Coptochilus morrisi Eger & Schmitz, 2020

Schmitz, Luís Ricardo, Barcellos, Aline & Eger, Joseph, 2020, Revision of Coptochilus (Heteroptera, Scutelleridae, Pachycorinae), Iheringia, Série Zoologia (e 2020021) 110, pp. 1-16 : 14-15

Coptochilus morrisi Eger & Schmitz sp. nov.

( Figs 10–12, 25–27, 40–42, 49, 63–65, 72, 80)

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:C78D36CD-3EA5-4092-AFD9- 7D12EA5FD91A

Coptochilus Neotropicsis EGER et al., 2015:761 (in part, typographical error, misidentification).

Type locality. French Guiana.

Relatively small compared with its congeners, yellowish-brown to orange, with six darker longitudinal stripes distributed on pronotum and scutellum; punctation moderately dense and mostly darker than surrounding surfaces. Venter uniformly light yellowish-brown to red, punctation less dense, unicolorous to clearly darker than the surrounding area ( Figs 10–12).

Head ( Figs 25–27). Pale yellow to red, with concolorous to dark brown punctation, clypeus and base of head darker than the remainder of head. Clypeus and mandibular plates strongly elevated anteriorly, mandibular plates converging at apex, their apices separated by about the width of second antennal segment or less ( Fig. 25). Antennae pale basally, becoming darker apically, particularly segments IV and V. Rostrum light yellow or red, segment IV and sometimes part of segment III darker.

Pronotum yellow to red with dark to concolorous punctation and six longitudinal stripes. Each lateral stripe extending onto cicatrices anteriorly (not reaching anterior margin of pronotum), reaching posterior margin of pronotum and expanding laterally onto humeri; each intermediate stripe reaching from posterior to anterior margin of pronotum; middle pair of stripes narrower than the other two, also not reaching anterior pronotal margin and separated from each other by pale impunctate line. Anterolateral margins of pronotum straight to shallowly convex. Scutellum similar in color to pronotum, six stripes originating at the anterior margin and extending posteriad for about 2/3 length of scutellum, then coalescing into a broad dark area on about posterior 1/3 of scutellum. Legs immaculate, concolorous with the remainder of venter.

Connexiva pale and uniformly colored, with shallow moderately dense punctation laterally, this usually darker than the rest of connexiva. Venter light yellow to red with unicolorous to slightly darker punctation. Sternite VII in females twice as long as sternite VI, almost twice as long in males. Male genitalia. Pygophore ( Figs 40–42). Ventral rim evenly concave ( Figs 40, 41), slightly sinuous in posterior view ( Fig. 42). Head of parameres curved, apex rounded ( Fig. 49). Phallus (unexpanded) ( Figs 63–65). Conjunctival processes I surpassing conjunctival processes III, broad, appearing somewhat sclerotized apically; conjunctival processes II sickle-shaped, thin, mostly sclerotized, extending apically as far as conjunctival processes I, a little broader than conjunctival processes II; conjunctival processes III right-angled, rounded at apex, half as long as conjunctival processes II. Distal part of aedeagus dilated with margins rounded.

Female genitalia ( Fig. 72). Laterotergites IX sub trapezoidal, narrowed laterally, anterior margin convex. Valvifers 8 relatively broad, posterior margins shallowly concave ( Fig. 72).

Male measurements (n=5). Total length 6.60–7.05; head: length 1.50–1.75, width 2.20–2.35; length of anteocular region 0.90–1.00; pronotum: length 1.90–2.30, width 3.85– 4.10; scutellum: length 3.80–4.30, width 3.65–4.00; median length of sternites VI–VII: 0.50–0.55, 0.85–1.00.

Female measurements (n=1). total length 7.20; head: length 1.80, width 2.40; length of anteocular region 1.00; pronotum: length 2.25, width 4.20; scutellum: length 4.50, width 4.05, median length of sternites VI-VII:0.45, 0.90;

Type material. Holotype ♂: a) FRENCH GUIANA, Amazone Nature Lodge, Kaw Rd. 6 , IX/1-12/2018, Morris & Wappes; b) N04°33.579ʼ W052°12.433ʼ, Elev. 977ʼ, MV Light (JEE, deposited in USNM) . Paratypes: ♂, ♀ same data as holotype (♂ JEE, ♀ JEE deposited in USNM) ; ♂, same data as holotype except for VI/19-31/2019 ( JEE deposited in FSCA) ; ♂ a) FR. GUIANA, Hwy ext. N 1, 20 km SE of St. Larent , 7-VI-1986, E. G. Riley & D. A. Rider; b) collected at mercury vapor ( DAR) ; ♂ a) FRENCH GUIANA: 17 km W of N2 on Belizon Rd. , 3-XII-2002, J. E. Eger; b) N04°17.825ʼ W052°22.218ʼ, 94 m, MV Light ( JEE).

Distribution. French Guiana ( Fig. 80).

Etymology. This species is named for Roy Morris, a friend and colleague who collected the holotype and three of the five paratypes.

Comments. This species resembles C. neotropicalis in having the pronotum and scutellum striped. It was misidentified as C. neotropicalis from French Guiana by EGER et al. (2015). It differs from that species by the mandibular plates converging apically with only a small space between them and by the male internal genitalia. One male specimen has dark punctation ventrally on head and thorax and the abdomen completely black ventrally except for a narrow pale band laterally and posteriorly. This may be a result of discoloration, but it appears to be natural coloration. We were not able to obtain fully expanded male internal genitalia and opted not to dissect the single female paratype.