Paratasmanicola inerma, Malipatil & O’Donnell, 2022

Malipatil, M. B. & O’Donnell, J. E., 2022, Paratasmanicola inerma gen. et. sp. nov. from Tasmania (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Rhyparochromidae), Zootaxa 5141 (2), pp. 192-198 : 197-198

Paratasmanicola inerma sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–8 )

Type specimens: Holotype female, AUSTRALIA, Tasmania: Hobart, Lea . Paratype male, same as holotype; both specimens card point-mounted, deposited in Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart ( TMAG) .

Description.

Body above generally ferruginous, becoming yellowish to testaceous on pronotal humeri, hemelytra predominantly testaceous, dark brown markings only as obscure marking on distal ½–1/3 of corium as in Fig. 1 , membrane smoky gray with contrasting pale areas along veins, anterior lobe area including calli but excluding anterior collar area almost black similar to head. Femora fuscous except apical and basal ends. Antennal segment 1, apical about ½ of 3 rd and 4 th fuscous, basal ½ of 4 th segment contrastingly pale. Abdomen below uniformly black with sericeous decumbent setae all over, above unevenly fuscous for most part but paler on basal tergites 2 and 3 and also apical area of tergite 7.

Vestiture short, pale upstanding hairs all over body, and appendages in addition with fine setal pale hairs. Clavus with 4 th row with 6–8 punctures between inner and median rows; corium sparsely punctate.

Measurements are of holotype female, followed by paratype male in parentheses.

Body length including wings 5.14 (4.75); maximum width across abdomen 2.09 (1.82).

Head above convex, almost parallel-sided in front of eyes and before antennifers ( Fig. 2 ), juga not reaching tip of tylus; bucculae produced anteriorly from level of antennifers, but posterior to antennifers gradually lowered to head surface and joined as V at about ½ head length; head length 0.78 (0.72); width across eyes 0.98 (0.91); interocular space 0.57 (0.53); interocellar space 0.38 (0.38); eye-ocellar space 0.08 (0.07); eye length 0.26 (0.26); eye width 0.19 (0.19). Antennae with 1 st segment exceeding head by about ½, 2 nd and 3 rd segments thinner than other segments, length of segments: I, 0.53 (0.49); II, 0.79 (0.79); III, 0.60 (0.57); IV, 0.72 (0.64). Labium with first segment almost reaching ½ length of head ( Fig. 2 ); length of segments: I, 0.50 (0.42); II, 0.53 (0.50); III, 0.53 (0.41); IV, 0.41 (0.32).

Thorax: Pronotum faintly carinate on lateral margin ( Fig. 2 ), constriction indistinct dorsally and laterally ( Figs. 1, 2 ); median length 0.98 (0.95); width at anterior margin 0.76 (0.68); width at posterior margin 1.82 (1.63). Scutellum roughly equilateral, broad ( Fig. 1 ); length 1.06 (0.95); width 0.98 (0.90). Legs with fore femora slightly more incrassate and shorter than mid and hind femora. Hemelytra macropterous, well exceeding abdomen; lateral margin of corium not exposing connexiva, slightly parallel for 1/3 length from base, rows of punctures on corium as in Fig. 1 ; length of hemelytra 3.80 (3.42); length of corium 2.85 (2.54); claval commissure 0.76 (0.72).

Abdomen: Male genitalia: Sternite 7 in male medially bilobed on posterior margin.

Pygophore ( Fig. 5 ) small and generally pale in colour; surface of posterior 1/ 3 in particular covered with fine pale pubescence; lower surface strongly produced posteriorly. Paramere sickle-shaped, blade broad and shallowly curved, apex slightly acutely produced ( Fig. 6 ). Aedeagus as in Figs. 7, 8 , with articulatory apparatus moderately sclerotized ( Fig. 8 , aa), phallotheca lightly sclerotized on ventral aspect ( Fig. 8 . ph). Ejaculatory reservoir with body (b) and wings (w) as in Figs. 7, 8 .

Female genitalia: Ovipositor and spermatheca not examined.

Etymology: Species name ‘ inerma’ is derived from ‘ inermis’ (Latin) unarmed—alluding to the unarmed fore femur.

Distribution. Australia (Tasmania).

Figures

FIGURES 1–4. Paratasmanicola inerma sp. nov. 1, holotype female, body, dorsal. 2, paratype male, anterior part of body, lateral. 3, paratype male, abdominal tergum. 4, anterior abdominal sternum, lateral. Scale bar: Fig. 1 = 0.5 mm; Figs. 2 & 3 = 0.2 mm.

FIGURES 5–8. Paratasmanicola inerma sp. nov., paratype male: 5, pygophore, dorsal view; 6, right paramere, ventral view; 7, 8 aedeagus. Abbreviations: aa, articulatory apparatus; b, body; co, conjunctiva; gp, gonoporal process; hp, helicoid process; ph, phallotheca; w, wing. Scale line: Figs. 5 & 8 = 0.1 mm; Fig. 6 = 0.05 mm.