Celantia wandelmanniae, Guilbert, Eric, 2006

Guilbert, Eric, 2006, New species and new records of Tingidae (Insecta: Heteroptera) of New Guinea, Zootaxa 1117, pp. 37-68 : 38-39

Celantia wandelmanniae sp. n. ( Figs. 1, 2 )

Material examined: 1M, New Guinea, NE, Wau, Edie Creek, 1200­ 220m, 23.XI.1963, J.L. Gressitt, BPBM. 3M + 4F, New Guinea, NE, Morobe Dist. Nr Bulolo gorge, 1100m, 10.IX.1971, Wandelmannia paniculata, W. Gagné, BPBM.

Description: Body rather stout, glabrous, shiny, uniformly yellowish brown; head, hind tarsi, and body beneath darker. Body length: M, 2.68; F, 2.78; width: M, 1.21; F, 1.38.

Head glabrous, armed with five long and slender spines directed forward; bucculae narrow, two to three areolae wide, open in front; third and fourth antennal segments missing in all specimens. Rostral sulcus straight and narrow, open behind; rostrum reaching the apex of metasternum.

Pronotum gibbose, tricarinate, carinae foliate, elevated, lateral carinae uniseriate, the areolae large, median carina uniseriate posteriorly and biseriate anteriorly, the basal areolae smaller; hood tectiform, large, six areolae long, slightly less higher than top of median carina; paranota raised, wide, mostly triseriate but biseriate at the anterior and posterior ends.

Hemelytra wider than pronotum, costal area widened at base, irregularly triseriate, the areolae round, boundary veins slightly raised; subcostal area narrower than costal area, biseriate, the areolae smaller; discoidal area large, as large as sutural area, seven to eight areolae wide at widest part in female and six to seven areolae wide in male; sutural area nine areolae wide at widest part, areolae as large as costal area.

Etymology: The name refers to the host plant where most of the specimens were found.

Comments: The female is larger than the male. This species differs from C. nitidula (Stål) and C. teres Drake by the shape of the hood and the larger hemelytra and paranota. Celantia nitidula has a biseriate costal area; Celantia teres has a triseriate subcostal area; Celantia creta Drake has a much wider costal area (5–6 areolae wide); and Celantia vagans (Distant) has a triseriate subcostal area, and a discoidal area five areolae wide. Also, some species of Tingis , such as coomani Drake and tonkinana Drake, are quite similar to Celantia species. They differ by the narrower carinae and paranota, the latter being closer to the pronotum. Prior to this study, only four extant species of Celantia were known, from Western Australia, the Indian peninsula, New Britain, and Bismarck. A fossil species (Oligocene), Celantia seposita Cockerell , is known from Wight island ( Australia).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 2. Celantia wandelmanniae sp. n., 1 — habitus, 2 — profile. Scale 1 mm.