Mahea durrelli, 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 : 33-36

Mahea durrelli sp. nov.

( Figs. 20-27 , 44)

Type locality. North-east Madagascar, Vohémar.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♁, ‘Vohémar / Madagascar [p] // Collectio / J.L.Stehlík / Moravské museum, Brno [p] // ♁ [p] // HOLOTYPUS / MAHEA / DURRELLI / sp. nov. / det. P. KMENT 2005’ [p, red label] ( MMBC). The holotype is mounted with the pygophore glued on the same piece of card ; I have dissected the aedeagus and left paramere and placed them in a plastic microvial with glycerol attached to the same pin. PARATYPE: ♁, ‘Vohémar / Madagascar [p] // COLLECTIO / NATIONAL MUSEUM / Praha, Czech Republic [p] // ♁ [p] // PARATYPUS / MAHEA / DURRELLI / sp. nov. / det. P. KMENT 2005’ [p, red label] ( NMPC). The paratype is mounted on the tip of a pentagonal piece of card ; left antennomere 2 broken, left antennomeres 3-4 missing, and right spine on sternum 6 broken; I have removed the pygophore and glued it on the same piece of card.

Note: The locality label ‘Vohémar’ is identical with those found in material collected in Madagascar by C. Lamberton in 1937 and housed in NMPC (see HOBERLANDT 1942).

Description. Body narrow, ochraceous with reddish-brown punctures, slightly shining.

Male (holotype) (Fig. 44). Length 6 mm, width of pronotum between humeral spines 3.1 mm.

Head ochraceous with irregular rows and groups of coarse black or brown punctures (two rows on mandibular plates less distinct than in other species, vertex with U-shaped figure). Head shorter than wide across eyes (1: 1.42), ratio of width of head: width of the pronotum between humeral angles equal to 1: 1.97. Mandibular plates only slightly narrowing basally, apically arcuately curved inwards, not meeting in front of clypeus; apex of clypeus free, clypeus slightly shorter than mandibular plates. Eyes ochraceous with brownish spots; ocelli reddish, situated near anterior pronotal margin. Antenniferous tubercles each with black longitudinal spot laterally; antennae castaneous, antennomeres 1-2 basally paler; antennomere 2 with erect pubescence, some hairs longer than its diameter; lengths of antennomeres: 1 – 0.3 mm, 2 – 1.7 mm, 3 – 1.0 mm, 4 – 0.9 mm (ratio 1: 5.67: 3.33: 3). Head ventrally ochraceous with sparse reddish punctures and one pair of larger, blackish L-shaped spots postero-medially next to bucculae; rostrum ochraceous, apex blackened, reaching middle of metacoxae.

Pronotum ochraceous with thick, coarse, uniformly distributed reddish-brown punctures; two rows of black punctures in area of cicatrices; humeral angles reddish. Anterior margin of pronotum only slightly concave, almost straight medially; antero-lateral margins rounded, proximally almost parallel, medially abruptly curved laterad; humeral angles prominent, conically produced laterad and upwards, apically constricted, with long narrow spine ( Figs. 20- 21 ); posterior margin of pronotum medially more concave than in other species. Scutellum narrowly triangular, slightly sinuated medially, almost flat, only anterior part slightly sloping caudad; ochraceous, with reddish-brown punctures, colouration of neighbouring punctures locally coalescent in anterior part; apex narrowly triangular, with small black spot. Hemelytra narrow, suture brownish, membrane slightly brownish infuscate, not surpassing postero-lateral angles of sternum 7.

Thorax ventrally ochraceous with reddish-brown punctures; colouration of punctures especially on meso- and metapleuron coalescent, forming brown spots alternating with ochraceous unpunctured spots; acetabula, peritreme, and elevated unpunctured spots on pleura ochraceous. Metapleura not swollen, its margin only slightly visible from above. Legs ochraceous, tarsomeres 2 brownish. Hind femora and tibiae straight, lacking granulation on inner margins ( Fig. 22 ).

Abdomen ventrally ochraceous with small and shallow red punctures, sterna 3-6 with three pairs of small black spots: one oval spot on anterior margin next to median carina, one round spot medially on each side, one small, round, impressed spot laterally on suture between sterna; sternum 7 with pair of oval blackish spots on anterior margin, postero-lateral angles of sternum 7 black. Median carina well developed on sterna 3-6, only basally on sternum 7, disappearing caudad ( Fig. 23 ). Connexiva ochraceous, postero-lateral angles without spines except sternum 6 with long spine curved postero-laterad; postero-lateral angles of sternum 7 lanceolate, produced postero-laterad ( Fig. 23 ).

Male genitalia. Pygophore brownish; less dorso-ventrally flattened ( Fig. 24 ); exterior opening with small triangular tubercle dorso-medially ( Figs. 24-25 ); hypophysis of paramere oval, apically broadly rounded, not pointed, inner margin only slightly incised ( Fig. 26 ); vesica of aedeagus long, looped medially ( Fig. 27 ).

Female. Unknown.

Variability. Paratype male (length 5.9 mm, width of pronotum between humeral spines 3 mm, length of antennomeres: 1 – 0.3 mm, 2 – 1.5 mm, 3 – 0.9 mm, 4 – 0.9 mm) differs from the holotype by having the mandibular plates meeting in front of the clypeus, punctures on the head darker, and the pronotum with a vague ochraceous median line.

Differential diagnosis. Mahea durrelli differes from M. andriai , M. distanti , and M. parvula in having each humeral angle abruptly produced into a long spine. From M. sexualis , it differs by having the lateral pronotal margins deeply sinuated ( Fig. 20 ); the humeral spines raised ( Figs. 20-21 ); the metapleura not swollen; the shape of connexival spines; and the apices of parameres rounded, not pointed ( Figs. 24-26 ) (see also the key).

Etymology. The species is named in honour of Gerald Durrell (1925-1995), the famous English ‘amateur naturalist’, nature conservator and writer who paid a lot of attention to the nature of Madagascar and adjacent islands.

Bionomy. Unknown.

Distribution. North-east Madagascar. Known only from the type locality.

Figures

Figs. 20-23. Mahea durrelli sp. nov. 20 – pronotum, dorsal view; 21 – pronotum, posterior view; 22 – hind leg (claws missing); 23 – abdomen, ventral view.

Figs. 24-27. Mahea durrelli sp. nov. 24 – pygophore, posterior view; 25 – pygophore, ventral view; 26 – left paramere, ventral view; 27 – aedeagus (basal articulatory apparatus omitted). Scale bars 0.5 mm.