Panstrongylus noireaui, Gil-Santana & Chavez & Pita & Panzera & Galvão, 2022

Gil-Santana, Helcio R., Chavez, Tamara, Pita, Sebastian, Panzera, Francisco & Galvao, Cleber, 2022, Panstrongylus noireaui, a remarkable new species of Triatominae (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) from Bolivia, ZooKeys 1104, pp. 203-225 : 203

Panstrongylus noireaui sp. nov.

Figs 1 -11

Type material.

Bolivia, La Paz Department, Ildefonso de las Muñecas Province, Ayata locality, community of Camata (15°14'22"S, 68°44'52"W), 2004, Holotype, male [13177, CTIOC]. Paratypes 2 male [13178, 13179, CTIOC], 2 female paratypes [13180, 13181, CTIOC].

Diagnosis.

Panstrongylus noireaui sp. nov. can be morphologically separated from P. rufotuberculatus mainly by the lateral processes of endosoma, which are smooth in the former and with numerous and delicate teeth at apical portion in the latter species. Additionally, whilst the elongate process which is present on the ventral portion of the lateral flap like prominences of the dorsal phallothecal plate is thinner and almost straight in P. noireaui sp. nov., it is curved and larger in P. rufotuberculatus .

Description.

Male. Figs 1 , 3 - 11 . Measurements are given in Table 1 . Coloration (Fig. 1 ). General coloration brownish black to blackish with orange to yellowish and reddish markings on portions of body, whereas the hemelytra are pale greenish with extensive darkened markings. Head: blackish, clypeus reddish on approximately its apical half; a red brownish median longitudinal band, which runs from the space between ocelli to anterior portion, near antennifer tubercles, where it diverges laterally, forming a figure similar to a “T” or a “Y”; area around dorsal portion of eyes with same coloration; mandibular plates, apex of labial segment IV, lateral and ventral portions of collum somewhat paler, red brownish to yellow-brownish, respectively. Thorax: blackish; fore lobe of pronotum with anterolateral angles, discal and lateral tubercles and a straight marking above the latter, and dorsal surface of humeral angles reddish; hind lobe of pronotum with the following orange yellowish markings: a pair of small irregular spots, on anterior portion of submedian carinae, adjacent to transverse sulcus; a somewhat large pair, in which each spot lies between submedian carinae and humeral angle on posterior half, a larger posterior median suboval spot, which ends on posterior margin; a very thin stripe on posterior margin which becomes somewhat larger at the end of submedian carinae on posterior margin and interrupted sublaterally. Rounded reddish to yellow reddish spot on supracoxal lobes, larger on fore lobe and progressively somewhat smaller on middle and hind lobes; a median yellowish marking on posterior margin of mesosternum adjacent to metasternum. Scutellum with posterior process reddish. Legs: blackish to black brownish; trochanters with external portion, mainly adjacent to femora, yellowish; extreme base of femora, adjacent to respective trochanter, somewhat paler; apex of femora reddish on dorsal and lateral surfaces; base of segment II of all tarsi somewhat paler. Hemelytra: greenish or pale green with extensive blackish to brownish markings in a mottled pattern, including larger dark spots on basal, lateral, and apical portions of corium; brownish spots on basal portion of membrane cells and darkened lines and connecting spots over, parallel or between veins of corium. Abdomen. Connexivum segments with a reddish tint; each segment with a large median subquadrate to subrectangular blackish spot, which is smaller and subtriangular on segment II, and is located on mid portion of basal half on the last segment; these large median black spots reach outer margin of connexivum and its medial suture on ventral portion, but are far from the medial suture in dorsal portion for a distance approximately the same as transverse width of the spot; portion between the black median spot and medial suture brownish; in the last segment, a small and faint dark spot on its median portion, distally; additionally, each connexival segment with a basal thin blackish stripe and distally pale to yellowish; the basal dark stripe variably enlarged on inner portion, except on segment II. Sternites blackish to brownish black with spiracles and area just around them yellowish. Genital segments darkened. Vestiture: body integument covered with numerous adpressed golden, yellowish, or somewhat darkened simple setae (Fig. 3 ). Head with short adpressed golden setae, which are absent or very sparse on dorsal blackish portion between eyes. Antennae: segment I with numerous adpressed darkened setae, sparser on ventral side and more numerous on apical margins of dorsal side of the segment; segment II covered with curved somewhat more elongate setae and very numerous, short, thin, whitish setae on anterior and ventral portions; segment III covered with very numerous, short, thin, whitish setae and sparser long, darkened, almost straight setae; segment IV absent. Labium covered by longer, thin, curved setae, which are progressively more numerous towards apical portion of segment III and segment IV; labial segment IV with scattered longer setae too. Neck glabrous. Thorax and abdomen covered with short adpressed golden setae, which become somewhat thinner and paler on ventral portions of thorax, sternites and femora; glabrous areas on smooth portions of fore lobe of pronotum, mid and distal portion of clavus of hemelytra, lateral portions of mesosternum and irregular lateral areas of sternites; membrane of hemelytra completely glabrous. Tibiae and tarsi with more numerous, thicker, and darker setae, which become somewhat reddish on apex of tibiae and tarsi, ventrally, where they are a little longer and even more numerous too. Laterobasal small patches of very thin and numerous short yellowish setae on metasternum and sternite II, just below middle and hind coxae. Structure: Head: with rugous integument; slightly shorter than pronotum (ratio head/pronotum length: 1:1.08-1.09); longer than larger (ratio head length/width across eyes: 1: 0.67-0.7); anteocular portion length between 3-4 × the postocular region, with respective ratio: 1:0.28-0.30; eyes globose, in lateral view slightly surpassing level of ventral margin but not reaching dorsal outline of head; ratio width of an eye/interocular transverse distance (synthlipsis): 1:1.84-2.4; clypeus larger on posterior half, with anterior margin almost transversely straight. Antennae: ratio of antennal segments (I-III): 1:2.87-3.3:2.5; segment I not surpassing clypeus, somewhat curved and thickened to the apex; segments II and III subcylindrical, the latter thinner than the former; segment IV absent in all specimens. Dorsal area in which there is a median longitudinal brownish to reddish band, with integument more rugous and somewhat elevated, mainly on the divergent anterior branches. Labium straight, reaching stridulatory sulcus at its anterior half, ratio of segments: 1:2.3-2.7:0.7-0.8. Thorax: anterior collar well developed, with integument very finely rugous, subrounded anterolateral angles prominent, compressed dorsoventrally; integument of fore lobe of pronotum almost only rugous on its ridges, on which setae are present; discal and lateral tubercles prominent, rounded; a very shallow crest above lateral tubercles; transverse (interlobar) sulcus large and deep; longitudinal median sulcus linear, extending from anterior margin of fore lobe to approximately basal third of hind lobe of pronotum; hind lobe of pronotum ~ 2.5 × as long as fore lobe, with integument coarsely rugous; submedian carinae shallow, a little larger on basal third; humeral angles prominent somewhat subangular; pleural and sternal integument slightly rugous, completely smooth and shiny on lateral portions of meso-and metasternum; mesosternum with a conical, prominent median protuberance. Scutellum subtriangular with shallow carinae, integument rugous; apex of its process small and rounded. Hemelytra not attaining tip of abdomen by a short distance. Fore trochanter with a basomedial small spine on anterior portion, adjacent to anterior edge of fore coxa. Femora somewhat thickened; fore femora 4.7-4.8 × as long as wide; at apex of all femora, a pair of very small laterodorsal prominences; on ventral submedian distal portion of fore and middle femora, laterally to small shallow glabrous areas, a pair of small prominences variably developed, as small teeth with a terminal seta in the paratypes and sometimes united by a thin shallow ridge. Tibiae straight, thinner; fore tibia thicker at apex, with a mesal distal comb and four to five short spines on distal fifth, ventrally, which may be not easy to distinguish from the very numerous and thicker setae implanted in this portion of the segment; middle tibiae very slightly thicker at apex; spongy fossa very small, with ~ 7-8% (foreleg) to 5-6.5% (middle leg) of respective tibial length. Abdomen: sternites somewhat flattened on median portion; integument finely striated transversely; spiracles small, very close to connexival suture. Male genitalia (Figs 4 - 11 ): pygophore sub-squared; parameres apices close in resting position. Median process of pygophore weakly sclerotized, subtriangular, pointed to apex (Fig. 6 ). Parameres symmetrical, curved, with a subapical very small sclerotized pointed and curved tooth; several setae on outer and inner surface of distal two thirds (Figs 4 , 5 ). Phallus with articulatory apparatus moderately short, basal plate arms (bpa) slightly converging towards apex; basal plate bridge (bpb) and median bridge (mb) narrow; pedicel (pd) subretangular (Figs 7 , 8 ). Dorsal phallothecal plate (dpp) somewhat enlarged to the apex, suboval in shape (Fig. 8 ), with a pair of lateral flap like prominences (flp) at apex; its intermediate portion (ip), between apical half of flap like prominences and main portion of phallothecal plate, much less sclerotized (Figs 7-9 ); on the ventral portion of the lateral flap like prominence, a moderately elongate process (ep) is present (Figs 8-9 ); struts (st) subparallel, united at base, somewhat diverging to the apex, in which they are separated (Fig. 8 ). Endosoma with pair of lateral smooth processes (lp) on approximately median portion (Figs 7 , 10 ) and a subapical median (sp) moderately developed process, which has fine stripes on posterior view (Figs 7 , 11 ).

Female. Fig. 2 . Measurements in Table 2 . Similar to male. Coloration (Fig. 2 ): mandibular plates darkened; because the last segment of connexivum is shorter than in male, the subquadrate median blackish spot is almost centrally located, similarly to the similar same spots of the other segments. Genital segments darkened, with apical portion paler. Structure: ratio head/pronotum length: 1:1.06; anteocular portion length between 3-4 × the postocular region with respective ratio: 1: 0.26-0.30; ratio head length/width across eyes: 1:0.66-0.69; ratio width of an eye/interocular transverse distance (synthlipsis): 1:2.6; antennal segments ratio: 1:3.1-3.4 [segments III-IV absent in all female specimens]; labial segments ratio: 1:2.5-2.9:0.7-0.9; hind lobe of pronotum ~ 2 × as long as fore lobe. Fore femora 4.9-5.1 as long as wide; spongy fossae absent. Female genitalia: dorsal view: tergites VII, VIII, IX and X distinctly separated from each other; posterior margins of tergite VII and VIII somewhat concave and slightly curved at median portion, respectively; size of segment X ~ 1/3 that of the preceding segment (IX), both forming a set with subtrapezoidal shape. Ventral view: posterior margin of sternite VII curved backwards on median portion; gonocoxites VIII subtriangular, apical margins rounded; sternites IX barely visible; gonapophysis VIII short, apices rounded. Posterior view: gonocoxites VIII elongate, narrow, slightly wider at median portion; posterior margin of tergite IX well marked, clearly separating it from the following segment (X), these segments combined longer than wide and turned down, perpendicular to the plane of the body.

Distribution.

Bolivia.

Etymology.

The species is named in memory to Dr. François Noireau, a prolific researcher in ecology of Triatominae , who passed away in 2011.

Comments.

With exception of the absence of spongy fossa in the female, which is recorded for most species of Triatominae , including P. rufotuberculatus ( Lent and Wygodzinsky 1979), the subtle differences recorded here between males and females, if attributable to intraspecific or sexual variation, will only be known if (or when) more specimens are examined in the future.

Figures

Figures 1 - 6. Panstrongylus noireaui sp. nov. 1, 2 habitus, dorsal view 1 male holotype 2 female paratype 3 body seta 4, 5 left paramere 4 ventral view 5 dorsal view 6 median process of pygophore, dorsal view. Scale bars: 5.0 mm (1, 2); 0.5 mm (4, 5); 0.2 mm (6); 0.04 mm (3).

Figures 7 - 11. Panstrongylus noireaui sp. nov., male genitalia. 7 phallus, lateral view 8 articulatory apparatus, dorsal phallothecal plate and struts, dorsal view 9 latero-apical portion of dorsal phallothecal plate (flap like prominence), ventral view 10 lateral process of endosoma, lateral view 11 median process of endosoma, posterior view. Abbreviations: bpa basal plate arm, bpb basal plate bridge, dpp dorsal phallothecal plate, ep elongate process, flp lateral flap like proeminence, ip, intermediate less sclerotized portion, lp lateral process of endosoma, mb median bridge, pd pedicel, sp subapical median process of endosoma, st struts. Scale bars: 0.5 mm (7, 8); 0.2 mm (10); 0.1 mm (9, 11).