Zelus filicauda Bergroth, 1893

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 filicauda Bergroth, 1893

Zelus filicauda Bergroth, 1893, p. 63, orig. descr.; Lethierry and Severin, 1896, p. 152, cat.; Wygodzinsky, 1949a, p. 49, checklist; Maldonado, 1990, p. 327, cat.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: recordedBy: G. Fallou; sex: Adult Male; otherCatalogNumbers: 259-95; Taxon: scientificName: Zelusfilicauda; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Bergroth, 1893; Location: country: ECUADOR; stateProvince: Loja; locality: Loja ; decimalLatitude: -4.003057; decimalLongitude: -79.207349; georeferenceSources: Google Earth; Identification: identifiedBy: ER Hart; dateIdentified: 1972; Record Level: institutionCode: Muséum national d'histoire naturelle Type status: Other material. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00019043 ; recordedBy: E. I. Schlinger & E. S. Ross; sex: Adult Male; Taxon: scientificName: Zelusfilicauda; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Bergroth, 1893; Location: country: ECUADOR; stateProvince: Tungurahua; locality: 13 mi W. Mera, Napo-Pastaza ; decimalLatitude: -1.4628; decimalLongitude: -78.28538; georeferenceSources: Google Earth; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2012; Event: eventDate: 1955-02-12; Record Level: institutionCode: CAS

Description

Figs 76, 77, 78

Male: (Fig. 76) Medium-sized, total length 12.71 mm (n=1, Suppl. material 2); slender. COLORATION: Nearly uniformly dark brown. Head dark brown; yellowish patch between eye and ocellus; inconspicuous, slender, medial yellow area on postocular lobe; ventral surface very slightly lighter than dorsal. Anterior pronotal lobe dark brown; posterior lobe slightly lighter than anterior lobe, somewhat reddish-brown; remainder of body surface and legs dark reddish-brown. VESTITURE: Sparsely setose. Head with moderately dense, short, recumbent on entire surface; dorsum also with short, spine-like setae, denser on anteocular lobe; ventral surface also with sparse, long, erect setae. Pronotum dorsal and lateral surfaces, pleura and sternites with short, recumbent setae and short to long, erect setae; recumbent setae dense on lateral surface of pronotum and pleuron; scutellum with sparse setation. Legs with sparse setation on femora and moderately dense setation on tibiae. Corium and clavus with sparse, short, recumbent setae. Abdomen with moderately dense, short, recumbent setae, intermixed with sparse, short to long, erect setae. Apical half of dorsal surface of paramere with moderately dense, medium-length, semi-erect setae. STRUCTURE: Head: Cylindrical, L/W = 2.03. 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: 1.7: 0.3. Thorax: Anterolateral angle bearing small 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, slightly projected upward. Legs: Slender. Hemelytron: Slightly surpassing apex of abdomen, not more than length of abdominal segment seven; quadrate cell small and slender; Cu and M of cubital cell subparallel. GENITALIA: (Fig. 77) Pygophore: Elongate ovoid; lightly sclerotized expansion below paramere; not expanded laterally in dorsal view. Medial process cylindrical; slender; long, longer than paramere; laterally compressed towards apex; anterior surface towards apex ridged; minute spicules on posterior surface; posteriorly directed; curved at middle; apex in posterior view acute, with small hooklike projection. Paramere: Cylindrical; moderately long, not reaching medial process; directed posteriad; basally slightly constricted; curved ventrad; apical part very slightly enlarged, apex rounded, somewhat truncate. Phallus: Dorsal phallothecal sclerite shield-shaped; expansion of lateral margin at about mid-portion pronounced; apical portion of phallothecal sclerite gradually tapering, distinctly keeled medially, laterally flat, not forming angle; apex acute; posterior margin of foramen concave. Struts attached to dorsal phallothecal sclerite; apically separate, connected by bridge; basally separate throughout. Basal plate arm moderately robust; separate; converging; in lateral view slightly curved; bridge extremely short; extension of basal plate expanded laterally onto arm, covering more than 1/2 of arm, curved.

Female: Unknown.

Diagnosis

Recognized by the entire body dark brown, the posterior pronotal lobe slightly lighter and somewhat reddish, the legs without bands; the humeral angle projected into spinous process. Distinguished among species of the Zelus panamensis species group by the curved medial process (Fig. 12).

Distribution

South America (Fig. 78). Known only from Ecuador.