las] Vizcachas , 32.73333 ° S 70.51666 ° W, Dec 1982, R. Madariaga, 73 ( AMNH _ PBI 00190885 – AMNH _ PBI 00190891 ) , 9♀ ( AMNH _ PBI 00190894 – AMNH _ PBI 00190902 ) ( USNM) ; Dec 1982, J. Escobar, 23 ( AMNH _ PBI 00190892 , AMNH _ PBI 00190893 ) , 3♀ ( AMNH _ PBI 00190903 – AMNH _ PBI 00190905 ) ( USNM) . Guardia Vieja, Aconcagua , 32.9 ° S 70.2833 ° W, 22 Nov 1958, L. E. Peña, 73 ( AMNH _ PBI 00103572 – AMNH _ PBI 00103578 ) , 9♀ ( AMNH _ PBI 00103596 – AMNH _ PBI 00103604 ) ( CNC) .

Figures

Fig. 1. Dorsal habitus digital photographs. Biobiocoris setosus, Chileria andina, C. araucana, C. colla, C. pamparum, Hadronemella argentina, and Hyporhinocoris fratruelis. Specimens of H. fratruelis (A–D) show color and total length variation among males and females.

Fig. 3. Biobiocoris setosus. Male genitalia: aedeagus of two specimens in lateral left view showing vesica variation; left paramere; right paramere; genital capsule; and phallotheca in dorsal view.

Fig. 4. Distribution map of Biobiocoris setosus and Hyporhinocoris fratruelis.