Myrmecophyes bykovi, Konstantinov, Fedor V., Luo, Zhaohui & Vinokurov, Nikolay N., 2013

Konstantinov, Fedor V., Luo, Zhaohui & Vinokurov, Nikolay N., 2013, Two new species, new synonymies, and new records of Plant bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae) from Northwestern China, Zootaxa 3666 (2), pp. 203-220 : 210-215

Scirtetellus Reuter, 1890

The genus Scirtetellus currently contains 16 species predominantly distributed at relatively high altitudes in the Tien Shan and adjacent mountains of Central Asia, and with three species known from the Caucasus Mountains (Medvedeva 1975). The genus was unknown from China until Bai et al. (2006) described Scirtetellus alashanensis and recorded S. bianchii Medvedeva, S. kerzhneri Medvedeva, and S. gudali Kiritshenko from Inner Mongolia. The last indication from Helan Mountains seems highly doubtful and is apparently based on misidentification. All Scirtetellus spp. have narrow distributional ranges, whereas the Helan Mountains are located at a distance of more than 5000 km from the main distributional area of S. gudali in the Caucasus, a distinct mountain system well separated from the mountains of Central Asia.

Recent collecting in Xinjiang Province revealed two more species, viz. Scirtetellus seminitens and a new species described below.

Scirtetellus medvedevae sp. nov. Figures 1 , 5 , 6 E–H

Description.

Diagnosis. Recognized by the following combination of characters: relatively large (male 3.0–3.4, female 3.4– 4.2); dorsum with dense, long, bristlelike, erect, dark setae ( Fig. 6 G) and silvery scalelike setae; head black, with distinct yellow pattern; pronotum and hemelytron uniformly dark; antenna slightly longer than body length in male, second segment cylindrical, not dilated apically in both sexes ( Fig. 1 ); aedeagus with two contrastingly long spicules, right sclerite claw-shaped, left sclerite strap-shaped, flattened, apically dentated ( Fig. 5 ).

The new species is most similar to S. seminitens Horváth, 1904 and S. kerzhneri Medvedeva, 1975 in the vestiture, coloration, sizes, and body proportions. The former species clearly differs from S. medvedevae in having three differently shaped spicules of the aedeagus (see Fig. 5 ). Scirtetellus kerzhneri can be distinguished from the new species by the slightly dilated second antennal segment in the male and the shape and size of both aedeagal spicules, which are smaller, equal in length to the dorsal wall of the phallotheca, the right spicule having a broad base and a long thin basal spine, and the left spicule strongly coiled apically and not dentated (see Fig. 5 ).

Description. Male: Brachypterous, relatively large, total length 3.0–3.4. COLORATION ( Fig. 1 ): Dorsum, thoracic pleura, venter, and appendages dark brown to black, with orange yellow pattern on head, yellow edging of propleuron and sometimes also mesopleuron; head dark, with orange yellow midline on frons, basal twothirds of mandibular and maxillary plates, and uneven stripes along eyes on vertex, frons and genae. SURFACE AND VESTITURE: Dorsum and venter smooth, head except vertex distinctly polished, shining, vertex and reminder of body shagreened, mat, abdomen weakly shining. Entire dorsum with dense, adpressed, silvery, moderately flattened scalelike setae; head, thorax, hemelytron, genital capsule, and all appendages with dense, erect, distinctly long, longer than width of tibiae or second antennal segment, dark simple setae ( Fig 6 G); in addition, antennal segments, tibiae, and venter with short semiadpressed pale simple setae, exceptionally long on venter of head; tibial spines black. STRUCTURE: Body 3.2–3.6 × as long as basal width of pronotum. Head: Vertical, of nearly equal height and width; vertex flat, 1.6–1.8 × as wide as eye; frons moderately convex; eyes relatively small, not stylate, almost round in lateral view; antennal fossa located at a distance from ventral margin of eye; antennal segments cylindrical, first segment 1.2–1.4 × as long as pronotum; second segment 1.8– 2.1 × as long as basal width of pronotum, 1.6–1.7 × as long as width of head; third and fourth segments filiform; labium stout, always reaching and usually slightly surpassing hind coxa. Thorax: Pronotum trapeziform, 1.9–2.2 × as wide as long, 0.8–0.9 × as wide as head, with anterior margin broadly convex, well-rounded anterior angles, lateral margins slightly convex and smoothly rounded, posterior margin weakly concave or almost straight; calli large, raised, two small pits located between calli; mesonotum not exposed; scutellum slightly shorter than pronotum, broadly triangular, twice as wide as long; hemelytron reduced to undifferentiated, flat and wide wing pad, almost straight apically and entirely covering basal segment of abdomen; veins and claval suture absent; wing commissure almost equal in length to scutellum or slightly shorter; metathoracic scent gland evaporatory area as in Fig. 6 E; hind femur enlarged, saltatorial, reaching or even surpassing apex of abdomen, pretarsus as in Fig. 6 F, with smoothly curved claws and fleshy, apically convergent parempodia, pulvilli absent. Abdomen: Oval, gradually expanding at middle. GENITALIA: genital capsule large, slightly less than half of abdomen, without distinctive ornamentation or processes, with well-developed dorsal wall and narrow genital opening; parameres of typical Halticini shape ( Fig. 5 ), left paramere L-shaped, smoothly curving and gradually tapering, apically bifid, T-shaped, with two small cones; right paramere larger than left one, with basal process long, apical part flattened and concave, spoon-shaped, gradually widening towards apex and bearing small blunt tubercle; phallotheca ( Fig. 5 ) with entirely sclerotized dorsal wall and membranous ventral wall, apically dentated and equipped with a pair of subapical, rounded, sclerotized outgrowths at sides; ductus seminis long, membranous, with rather short sclerotized apical portion; secondary gonopore slit-like, with faint sculpture; endosoma voluminous, folded, with two large sclerites both being longer than dorsal wall of phallotheca and small, finely dentated middle membranous lobe; right sclerite claw-shaped, thin, gradually tapering and strongly bent in apical one-third; left sclerite strap-shaped, flattened, gradually curved and slightly coiled at base, apically tapering, with several large teeth.

Female: COLORATION ( Fig. 1 ): Similar to male, but with better expressed orange yellow color pattern; yellow edging of eyes larger; yellow spot along midline on frons expanded, typically T-shaped; mandibular and maxillary plates almost entirely yellow; ventral edging of all thoracic pleurites with dirty yellow longitudinal stripe; apices of fore and middle femora and ventral surface of hind femur with variously shaped dirty yellow longitudinal stripes; connexivum largely dirty yellow. SURFACE AND VESTITURE: As in male. STRUCTURE: Body larger, total length 3.4–4.2, 3.2–3.9 × as long as basal width of pronotum. Head: Vertex 1.9–2.1 × as wide as eye; first antennal segment 1.2–1.3 × as long as pronotum; second segment cylindrical, 1.5–1.6 × as long as width of pronotum and width of head. Thorax: Pronotum wider than in male, 2.0–2.3 × as wide as long, 0.9–1.0 × as wide as head. Abdomen: More expanded at middle than in male, broadly oval to almost round.

Distribution. Xinjiang Province of China.

Etymology. The species is named after N.D. Medvedeva, who described many species of Scirtetellus and revised the genus.

Material examined: Holotype: CHINA: Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu: Borohoro Mts, S shore of Sailimu (Sairam-Nur) Lake, 44.5 ° N 81.08333 ° E, 2160 m, 14 Jul 2011, N.N. Vinokurov, 13 (AMNH_PBI 00338031) (ZISP).

Paratypes: CHINA: Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu: Borohoro Mts, S shore of Sailimu (Sairam-Nur) Lake, 44.5 ° N 81.08333 ° E, 2160 m, 14 Jul 2011, N.N. Vinokurov, 23 (AMNH_PBI 0 0 338034, AMNH_PBI 00338035), 1Ƥ (AMNH_PBI 00338014) (CAU), 33 (AMNH_PBI 0 0 338022, AMNH_PBI 0 0 338027, AMNH_PBI 00338030), 1Ƥ (AMNH_PBI 00338016) (XIEG), 13 (AMNH_PBI 00338021), 1Ƥ (AMNH_PBI 00338017) (YIB), 43 (AMNH_PBI 0 0 338028, AMNH_PBI 0 0 338029, AMNH_PBI 0 0 338032, AMNH_PBI 00338033), 2Ƥ (AMNH_PBI 0 0 338015, AMNH_PBI 00338018) (ZISP).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habitus views of Myrmecophyes bykovi sp. n. and Scirtetellus medvedevae sp. n.

FIGURE 5. Genitalia of Scirtetellus spp. Upper row shows endosoma with detached phallotheca. Parameres and aedeagus of S. medvedevae sp. n. in lateral and ventral views are shown on bottom row.

FIGURE 6. Scanning electron micrographs of M. bykovi sp. n. (A – D) and S. medvedevae (E – H). A — head and pronotum. B — gibbous exposed part of mesonotum and wing pad. C — pretarsus. D — genital capsule. E — evaporatory area of metathoracic scent gland. F — pretarsus. G — vestiture. H — trichobothrium on hind femur.