Mahea parvula, Kment, Petr, 2005

Kment, Petr, 2005, Revision of Mahea Distant, 1909, with a review of the Acanthosomatidae (Insecta: Heteroptera) of Madagascar and Seychelles, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (suppl.) 45, pp. 21-50 : 36-37

Mahea parvula sp. nov.

( Figs. 28-30 , 45)

Type locality. Madagascar.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♀, ‘4175 / 34 [hw; round label, upper side green without text, lower side with numbers 4175 (corresponding to the Accession book of MNHN) and 34 (= 1834)] // Plodyrensus Amyot – Ms. Paris. –. MADAGASCAR. [hw, mounted with sellotape] // ♀ [p] // HOLOTYPUS / Mahea / parvula / sp. nov. / des. P. Kment 2005’ [hw, red label] ( MNHN). Holotype pinned; antennae, all legs except right middle one, left hemelytra, and two apical segments of rostrum missing, right eye partly damaged, basal part of scutellum and sternum with puncture from original pinning.

Description. Female (holotype) (Fig. 45). Body ochraceous with dark brown punctures. Length 7.3 mm, width of pronotum between humeral angles 3.9 mm.

Head ochraceous, 2-3 dark brown spots laterally in front of each eye; dark brown punctures coalescent (two impressed rows on each mandibular plate; two rows on vertex coalescent basally on clypeus and following anteriad as single median row; vertex with two rows forming U-shaped figure, additional punctures mesad from eyes and on hind margin of vertex). Head slightly shorter than wide (1: 1.15), width slightly less than one half of pronotal width. Mandibular plates only slightly narrowing basally, apically curved inwards, not meeting; apex of clypeus narrowly free. Eyes dark brown. Head ventrally ochraceous, dark brown spot on base of each buccula; two basal segments of rostrum ochraceous.

Pronotum ochraceous with dark brown punctures forming small irregular groups on anterior third of pronotum and almost regularly distributed on posterior two thirds of pronotum; humeral angles chocolate brown. Anterior and posterior margins slightly concave; anterolateral margins rounded, regularly concave, strongly widening posteriad; each humeral angle conically produced into obtuse spine directed laterad and slightly upwards ( Figs. 28-29 ). Scutellum triangular, brownish with dark brown punctures, extreme apex black. Hemelytra of the same colour and puncturing as disc of scutellum; membrane hyaline, translucent, with about half its length surpassing apex of abdomen.

Thorax ventrally brownish with dark brown punctures; punctures laterally coalescent, forming irregular darker spots; pleuron along mesosternal carina dark brown, anterior half of carina ochraceous. Legs ochraceous.

Abdomen flat, median carina present only on sternum 3 ( Fig. 30 ); sterna 2-3 brown, abdominal spine ochraceous; sterna 4-5 brownish with dark brown, rounded spots laterally, sternum 6 brownish with large dark brown lateral spots connected with those on following sternum; sternum 7 entirely dark brown with two small pale spots medially on its anterior margin and one larger pale spot medially on its posterior margin. Connexival spines as in Fig. 30 .

Male. Unknown.

Differential diagnosis. Mahea parvula differs from both M. sexualis and M. durrelli by having the lateral pronotal angles conically produced, each gradually tapering to a spinose apex. From M. andriai and M. distanti , it differs in having a smaller body, less prominent humeral angles, relatively broader head, and the connexival spines as in Fig. 30 (see also the key).

Etymology. Adjective parvulus (Latin) = ‘little small’, minute. The female of M. parvula is distinctly smaller than females of M. andriai and M. sexualis .

Bionomy. Unknown.

Distribution. Madagascar (no exact locality). Only the holotype is known.

Figures

Figs. 28-30. Mahea parvula sp. nov. 28 – pronotum, dorsal view; 29 – pronotum, posterior view; 30 – abdomen, ventral view.