Avititerra lepidothrix, Symonds & Cassis, 2018

Symonds, Celia L. & Cassis, Gerasimos, 2018, Systematics And Analysis Of The Radiation Of Orthotylini Plant Bugs Associated With Callitroid Conifers In Australia: Description Of Five New Genera And 32 New Species (Heteroptera: Miridae: Orthotylinae), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2018 (422), pp. 1-229 : 67-69

Avititerra lepidothrix , new species

Figures 11 , 12 , 15 ; map 1

DIAGNOSIS: Defined by the following characters: eyes medium; labium extending only to mesocoxae; dorsum bright yellow-green; cuneus with yellow inner margin and tip; forewing membrane uniformly dark gray-brown, veins— major vein concolorous with membrane, inner vein orange-yellow; dorsum with medium- to dark-brown scalelike setae; pygophore dorsal margin moderately concave, without any tergal process, with membranous proctiger covering phallotheca and aedeagus; left paramere, sensory lobe greatly enlarged and bulbous with large spinelike serrations on outer margin, apophysis broad with uniform width to apex; right paramere apex not curved inward, with moderately elongate round apex and small subapical/medial dorsal lobe, both sparsely serrate; phallotheca with fully sclerotized apex; aedeagus with PES bifurcate with both branches smooth at apex and ventral branch curved and subapically serrate, DES2 unbranched with apex downturned, DES1 unbranched with short medial processes; female interramal lobes with elongate and broad inner branch, two basal lobes.

DESCRIPTION: Male: Small size, elongate slender body, lateral margins of hemelytra not curved ventrally, body length 3.03–3.45 mm, pronotal width 0.85–0.94 mm. COLORATION: Dorsum, overall bright yellowish green; head, antennae, mesoscutum, and scutellum sometimes faded to yellow; two apical antennal segments darkened; cuneus with inner margin and tip yellow; forewing membrane uniform dark gray-brown; forewing membrane veins, inner vein orange-yellow, major vein mostly concolorous with membrane and dark gray-brown (fig. 12). VESTITURE: Dorsum with lightbrown simple setae and medium- to darkbrown scalelike setae (fig. 12). STRUCTURE: Head: Eyes midsize, two-thirds height of head, weakly exerted from outline of head and extending just moderately beyond anterolateral angle of pronotum (fig. 12); labium moderately short, extending only to anterior margins of mesocoxae. Pronotum: Trapezoidal, narrow; 1.3× wider than head; lateral margins angled ca. 30° to midline. Mesoscutum and scutellum: Mesoscutum one-third length of scutellum, sometimes partially hidden under pronotum. GENITALIA: Pygophore: Dorsal margin of genital opening moderately concave, margin round, without any tergal processes; phalloguide with lightly sclerotized right lateral margin ventrad to right paramere articulation; phallotheca and aedeagus covered with membranous proctiger (fig. 15A). Left paramere: L-shaped; strongly expanded medially, sensory lobe prominent, greatly expanded and bulbous, with few large spinelike serrations on margin; apophysis moderately elongate, moderately broad, uniform width to apex, connected to sensory lobe at 90° angle; apex truncate, round with weakly recurved hook (fig. 15B, C). Right paramere: C-shaped; apex not curved inward; apex round, forming moderately elongate lobe, with few large spinelike serrations on mesiolateral surface; subapical to medial dorsal margin expanded, forming small lobe projected dorsally, with few small spinelike serrations on inner surface; mesiolateral surface not excavated (fig. 15D). Phallotheca: Apex round, fully sclerotized; lateral/dorsal margins reduced (fig. 15E). Aedeagus: Spicule arrangement and orientation as in generic description (fig. 15); PES bifurcate in distal third, branches subequal in length and tapering to narrow pointed apex, ventral branch with apex curved downward and margins serrate after bifurcation and then smooth to apex, dorsal branch margins smooth; DES2 unbranched, apex curved downward and sparsely serrate; DES1 unbranched, apex tapering and serrate, three short medial processes, one smooth and two apically serrate, with short basal keel (DESk) (fig. 15F).

Female: As in generic description, body length 2.93–3.40 mm, pronotal width 0.88–0.92 mm. GENITALIA: Interramal lobes (IRL) bisected medially with inner branch elongate and broad with bulbous round apex, longer than outer branch, margins and surface of IRL covered with minute spinelike serrations; IRL with two moderately large and distantly spaced spiniferous basal lobes, inner lobe only sparsely serrate on margin (not illustrated).

ETYMOLOGY: Named for the adpressed, scalelike setae present on the dorsum. Noun in apposition.

HOST PLANTS: Known from Callitris pyramidalis and C. roei (table 2).

HOLOTYPE: AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: 8.6 km S of Ravensthorpe on Hopetoun Road , 33.61625 ° S 120.1345 ° E, 500 m, 06 Dec 1997, Schuh, Cassis, Brailovsky, Asquith, Callitris roei , det. WA Herbarium PERTH 05055466, 1♂ ( AMNH _ PBI 00000090 ) ( WAMP).

PARATYPES: AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: 8.6 km S of Ravensthorpe on Hopetoun Road, 33.61625 ° S 120.1345 ° E, 500 m, 06 Dec 1997, Schuh, Cassis, Brailovsky, Asquith, Callitris roei , det. WA Herbarium PERTH 05055466, 1♂ ( AMNH _PBI 00000087), 3♀ ( AMNH _PBI 00000089, 00000091, 00000093) ( AM), 1♀ ( AMNH _PBI 00003931) ( AMNH), 1♂ ( AMNH _PBI 00000092) ( WAMP). 31 km WNW of Gingin, 31.23067 ° S 115.6 ° E, 110 m, 09 Dec 1997, Schuh, Brailovsky, Actinostrobus pyramidalis , det. WA Herbarium, 2♂ ( AMNH _PBI 00003971, 00003972), 2♀ ( AMNH _PBI 00003976, 00003977) ( AM), 4♂ ( AMNH _PBI 00003967–00003970), 7♀ ( AMNH _PBI 00003978- AMNH _PBI 00003984) ( AMNH), 1♂ ( AMNH _PBI 00003966), 3♀ ( AMNH _PBI 00003973–00003975) ( WAMP).

OTHER SPECIMENS EXAMINED: AUSTRA- LIA: Western Australia: 8.6 km S of Ravensthorpe on Hopetoun Road, 33.61625 ° S 120.1345 ° E, 500 m, 06 Dec 1997, Schuh, Cassis, Brailovsky, Asquith, Callitris roei , det. WA Herbarium PERTH 05055466, 2♀ (AMNH_PBI 00000094, 00000086) (AM). 10.7 km S of Cataby on Brand Hwy, 31.25855 ° S 115.82047 ° E, 57 m, 08 Aug 2005, G. Cassis, Actinostrobus pyramidalis , det. WA Herbarium PERTH 07620330, 1♀ (AMNH_PBI 00021802) (AM).

DISTRIBUTION: Known from three localities in southwesterm Western Australia, around Perth, and on the south coast (map 1). Collected with B. actinostrobi (table 2).

REMARKS: Avititerra lepidothrix is most easily distinguished externally from A. xerophila by the

brown scalelike setae on the dorsum, the brighter and more yellowish-green coloration, the cuneus not entirely concolorous with the hemelytron, with a yellow inner margin and tip, the hemelytral membrane darker and more gray brown with the inner vein orange-yellow, the strongly reflexed lateral hemelytral margins, the concave and round dorsal margin of the pygophore, the lack of a tergal spine, and the proctiger membranous without serrations covering the phallotheca and aedeagus. The major male genitalic characters that distinguish this species from A. xerophila are the fully sclerotized apex of the phallotheca (fig. 15E), the unbranched DES 1 and DES2 spicules (fig. 15F), PES without small threadlike processes apically on the dorsal branch, and the ventral branch serrate after the point of bifurcation and then smooth to the apex. In females the interramal lobe has an elongate inner branch and two basal lobes (not illustrated). See also remarks below for A. xerophila .

Figures

FIG. 11. Callitroid Orthotylini + Naranjakotta sidnica. Generic overview of aedeagus and arrangement of endosomal spicules. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.

FIG. 12. Avititerra, Blattakeraia, and Ngullamiris species, dorsal habitus photographs of males. A. Wing membrane without subcuneal clear spot. B. Wing membrane with subcuneal clear spot. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIG. 15. Male genitalia of Avititerra lepidothrix. A. Pygophore, dorsal. B. Left paramere, right lateral. C. Left paramere, dorsal. D. Aedeagus, ventral. E. Phallotheca, dorsal. F. Right paramere, left lateral. Scale bars = 0.1 mm.