Zelus cordazulus Zhang & Hart

Zhang, Guanyang, Hart, Elwood R & Weirauch, Christiane, 2016, A taxonomic monograph of the assassin bug genus Zelus Fabricius (Hemiptera: Reduviidae): 71 species based on 10,000 specimens, Biodiversity Data Journal 4, pp. 8150-8150 : 8150

Zelus cordazulus Zhang & Hart sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00046973 ; recordedBy: Wygodzinsky; sex: Adult Male; Taxon: scientificName: Zeluscordazulus; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang & Hart, 2016; Location: country: PERU; stateProvince: Huanuco; locality: Divisoria, Cordillera Azul ; verbatimElevation: 1300 m; decimalLatitude: -9.215; decimalLongitude: -75.846; georeferenceSources: Google Earth; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: 1947-05-01; Record Level: institutionCode: AMNH Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00009529 ; recordedBy: Ranile; sex: Adult Male; Taxon: scientificName: Zeluscordazulus; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang & Hart, 2016; Location: country: PERU; stateProvince: Huanuco; locality: Divisoria, Cordillera Azul ; verbatimElevation: 1300 m; decimalLatitude: -9.215; decimalLongitude: -75.846; georeferenceSources: Google Earth; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: 1947-05-01; Record Level: institutionCode: USNM Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00023701 ; recordedBy: Unknown; sex: Adult Male; Taxon: scientificName: Zeluscordazulus; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang & Hart, 2016; Location: country: PERU; stateProvince: Junin; locality: Chanchamayo ; decimalLatitude: -11.125; decimalLongitude: -75.357; georeferenceSources: Google Earth; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: no date provided; Record Level: institutionCode: RMNH Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00026168 ; recordedBy: Ranile; sex: Adult Female; Taxon: scientificName: Zeluscordazulus; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang & Hart, 2016; Location: country: PERU; stateProvince: Huanuco; locality: Divisoria, Cordillera Azul ; verbatimElevation: 1300 m; decimalLatitude: -9.215; decimalLongitude: -75.846; georeferenceSources: Google Earth; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: 1947-05-01; Record Level: institutionCode: USNM Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00029354 ; recordedBy: F. Woytkowski; sex: Adult Female; Taxon: scientificName: Zeluscordazulus; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang & Hart, 2016; Location: country: PERU; stateProvince: Cusco; locality: S. Amer, Santa Isabel, Valley of River Ccosnipata ; decimalLatitude: -13; decimalLongitude: -71.3; georeferenceSources: Gazetteer; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: 1952-01-02; Record Level: institutionCode: USNM Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00029355 ; recordedBy: F. Woytkowski; sex: Adult Female; Taxon: scientificName: Zeluscordazulus; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang & Hart, 2016; Location: country: PERU; stateProvince: San Martin; locality: 15 kms SE of Moyobamba ; verbatimElevation: 890 m; decimalLatitude: -6.09796; decimalLongitude: -76.8605; georeferenceSources: Google Earth; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: 1947-08-10; Record Level: institutionCode: USNM Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00071256 ; recordedBy: Weyrauch; sex: Adult Female; Taxon: scientificName: Zeluscordazulus; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang & Hart, 2016; Location: country: PERU; stateProvince: Huanuco; locality: Divisoria (Cordillera Azul) ; verbatimElevation: 1500 m; decimalLatitude: -9.219; decimalLongitude: -75.829; georeferenceSources: Google Earth; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: 1905-04-25; Record Level: institutionCode: TAMU

Description

Figs 60, 61, 62

Male: (Fig. 60a, b) Medium-sized, total length 14.80-15.07 mm (mean 14.94 mm, Suppl. material 2); slender. COLORATION: Head dark brown; yellowish patch between eye and ocellus; yellow, medial, longitudinal stripe on postocular lobe; ventral surface pale brown, lighter than dorsum. Pronotum and scutellum dark brown. Inconspicuous bands on legs. VESTITURE: Sparsely setose. Dorsum with moderately dense, short, recumbent setae and sparse, short, erect, somewhat spine-like setae; ventral surface with moderately dense, short, recumbent setae and few moderately long, erect, fine setae. Pronotum with very sparse, short, erect setae over dorsal surface, some setae curved apically, appearing recumbent; moderately dense, short to moderately long, recumbent setae on lateral surface and pleura, intermixed with semi-erect or erect setae; scutellum with sparse, semi-erect and recumbent setae. Legs with sparse setation on femora and moderately dense setation on tibiae. Corium and clavus with short, recumbent setae. Abdomen with moderately dense, short recumbent setae, intermixed with sparse, short to long, erect setae. STRUCTURE: Head: Cylindrical, L/W = 2.23. Postocular lobe long; in dorsal view distinctly narrowing through anterior 2/3, posterior 1/3 constant, tube-like. Eye prominent; lateral margin much wider than postocular lobe; dorsal margin attaining postocular transverse groove, ventral margin removed from ventral surface of head. Labium: I: II: III = 1: 1.8: 0.3. Basiflagellomere diameter larger than that of pedicel. Thorax: Anterolateral angle with inconspicuous subtuberculate projection; medial longitudinal sulcus evident throughout, deepening posteriorly. Posterior pronotal lobe with rugulose surface; disc distinctly elevated above humeral angle; humeral angle armed, with spinous processes. Scutellum moderately long; apex angulate, not projected. Legs: Slender. Hemelytron: Surpassing apex of abdomen by about length of abdominal segment seven; quadrate cell small and slender; Cu and M of cubital cell subparallel. GENITALIA: (Fig. 61) Pygophore: Elongate ovoid; lightly sclerotized expansion below paramere; not expanded laterally in dorsal view. Medial process cylindrical; slender; long, much longer than paramere; laterally compressed towards apex; anterior surface towards apex ridged; minute spicules on posterior surface; semi-erect; curved at middle; apex in posterior view acute, with small hooklike projection. Paramere: Cylindrical; short, not reaching medial process; directed posteriad; basally narrower; slightly curved ventrad; apical part very slightly enlarged. Phallus: Dorsal phallothecal sclerite shield-shaped; sclerotization reduced (yet not absent) on dorsal surface close to posterior margin of foramen; expansion of lateral margin at about mid-portion pronounced, covering lateral side of endosoma; apical portion of phallothecal sclerite gradually tapering, distinctly keeled medially, laterally flat, not forming angle; apex truncate; posterior margin of foramen broadly concave. Struts attached to dorsal phallothecal sclerite; apically separate, connected by bridge; basally separate. Basal plate arm moderately robust; separate; converging; in lateral view slightly curved; bridge short; extension of basal plate expanded laterally onto arm, covering more than 1/2 of arm, curved.

Female: (Fig. 60c, d) Similar to male, except for the following. Larger than male, total length 15.56-18.20 mm (mean 16.82 mm, Suppl. material 2). Dorsum nearly uniformly brown, lateral and ventral surfaces and legs yellowish; single dark spot on each abdominal segment.

Diagnosis

The nearly uniform brown dorsal coloration; the dorsum with short, erect, somewhat spine-like setae; and the posterior margin of the pronotum smoothly convex. The paramere short, broad; the apical part of medial process laterally compressed and ridged on the anterior surface; the posterolateral rim of pygophore with lightly sclerotized expansion below paramere; and the basal plate arm separate, not fused. In females the dorsum is nearly uniformly brown, the lateral and ventral surfaces yellowish, the legs apically reddish-brown, not conspicuously banded and the abdominal segment with single dark spot.

Etymology

Named after the type locality "Cordillera" in Peru.

Distribution

South America (Fig. 62). Known only from Peru.