Neomacrocoris handlirschi (Montandon, 1909)

Mbogho, Aaron Y. & Sites, Robert W., 2013, Naucoridae Leach, 1815 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) of Tanzania, African Invertebrates 54 (2), pp. 513-513 : 533-534

Neomacrocoris handlirschi (Montandon, 1909)

Figs 28 , 30

Macrocoris handlirschi Montandon, 1909: 55–57 .

Neomacrocoris handlirschi: Montandon 1913 a: 22 : 332.

Neomacrocoris handlirschi armatus Poisson, 1948 : Sites & Mbogho 2012: 10–15 (junior synonym).

Diagnosis: This species may be distinguished from all Tanzanian congeners by dorsal vestiture; in addition to elongate thin hairs on the hemelytra, shorter, thicker hairs are sparsely but generally distributed, including on the embolium, corium, clavus, membrane, and scutellum ( Fig. 28 ). Further, there is slight flattening of the pronotum and consistency in embolar curvature. Condition of the phallosoma and pseudostrigil ( Sites & Mbogho 2012: figs 11, 12) are diagnostic for the male. The female subgenital plate is gently sinuate to the distal spatulate process and the posterolateral corners of mediosternite VI are slightly expanded and deflexed.

Lectotype (examined): [ SOUTH AFRICA: Eastern Cape:] ‘ Algoa Bay [33°40'S 25°50'E], Capland, Dr. Brauns, 25 5 [18]98/ Macrocoris handlirschi Montandon type 1909’ ( NHMW; ♀).

Material examined: TANZANIA: Kigoma Region: Gombe National Park, Mitumba stream, 4°38.405'S 29°37.823'E, 776 m, 29.vii.2010, R.W. Sites & A. Mbogho, heavily vegetated narrow forest stream, L-1174 (UMC; 7♂, 5♀, 6 nymphs). Rukwa Region: Msanzi River at Msanzi, 8°11.411'S 31°31.295'E, 1778 m, 2.viii.2010, R.W. Sites & A. Mbogho, rocks, mud, gravel, sand, marginal grasses, L-1202 (UMC; 2♂, 1♀). Extralimital material examined: CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Béboura-Bossanggoa, 1 June 1973, Linnavuori (NMWC; 1♂). DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO: Kinshasa Prov., Brique River at Kimwenza, 4°27.876'S 015°16.649'E, 318 m, 2.viii.2012, Sites, Shepard, Pwema, Siasia, small heavily vegetated stream with sandy-mud substrate, L-1424 (UMC; 5♂, 2♀); Matadi, 1937, Dr. Dartevelle / Poisson to Drake Coll 1979 (USNM; 1♂); Musée du Congo, Katanga: Kazenza, 19 August 1931, G. F. de Witte, R. Det. 7126 B (RMCA; 2♀); Congo Belge: Poisson to Drake Coll 1979 (USNM; 2♂); P.N.U., Lusinga (Kamalongiru), 22 June 1945, G. F. de Witte:154 / R. Poisson det., 1951, Neomacrocoris handlirschi handlirschi Mont. (NMWC; 1♂); P.N.U., Lusinga (1760 m), 20 March 1947, Mis. G.F. de Witte: 79a / R. Poisson det., 1951, Neomacrocoris handlirschi handlirschi Mont. (NMWC; 1♀). CONGO: Poisson to Drake Coll 1979 (USNM; 1♂). [ UGANDA]:Albert Nyanza N.E. Riv.Waki,Alluoud 1909 / Neomacrocoris handlirschi Montand det. Montandon 1913 / Poisson to Drake Coll 1979 (USNM; 1♂). [ ZAMBIA]: Kaombe, 11062010#1 ( PRC; 1♀). [ ZIMBABWE]: Salisbury, Mashonald. 1898 (BMNH; 1♂); S. Rhodesia, Inyangombi Falls Inyanga, 15 ii 1948, Mr. & Mrs. Omer-Cooper, B.M. 1969-138 (BMNH; 1♂, 3♀; UMC, 1♀); Inyamaziwa, Inyanga, TMSA (TMSA; 2♂, 4♀; UMC, 1♀).

Distribution: The species occurs from eastern Sudan (Linnavuori 1981) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda south to South Africa.As such, N. handlirschi and N. parviceps might have the widest distribution of any species of Neomacrocoris . In Tanzania, Poisson (1963) reported N. handlirschi from the Usambara Mountains. We collected N. handlirschi syntopically with N. bondelaufa at L-1202 and with N. parviceps at L-1174 and 1202. All three species were collected together in the Msanzi River in Rukwa Region (L-1202). This species was collected in densely vegetated stream margins with muddy/gravelly substrate.

Discussion: This species originally was described as M. handlirschi from southern South Africa (Montandon 1909). Four years later, this and two other species of Macrocoris were transferred to the new genus Neomacrocoris by Montandon (1913 a). Montandon (1909) described the species from a series but did not designate a type specimen. Sites and Mbogho (2012) located a single syntype in the Naturhistoriches Museum in Vienna and designated it as the lectotype. Poisson (1948 b) reported that the species has a wide size range of 8.5–10 mm length and 5.2–5.3 mm width. Poisson (1948 b) also noted a slight indication of a posterior transverse furrow of the pronotal disc.

N. handlirschi var. armatus was described by Poisson (1948 b) from seven localities in the Belgian Congo and distinguished from the nominate form by the presence of denticles on the left medial lobe of the 7 th abdominal tergum in males. This variety was considered a valid subspecies because it was described prior to 1961 (ICZN 1999). Sites and Mbogho (2012) discovered both subspecies co-occurring in a stream in Gombe National Park and synonymised N. h. armatus with the nominotypical subspecies. As a consequence, there are no longer subspecific designations for N. handlirschi .

Non-genitalic attributes are available to characterize this species, including pronotum flattening and short, thick setae on the scutellum, embolium, clavus, corium, and membrane. Female specimens from our collections from Tanzania and others from Zambia, Zimbabwe, and northeastern and western Democratic Republic of the Congo have the posterolateral corners of mediosternite VI slightly expanded and deflexed. Females from elsewhere in the range of this species do not exhibit the expanded, deflexed corners of female mediosternite VI.

Figures

Figs 23–29. (23) Neomacrocoris parviceps parviceps, (24) Neomacrocoris parviceps ocellatus, (25) Neomacrocoris usambaricus, (26) Neomacrocoris bondelaufa, (27) Neomacrocoris vuga, (28) Neomacrocoris handlirschi, (29)Neomacrocoris karimii.Sizes areproportionate among figures.(Figs 24–30 reproduced from Sites & Mbogho (2012), with permission by Magnolia Press.)

Fig.30.Distribution maps of13 speciesof Naucoridae known from Tanzania.Notincluded is Neomacrocoris usambaricus, which was recorded from West Usambara. (Map for N. bondelaufa and N. vuga is reproduced from Sites & Mbogho (2012), with permission by Magnolia Press.)