Ellenbergeria, Heiss, 2016

Heiss, Ernst, 2016, New genera and species of Aradidae in Cretaceous Burmese Amber (Hemiptera: Heteroptera), Linzer biologische Beiträge 48 (1), pp. 419-429 : 423

Ellenbergeria new genus

Type species: Ellenbergeria oviventris nov.sp.

D i a g n o s i s: Differing from all known cretaceous Burmese amber Aradidae by a combination of characters: wide rounded clypeus, structure of antennae, trapezoidal pronotum, oval abdomen and laterally angularly produced corium only reaching apex of scutellum.

D e s c r i p t i o n: (Sub)-macropterous, small size less than 5mm; surface of body and appendages with fine granulation, corium with deep punctures, colouration uniformly dark brown, membrane hyaline.

H e a d: Longer than wide; clypeus apically enlarged and rounded, nearly reaching apex of antennal segment II; antenniferous lobes long and acute; antennae longer than width of head, segment I and III of subequal length, II longer than I, IV longest; rostrum as long as head arising from an open atrium.

P r o n o t u m: Trapezoidal, more than twice as wide as long, paranota and lateral margins roundly converging anteriorly; disk with 4 carinae; posterior margin concave.

S c u t e l l u m: Distinctly longer than wide, lateral margins carinate, apex rounded; disk with a median carina on anterior half.

H e m e l y t r a: Corium about as long as scutellum, truncate posteriorly; lateral margins angularly produced over abdomen; membrane with three distinct veins.

A b d o m e n: Elongate oval, lateral margins rounded, small triangular lateral expansions are visible on deltg VI-VIII; pattern of apodemal impressions not discernible.

V e n t e r: Sternites II-VII separated by transverse sutures; metathoracic scent gland structures not discernible.

L e g s: Unarmed; claws with pulvilli.

E t y m o l o g y: This interesting genus is dedicated to Siegfried Ellenberger, successfully searching and processing Burmese amber inclusions of Heteroptera , of which he made this specimen and many other bugs available for scientific study.

D i s c u s s i o n: Because of the combination of characters (see diagnosis), this taxon cannot be placed into one of the recognized extant subfamilies of Aradidae and does also not share essential characters of fossil Archearadinae. Its general habitus resembles that of Mezirinae genus Neuroctenus, shape of head that of Calisiinae and pronotum is very Aradus -like, the latter genus not possessing tarsal pulvilli. The laterally angularly expanded corium does not occur in extant Aradidae . An eventually necessary assignment to a new subfamily will be considered, when other conspecific inclusions are available for comparison.