Sarju nodula ( Fan & Liu, 2013 ) Salini & Rabbani & Singh, 2021

Salini, S., Rabbani, M. K. & Singh, Sudhir, 2021, Taxonomic notes on Sarju Ghauri, 1977 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) with description of a new species from India, Zootaxa 4951 (2), pp. 283-303 : 301

Sarju nodula ( Fan & Liu, 2013) comb. nov.

Cahara nodula Fan & Liu, 2013: 42–45 , 48–49, figs. 2a–c, 5, 9–10, 21–28 (original description).

Type material: Holotype, ♂, China: Yunnan Province: Xiang Mount., 5.viii.1979, Huan –guang ZOU leg., in the Institute of Entomology, Nankai University , Tianjin, China ( NKUM) ; Paratypes, 7 ♂, 12 ♀, China: Yunnan Province, Guizhou Province, NKUM .

Note. Sarju nodula was originally described by Fan and Liu (2013) as Cahara nodula . Ghauri (1977) distinctly stated that the exclusive character which definitely separates Sarju from the genus Cahara is the absence of the median lobes in the ventral rim of genital capsule, though these two genera are very closely related and apparently similar in external appearance. At the same time there is no single diagnostic exclusively of these two genera, but not sharing with other genera in Pentatomidae . Though Fan and Liu (2013) agreed upon the view of Ghauri (1977) that the presence of paired median process in the ventral rim of genital capsule play a vital role to identify the genus Cahara , they placed the species nodula in Cahara in spite of the absence of a median process (=median lobes by Fan and Liu 2013) in it. They considered the finger-like process of gonocoxite I (=valvifers VIII), is the effective diagnostic character to differentiate Cahara from related genera, though this character is a continuous and variable character. Moreover, they considered the above character (gonocoxite I with elongate finger-like process) for the retention of nodula in the genus Cahara . Another explanation for placing nodula in Cahara was the absence of distinctly bowed antennal segment II with appreciably swollen apex (=geniculate antennal segment II), which is a characteristic of most members of Sarju . But, so far there are four species, including the new species described herein, placed in Sarju , which do not possess a geniculate antennal segment II rather with straight antennal segment II like in other Pentatomidae . At present several diagnostic characters are shared between members of Sarju and Cahara and hence these genera need to be addressed holistically. In other words, Cahara and Sarju need to be collectively revised along with other related taxa ( Dalpada Amyot and Serville , Cahara Ghauri , Izharocoris Afzal and Ahmad, Salixocoris Ahmad and Abbasi , Lodosocoris Ahmad and Afzal , Neolodosocoris Memon and Ahmad ) to provide clearer delineation of the genera. In the absence of such a study, a conservative approach is to adhere on the original description of Ghauri (1977) as well as the diagnostics described by Memon and Ahmad (2009), the last revision undertaken on Sarju . Therefore, the absence of median lobes in the ventral rim of genital capsule of C. nodula demands its placement in Sarju rather than in Cahara .