Laccocoris staudingeri Montandon, 1897

Polhemus, John T. & Polhemus, Dan A., 2008, Intraspecific morphological polymorphism in Naucoridae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) with notes on nomenclature and synonymy, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 48 (2), pp. 289-298 : 295-296

Laccocoris staudingeri Montandon, 1897

( Figs. 1-2 )

Laccocoris staudingeri Montandon, 1897b: 440 . Type locality: Brunei (Borneo). Lectotype in BMNH (designated here).

Laccocoris maai La Rivers, 1970: 496 , syn. nov. Type locality: Sabah (Borneo).

Laccocoris lipogonia La Rivers, 1970: 498 , syn. nov. Type locality: Sabah (Borneo).

Type material examined. Laccocoris staudingeri : LECTOTYPE: J, ‘ Brunei, 0 Sta. B. H. [handwritten] // Montandon Coll.1901-233 [printed] // Type [circular label with red ring] // Laccocoris staudingeri Montand. , type [handwritten] // LECTOTYPE, Laccocoris staudingeri Montandon 1897 , J. T. Polhemus [handwritten on pink card]’ ( BMNH; here designated). PARALECTOTYPE: J, ‘ Brunei, Borneo, Laccocoris staudingeri Montand. , det. Montandon 1908’ ( JTPC, exchange from Snow Entomological Museum Collection).

Laccocoris maai : PARATYPE: ♀, BORNEO: MALAYSIA: SABAH: ‘British North Borneo, Sensuron, Jan. 9-11’ ( CAS).

Laccocoris lipogonia : PARATYPE: ♀, BORNEO: MALAYSIA: SABAH: ‘British North Borneo, Sensuron, Jan. 9-11 ( CAS).

Additional material examined. BORNEO: MALAYSIA: SABAH: 1J 1♀, Tawau Hills, Tawau River , 9.-10.vi.1998, J. Kodada & F. Ciampor ( NHMW) ; 1 J 1 ♀, Samalong River , 7 km S. of Ranau, CL 2026, 3.viii.1985, J. T. & D. A. Polhemus ( JTPC) ; 1 J 1 ♀, Liwagu River at Kundesan, CL 2021, 1.viii.1985, J. T. & D.A. Polhemus ( JTPC) ; 1 ♀, Liwagu River, N. of Kundesan , 915 m, 16.viii.1972, G. F. & C. H. Edmunds ( JTPC) . SARAWAK: 2 ♀♀, Kelabit Highland, 1000-1200 m (11), Bareo-Arur Dalam, Bach durch Regenwald [= brook in rain forest], 26.ii.-1.iii.1993, H. Zettel ( NHMW) ; 1 J 4 ♀♀, Kelabit Highland, 5 km E. of Bareo, Pa Ukat , 1000 m, 1.iii.1993, breiter fluss [= wider river], M. Jäch (19) ( NHMW, JTPC) ; 1 ♀, Mulu Nat. Park , 8.-5.iii.1993, M. Jäch (19) ( NHMW) .

Discussion. According to MONTANDON (1897b) syntypes of Laccocoris staudingeri were deposited in the Montandon and Staudinger collections. A male syntype of Laccocoris staudingeri Montandon present in the BMNH is here designated as lectotype.

In describing L. maai, LA RIVERS (1970) took no notice of L. staudingeri , instead comparing his new species only to L. horvathi Montandon, 1897 , also described from Brunei (type said to be in Budapest), and to L. hoogstraali La Rivers, 1970 from the Philippines. We have before us the male lectotype of L. staudingeri , a specimen of L. horvathi from Brunei determined by Montandon, and paratypes of L. maai and L. lipogonia , as well as a paratype and additional long series of L. hoogstraali . La Rivers’ paratypes of L. maai match both the description and lectotype of L. staudingeri , and L. maai is here placed in synonymy. Laccocoris lipogonia is simply the long winged morph of L. maai , and is also considered a synonym. We have collected series of both L. staudingeri and L. horvathi in Sabah, which adjoins Brunei to the north.

The key characters we have found useful in separating Laccocoris species are the pattern of dark markings on the head and scutellum, the shape of parasternite VI in both males and females, the shape of female subgenital plate (sternite VII), the morphology of the male genitalia, and the shape of the metaxyphus. The form of the interocular space was used by Montandon, and the shape of the labrum and embolium by Poisson, but these are of limited utility and often separate species only into groups. Because Montandon did not recognize the pronotal polymorphism, he divided the Laccocoris into two sections based on the shape of the posterolateral pronotal angles ( MONTANDON 1897b), an invalid species group character as pointed out in the preceding discussion.

Laccocoris marginatus Montandon, 1897a is close to L. staudingeri , but the male genitalia, parasternites and female subgenital plate are quite different in the two species. His descriptions of these two species are not directly comparable as they were not standardized and not presented in the same paper, but we have studied the types of both species and they are distinct.

Asian species of the genera Heleocoris and Laccocoris are often very difficult to place generically on the basis of the single key generic character currently used, i. e. the possession of an acute versus rounded labrum. As such, we believe that there is considerable doubt as to whether these genera are in fact distinct. We suggest that the African forms currently held in these two genera may need to be combined, but also note that all possess shared character states, such as the chaetotaxy of the mid femur, indicating that they represent a different monophyletic group than the Asian species currently held in this combined assemblage. The type-species of Laccocoris is L. spurcus Stål, 1856 from Africa, while the type-species of Heleocoris is H. obliquatus Spinola, 1837 from India, thus it may be that the African species are best assigned to Laccocoris , and the Asian species to Heleocoris . This question, however, is beyond the scope of the current paper.

Figures

Figs. 1-2. Laccocoris staudingeri Montandon, 1897, intraspecific variation in the posterolateral angles of the pronotum. 1 – ‘Sharp’ morph, with reduced hind wing; 2 – ‘Rounded’ morph, fully macropterous.