Research Article |
Corresponding author: Aleksander Herczek ( aleksander.herczek@us.edu.pl ) Academic editor: Guanyang Zhang
© 2017 Aleksander Herczek, Yuri A. Popov, Jacek Gorczyca.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Herczek A, Popov YA, Gorczyca J (2017) A new species of psallopinous plant bug from the Malay Peninsula (Heteroptera, Miridae, Psallopinae). ZooKeys 679: 47-53. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.679.13130
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The paper presents description and illustrations of a new peculiar species from the genus Psallops, P. coloratus sp. n. from Southeast Asia (Singapore). Photographs, line drawings of the general habitus and a short comparison with a species from Thailand are provided.
Heteroptera , Miridae , new species, Psallopinae , Psallops , Southern Asia
Schuh (1976) established a new subfamily Psallopinae (Miridae) for the single member Psallops ocullatus Usinger, 1946. Among the main characters of Psallops the author listed anterior margin of pronotum slightly bent inwards, 2–segmented tarsi, subapical tooth on the tarsal claw, bristle–like parempodia, phallotheca fused with the phallobase, a simple form of vesical. Additionally, many authors consider the presence of nine metafemoral trichobothria, the head rounded in frontal view, and one or two closed cells on the membrane to be characteristic. In our estimation, one of the basic characters of the Psallopinae is the presence of enlarged eyes that are exceptionally well–developed dorso–ventrally and almost touch each other reaching the pharynx (
There are nine species representing the subfamily Psallopinae that are known from the Southeast Asia. The first reports came from Japan where three species were described by
While studying the material in the collection of the Zoologisk Museum Copenhagen, the authors found a specimen of Psallopinae that has not been described to date. This specimen was recorded from Singapore, collected by O. Martin in the Seletar Reservoir and deposited in the collection of the museum. The abdomen was dissected and placed in a separate vial. The parameres and aedeagus were sectioned, immersed in Berlese liquid, and placed on a celluloid board. The board was placed under the specimen. Coloured photographs and drawings were obtained using Nikon Eclipse E 600 microscope and the computer program NIS Elements, Ver. 4.10. Measurements were taken with a micrometre. Classification terminology of the male genitalia follows
Psallops oculatus Usinger, 1946; 86.
Pronotum covered with long, strong, protruding black setae; corium with two types of setae: pale, long, semi erect hairs and shorter, dark and adpressed. Second and third antennal segments with long, pale setae, more than twice as segment diameter. Ratio of eye width to vertex width 2.67; ratio of head width to vertex width 6.51; ratio of corium length to cuneus length 4.55.
Male. Body elongated, 2.67 long as wide. Head 2.33 as wide as long. Eyes large and discoid, occupying nearly entire sides of head, contiguous with anterior margin of pronotum (Figs
Female. Uunknown.
Holotype: male. Singapore, Seletar Reservoir, 1°24'N, 103°48'E; 7.XI.1991. O. Martin leg., Zoologisk Museum Copenhagen.
(in mm). Male: body length – 2.48; width – 0.93; length of head – 0.24; width – 0.56; height – 0.44; dorsal width of eye – 0.23; width of vertex – 0.09; antennal segments: I – 0.14; II – 0.64; III – 0.52, IV – missing; rostral segments: I – 0.32; II – 0.37; III – 0.34; IV – 0.11 (?); length of pronotum – 0.37; anterior width – 0.40; posterior width – 0.82; length of mesoscutum – 0.16; length of scutellum – 0.31; length of claval commissura – 0.42; length of fore femur – 0.57, width – 0.13; tibia length – 0.62, width – 0.08; tarsus length – 0.23; (I– 0.10, II – 0.16); middle femur length – 0.65, width – 0.14 (tibia and tarsus missing); hind femur length – 0.80, width – 0.22; tibia length – 0.98, width – 0.10; tarsus length – 0.27 (I– 0.11, II – 0.14); length of corium – 1.50; length of cuneus – 0.33; cell length – 0.41; width – 0.19
From the Latin coloratus (variegated), referring to the different colours of the dorsal surface.
The new species is distinguished from the one known from southwestern Asia by a combination of colour features and the construction of a copulatory apparatus. It is distinct in the colour of head (yellow, back of the vertex dark), the third part of the antennae (yellow), the scutellum (1/2 apical part reddish, the basal part yellowish with the reddish spots) and the colour of the legs (forecoxa brown, the middle and the hind pale yellow; femora brown, tibia and tarsus pale yellow). P. coloratus sp. n. is by colour related to Psallops formosanus Lin, but scutellum, the middle part of corium with clavus and the basal part of cuneus are different. On the other hand, the colour of pronotum is similar to that in P. nakatani, P. ponapensis and P. yaeyamanus. In turn, the colour of head shows affinities with that found in P. sakaerat, and antennal segments I , II are coloured like those in P. yaeyamanus. The colour of mesoscutum is similar to the one described in P. leeae, P. formosanus and P. yapensis.
Some metric features decisively distinguish P. coloratus from the species known from the Southeast Asia regions. These are: the ratio of the eye width to the vertex width (2.67), the head width to the vertex width (6.51), antennal segment II length to the pronotum width (1.73), and others. The construction of left paramere is also different. Although the shape of the lob sensor is reminiscent of the one observed in Psallops sakaerat Yasunaga, the paramere body and the apical process are developed differently. Additionally, a vast difference is observed in the construction of the aedeagus, which is characterised by a complex of highly sclerotized structures in the endosoma (Figs
We are greatly indebted to Prof. Henrik Enghoff (Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen) for his kindness in loaning the psallopin mirids for our research. We also thank Marzena Zmarzly (Katowice, Poland) for the excellent drawings.