Xenophyes Bergroth

Burckhardt, Daniel, Bochud, Estée, Damgaard, Jakob, Gibbs, George W., Hartung, Viktor, Larivière, Marie-Claude, Wyniger, Denise & Zürcher, Isabelle, 2011, A review of the moss bug genus Xenophyes (Hemiptera: Coleorrhyncha: Peloridiidae) from New Zealand: systematics and biogeography, Zootaxa 2923, pp. 1-26 : 6

Xenophyes Bergroth

Xenophyes Bergroth, 1924: 180 (type species Xenophyes cascus Bergroth, 1924 ; by monotypy).

Description. Adult. Body ranging from oblong-oval to narrowly or broadly ovoid, widest in anterior third or near the middle, BL 2.18–3.23. Brachypterous. Head transverse, HL about as long as PL (HLPL = 0.71–1.14). Anterior head margin weakly or strongly convex, or slightly indented in the middle with each half slightly convex; anterior rim indistinctly or well delimited from membrane but always less distinctly so than in genera such as Hemiodoecus China or Peloridium Breddin ; areolae, in longitudinal body axis, varying from short ( X. goniomus ) to long ( X. metoponcus ) but short compared to Hemiodoecus or Peloridium . Eyes large, petiolate, weakly ( X. goniomus ) to strongly recessive ( X. cascus ). Posterior margin of head almost straight at neck region; hind margin of eyes and postero-lateral margin of head forming a right or obtuse angle or an evenly curved arc or rounded depression. Genae weakly concave, separated from vertex by relatively broad rim on lower head face. Genal area indented basally, relatively broad and in the same plane as loral area, which is flat. Anterior tentorial pits widely separated. Antennal segment 3 short, narrowly fusiform. Thorax: Fore margin of pronotum strongly concave. Pronotum with distinct or flattened indistinct median ridge and almost straight hind margin. Paranota broadly rounded or slightly angular, anteriorly touching hind margin of eyes; venation irregular, sometimes indistinct; passing smoothly into lateral portions of pronotum, smooth antero-ventrally; passing smoothly into posterior margin of pronotum, without or with only fine punctures postero-ventrally. Microsculpture on mesoscutum forming two transversely oval, medially contiguous areas narrowed in the middle. Scutellum flat, triangular, acute apically. Tegmen sexually hardly dimorphic; veins distinctly raised, with punctures restricted to clavus. Vein C weakly or moderately rounded basally. Vein ScP long, fusing with vein C subapically and with vein R at about middle. Costal cells relatively large. Vein MP ending on C near apex. Subcostal cell long, narrow, sometimes subdivided. Cells between ScP and R very narrow and inconspicuous. Claval cell short, wide. Vein M basally reduced or developed. Abdominal outline, except for terminalia, in ventral view elongate with narrowly rounded margins. Anterior margin of connexiva of segment 3 forming a raised, oblique sclerotised ridge. Sternites 4–6 not divided along longitudinal axis medially. Postero-lateral edges of tergite 8 strongly produced.

Male terminalia. Anal tube flattened, broad, oval or conical with a distinct subbasal dorsal transverse rim. Pygophore lacking dorsal lamellar processes on either side of dorso-basal margin, bearing a posteriorly directed median pointed posterior process without small lateral teeth. Parameres elongate, rounded or subacute apically. Aedeagus S-shaped, with simple membranous apical dilatation.

Female terminalia. Tergite 9 with inner margin rounded, in dorsal view. Valvulae 1 with many irregularly distributed small or large teeth.

Fifth instar. Body elongate, oval. Head weakly convex anteriorly; convex posteriorly; posterior head margin in the middle posteriad of posterior eye margin. Paranotal lobes and tegminal pads differentiated from pro- and mesonotal sclerites respectively. Abdominal margin serrate in apical third. Abdominal tergite 9 elongate, relatively broad, with almost straight to weakly convex lateral margins and evenly curved anterior margin.

Etymology. From Greek ξένος = foreign and ψυή = form referring to the strange look.

Comments. Xenophyes includes six species in New Zealand.