Caura modesta Horváth, 1893

Kment, Petr & Rédei, Dávid, 2018, A revision of the types of Heteroptera species described by Géza Horváth based on specimens from collections of Ladislav Duda and Emil Holub, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 58 (1), pp. 275-295 : 287-288

Caura modesta Horváth, 1893

( Figs 50–52 )

Caura modesta Horváth, 1893: 256–257 (original description).

Caura modesta : LETHIERRY & SEVERIN (1893): 268 (catalogue); KIRKALDY (1909b): 70 (catalogue); SCHOUTEDEN (1909): 48 (list).

Caura (Caura) rufiventris modesta: LESTON & DUTTON (1957): 54 (taxonomy, distribution).

Antestia modesta: LINNAVUORI (1970): 115 (new combination, synonymy with Caura rufiventris intermedia rejected).

Parantestia modesta : LINNAVUORI (1974): 9, Figs 4 l, p (line drawings of head and spermatheca), 11 (new combination, inadvertant lectotype designation, compared to P. propinqua Linnavuori, 1974, type material).

Parantestia (Chromantestia) modesta : LINNAVUORI (1982a): 9 (zoogeography), 132–133 (subgeneric placement,key to species, line drawing of head and spermatheca, distribution).

Type locality. ‘Africa centralis (HOLUB).’ [= Southern and southern-central Africa between Cape Town and Kafue River, Zambia].

Type material examined. LECTOTYPE (designated by LINNAVUORI 1974: 11, as type): ♀ ( HNHM), ‘Holub [p, pink] // modesta [Horváth’s hw] / det. Horváth [p, “det.” corrected to “typ.” by hw of Horváth] / Caura / modesta Horv [Horváth’s hw] / Antestia / modesta / (Hv.) [Linnavuori’s hw]’ (pinned through scutellum, left fore leg, apex of right fore tibia, tibia and tarsus of left hind leg lacking, abdomen macerated, glued back to thorax, apical receptacle of spermatheca glued to card, pinned with the specimen) ( Figs 50–52 ).

Additional material examined. MOZAMBIQUE: bor. occ., 65 km S Vlóngné, 15°43′S 34°19′E, 1250 m a.s.l., 8.xii.2005, 1 ♀, J. Halada lgt. ( MMBC). REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: Congo Brazaville, Mission Chari-Tchad, vii.1904, 1, J. Decorse lgt. ( MNHN); Plato Bateke, Mbé, No. 692, on savannah, 14.i.1964, 1, Soil Zoological Expedition, Endrő- dy-Younga lgt. (1 HNHM); riverside of Congo 20 km W Brazzaville, Loc. No. 558, netted, 30.xii.1963, 2, Soil Zoological Expedition, Endrődy-Younga lgt. (1 HNHM, 1 NMPC – Figs 63–66 ). TANZANIA: Dar-es-Salam, 1 ♀, R. v.Bennigsen lgt.( NMPC). UGANDA: Ouganda, no details, 1906, 1 3 ♀♀, R. Oberthür coll. ( MNHN). ZAMBIA: bor. occ., 27 km N Kasempa, 10.xii.2004, 1 2 ♀♀, Snížek & Tichý lgt. (1 1 ♀ PKPC, 1 ♀ NHMW); bor. occ., 50 km W Chingola, 1.–2.i.2003, 1 ♀, J. Halada ( ZJPC);bor.occ., 190 km SW Solwezi, to Kasempa, 9.xii.2004, 1, Snížek & Tichý lgt. ( NHMW); bor.or., 30–60 km NW Mpiki, 24.xi.2004, 1 1 ♀, Snížek & Tichý lgt.( NHMW); bor.or., 50 km SW Luwingu, N Lake Bangweulu, 27.xi.2004, 1 2 ♀♀, Snížek & Tichý lgt.( NHMW); bor. or., 70 km S Mpika, 12°18′S 31°07′E, 1500 m a.s.l., 25.xi.2005, 1 spec., M. Halada lgt. ( ZJPC); centr., 45 km SE Kitwe, 12.–15.i.2013, 1, J. Halada lgt. ( ZJPC); centr., Kundalila Falls env., 20 km S of Kanona, 27.xi.2006, 5 5 ♀♀, Z. Jindra lgt. ( ZJPC); mer., 20 km W of Lusaka, 25.xi.2006, 1, Z. Jindra lgt. ( ZJPC); 30 km SE Choma, 27.xii.2002, 1, J. Halada lgt. ( ZJPC); occ., Kaoma env., 14°47′20″S 24°50′21″E, 13.–15.xi. 2006, 6 5 ♀♀, Z. Jindra lgt. ( ZJPC); occ., Nalweyl env., 80 km E of Mongu, 12.xi.2006, 1 1 ♀, Z.Jindra lgt.( ZJPC); occ., Nguluwe env., 30 km NNE of Kaoma, 13.xi.2006, 2 4 ♀♀, Z. Jindra lgt. ( ZJPC). ZIMBABWE: Salisbury [= Harare], Central Hospital, 1.xii.1969, 1, Z. Cakl ( MMBC).

Current status. New junior subjective synonym of Parantestia (Chromantestia) cincticollis ( Schaum, 1853) (see below).

Distribution of Parantestia cincticollis . Cameroon (LINNA- VUORI 1982a, as P. modesta ), Democratic Republic of the Congo ( BERGROTH 1891; DISTANT 1901; SCHOUTEDEN 1909, 1911, 1912, 1913b; LEHMANN 1922; MAYNÉ & GHESQUIÈRE 1934), Malawi ( DISTANT 1898), Mozambique ( SCHAUM 1853, 1862, both as Cimex cincticollis; type locality),? Nigeria ( MEDLER 1980, no exact record), Republic of the Congo (new record), Rwanda ( SCHOUTEDEN 1957), Tanzania ( HARRIS 1937; GREATHEAD 1966a,b; LINNAVUORI 1974),

Uganda ( HANCOCK 1926, KIRKPATRICK 1937, TAYLOR 1945, LEPELLEY 1959), Zambia ( LESTON 1952b), Zimbabwe (DIS- TANT 1898, LESTON 1952b). Record from Nigeria ( MEDLER 1980) may belong to P. propinqua Linnavuori, 1982.

Remarks. Caura modesta was described based on an unspecified number of female(s) ( HORVÁTH 1893). LINNAVUORI (1974: 9) cited the female deposited in the HNHM as follows: ‘Central Africa, 1 ♀, type, Holub, in Mus. Budapest’, and provided differential diagnosis and drawings based on it. The action of LINNAVUORI (1974) constitutes the valid lectotype designation under the Article 74.6 ( ICZN 1999).

For a long time, the species was mentioned only in catalogues ( LETHIERRY & SEVERIN 1893, KIRKALDY 1909b, SCHOUTEDEN 1909). As the species was compared with Caura rufiventris (Germar, 1838) in its original description, LESTON & DUTTON (1957) downgraded it to a subspecies of C. rufiventris, and considered C. intermedia Distant, 1901 as a junior synonym of C. rufiventris modesta. LINNAVUORI (1970) rejected this synonymy and transferred C. modesta to the genus Antestia Stål, 1865, pointing out its close relationship with A. cincticollis. In a subsequent paper, LINNAVUORI (1974), based on the study of a syntype, placed the species in Parantestia Linnavuori, 1973 , illustrated its head and spermatheca, and compared it with P. cincticollis and P. propinqua Linnavuori, 1974. LINNAVUORI (1975) proposed the subgenus Chromantestia Linnavuori, 1975 for Parantestia cincticollis species group (sensu LINNAVUORI 1974). Finally, LINNAVUORI (1982) keyed species of the subgenus Chromantestia , and provided the first exact locality of P. modesta based on one specimen from Cameroon of unspecified sex. LINNAVUORI (1974, 1982) provided the following distinguishing characters of P. modesta and P. cincticollis (the latter in parentheses): Body length 11.0 mm (12.0–13.5 mm); colouration more opaque (more shiny); clypeus parallel-sided (tapering apicad); head less emarginated at sides, broader (less emarginated at sides, narrower); pronotum ca. 2.35 times (ca. 2.12 times) as broad as long; punctures on hemelytra brown (black); spermatheca with tubules long and simple, apical section broad, without apical process (tubules shorter, provided with branches). The male of P. modesta remained undescribed.

During preparation of this manuscript, we examined three males from Congo-Brazzaville with body length 9.2–9.7 mm, corresponding to the female lectotype of P. modesta and its diagnostic characters provided by LINNA- VUORI (1974, 1982). The genitalia of these specimens (see Figs 63–66 ) matched well both the examined specimens of P. cincticollis from Zambia and the drawings of that species provided by LINNAVUORI (1974, 1982). Other characters used to differentiate the two species, i.e. the shape of head, clypeus, body size and black/brown puncturation of the hemelytra, is rather variable among the series of examined specimens. Finally, the processes of the apical receptacle of the spermatheca are subject of a broad individual variability in many Pentatominae and therefore they are not suitable for species delimitation (cf. MEMON et al. 2006, KMENT 2008, KMENT & JINDRA 2009). Accordingly, the following new subjective synonymy is established: Parantestia (Chromantestia) cincticollis ( Schaum, 1853) = Parantestia (Chromantestia) modesta ( Horváth, 1893) , syn. nov.

BERGROTH (1891: 208) described an unnamed variety of Antestia cincticollis from Kibanga, Central Africa: ‘Var.: Caput superne pallide luteum, basi anguste obscure viride. Macula magna postica hexagonalis pronoti secundum margines posticum et antico-laterales miniatolimbata. Corium vena externa miniata et macula purpurea ad angulum apicalem internum notatum.’ [Head dorsally pale yellow, basally narrowly dark green. Large posterior hexagonal spot, posterior and antero-lateral margins of pronotum bordered by scarlet. Costal vein of corium scarlet and inner apical margin marked by purple spot.] KIRKALDY (1909b: 128) proposed a formal new name, var. bergrothiana Kirkaldy, 1909 , for this variety. Judging from its description P. cincticollis var. bergrothiana falls within the range of variability of this species, therefore the following new subjective synonymy is proposed: Parantestia (Chromantestia) cincticollis ( Schaum, 1853) = Parantestia (Chromantestia) cincticollis var. bergrothiana Kirkaldy, 1909 , syn. nov.

Figures

Figs 50–62. Habitus and labels of type specimens.50–52 – Caura modesta Horváth, 1893 [= Parantestia cincticollis (Schaum, 1853)],♀, lectotype; 53–55 – Diloxys holubi Horváth, 1893 [= Coponia holubi],, lectotype; 56–58 – Menida distanti Horváth, 1893 [= Menida transversa transversa (Signoret, 1861)],, syntype; 59–62 – Stollia crucifera Horváth, 1893 [= Cosmopepla cruciaria Stål, 1872], ♀, neotype. Scale bars in mm. (Photo: D. Rédei).

Figs 1–4. Schematic maps of Emil Holub’s journeys in southern Africa. 1–3 – First journey (1872–1879): 1 – arrival / departure (1872 / 1878–79, yellow, ship route marked by a dashed line) and 1st expedition (1873, red); 2 – 2nd expedition (1873–74); 3 – 3rd expedition (1875–76). 4 – Second journey (1883–1887, train route marked by a dashed line). Based on Holub’s original maps (HOLUB 1880a,b, 1881a,b, 1890a,b), MLÍKOVSKÝ et al. (2011) and ŠÁMAL (2013).

Figs 63–66. Parantestia cincticollis (Schaum, 1853), structure of pygophore of a male specimen (Republic of the Congo, 20 km W Brazzaville, body length 9.7 mm), compared to female lectotype of Caura modesta Horváth, 1893, syn. nov. (63 – dorsal view, magnification 55×; 64 – ventral view, 55×; 65 – lateral view, 60×; 66 – caudal (most exposed) view, 60×). Scale bars: 0.5 mm. (ESEM micrographs: P. Kment).