Triatoma gerstaeckeri (Stål), Stal

Sandoval-Ruiz, César Antonio, Cervantesperedo, Luis, Mendoza-Palmero, Fredy Severo & Ibáñez-Bernal, Sergio, 2012, The Triatominae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae) of Veracruz, Mexico: geographic distribution, taxonomic redescriptions, and a key, Zootaxa 3487, pp. 1-23 : 16

Triatoma gerstaeckeri (Stål)

( Figs. 16–17 )

Conorhinus gerstaeckeri Stål 1859 , p. 111. Type locality: USA, Texas.

Diagnosis. Adult body length 20–30 mm. Body ground color from dark brown to black. First antennal segment falling short of level of apex of clypeus. Rostrum with very short and sparse setae. First segment reaching level of antenniferous tubercles, second attaining level of base of head. Pronotum of general body color. Discal and lateral tubercles present. Posterior lobe heavily rugose. Humeri faintly angulate. Anterolateral angles obliquely forward directed, conical, narrowly tapering apically. Hemelytra color from dark brown to black and reaching apex of abdomen. Base of corium yellow or orange. Connexival segments with yellow or orange-yellow markings, occupying posterior third or fourth of each segment adjacent to intersegmental sutures ( Lent & Wygodzinsky 1979).

Distribution. United States of America and Mexico (Chihuahua, Coahuila, Hidalgo, Nuevo León, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Zacatecas) ( Lent & Wygodzinsky 1979, Zárate & Zárate 1985, Vidal et al. 2000, Galvão et al. 2003, Salazar-Schettino et al. 2010).

Records in Veracruz. Chicontepec (Teponaxtla), Cazones (La Encantada) and Pánuco (La Angostura, Ejido López Mateos) ( Fig. 19 ).

Comments. This species is common in wild habitats, but recently it is more commonly recorded in peri- and intradomiciliary environments. T. gerstaeckeri is found in the southern United Sates and northeastern Mexico ( Beard et al. 2002, Sarkar et al. 2010, Villagrán et al. 2008). In the state of Veracruz it was first and uniquely informed by Vidal-Acosta et al. (2000) with one male collected in the locality of La Encantada, near Cazones. From this report we have examined some specimens from the northern portion of the state, extending its distribution to the south at least to the northern portion of Veracruz. In this area, the presence of this species alone or in combination with T. dimidiata can be important for the transmission of T. cruzi to humans. None of the studied specimens were naturally infected.

Material examined. 1 Ƥ: Mexico, Veracruz, Chicontepec, Teponaxtla, 15-May-2008, J.A. Cruz. 4 Ƥ: Veracruz, Pánuco, La Angostura, 1-Jun-2010, Población. 1 Ƥ: Pánuco, Ejido López Mateos, Feb-2011. JS1. C.A. Sandoval-Ruiz det. 1 Ƥ: Hidalgo, CAIMTri/11842.

Figures

FIGURE 19. Predicted geographic distribution of Triatoma gerstaeckeri in Veracruz State, based on ecological niche modeling (GARP), blank areas represent the absence predicted by the models, circles represent the occurrence points from 1993 – 2010. Gray areas represent the coincidence of the 10 best models and high possibility of T. gerstaeckeri occurrence.

FIGURES 14 – 17. Triatomine species known to occur in Veracruz, Mexico: 14 – 15) Triatoma dimidiata; 14) Female from Municipality of Actopan, El Arbolito, IEXA; 15) Female from Municipality of Centla, El Refugio, IEXA; 16 – 17) Triatoma gerstaeckeri; 16) Female from Municipality of Chicontepec, Teponaxtla, IEXA; 17) Female from Municipality of Pánuco, La Angostura, IEXA. Photographs by C. A. Sandoval – Ruiz.