Luculentsalda Zhang, Yao & Ren

Zhang, Weiting, Yao, Yunzhi & Ren, Dong, 2013, A new Early Cretaceous shore bug (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Saldidae) from China, Zootaxa 3647 (4), pp. 585-592 : 586-587

Genus Luculentsalda Zhang, Yao & Ren , gen. nov.

Type species. Luculentsalda maculosa Zhang, Yao & Ren , sp. nov.

Etymology. The generic name is derived from Latin word “ luculent- ”, meaning “ luciferous ” and “ Salda ” (the type genus of this family). Gender feminine.

Distribution. China.

Diagnosis. Body relatively large, 7.0– 8.5 mm, covered with pubescence. Rostrum reaching to base of hind coxae. Ocelli widely separated. Pronotum with callus. Forewing macropterous; hypocostal ridge and associated secondary hypocostal ridge present; costal fracture long, not connected with medial fracture, medial fracture short; membrane with five closed cells, outermost cell almost same length as the adjacent cell. In male, abdomen VIII short.

Remark. Some characters for separating the two subfamilies, Chiloxanthinae and Saldinae , such as penisfilum, postclypeus and larval organ, are unavailable from the fossil specimens. This new genus has long costal fracture and membrane with five cells. These characters are synapomorphies of Chiloxanthinae (Polhemus 1977; Zhang et al. 2011). Therefore, we decided to place this new genus in Chiloxanthinae .

The newly described saldid is similar to the genus Brevrimatus Zhang, Yao & Ren, 2011 in its forewing with hypocostal ridge and associated secondary hypocostal ridge; the costal fracture long, and the medial fracture short. But the new genus can be distinguished from Brevrimatus by the following characters: the outermost cell almost the same length with the adjacent cell (vs. the outermost cell smallest, much smaller than its adjacent cell); more spots on forewing, even on pronotum and scutellum (vs. only three spots on forewing and no spot on pronotum and scutellum.); ocelli widely separated (vs. ocelli close to each other); ratio of scutellum length to width = 1.1 (vs. ratio of scutellum length to width = 0.8).

This new genus differs from Venustsalda Zhang, Song, Yao & Ren, 2012 in its large body size, more than 7 mm long (vs. body small, less than 5 mm); membrane with five cells (vs. membrane with six cells); medial fracture short, not connected with costal fracture (vs. medial fracture fused together with costal fracture).

Luculentsalda gen. nov. can be distinguished from Oligosaldina Statz & Wagner, 1950 in its forewing with costal fracture (vs. forewing without costal fracture); anterior margin of pronotum broader than head (vs. anterior margin of pronotum narrower than head); labrum triangular (vs. labrum broadly tongue-shaped).

Luculentsalda gen. nov. can be distinguished from Propentacora Polhemus, 1985 in its forewing longer than 5 mm (vs. forewing about 2.5 mm); the outermost cell almost as long as the adjacent cell (vs. the outermost cell greatly reduced); the basal half of the innermost cell not close to hind margin of membrane (vs. the innermost cell with basal half close to hind margin of membrane)