Bergrothista Kiritshenko 1959

Heiss, E., 2010, New taxa and systematic assignments of Madagascan Aradidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera), Zootaxa 2728, pp. 23-38 : 29

Genus Bergrothista Kiritshenko 1959

Bergrothista Kiritshenko 1959: 191 (description)

Bergrothista Hoberlandt 1963: 130 (key, including Jarmilaia mollis )

Bergrothista Kormilev & Froeschner 1987: 69 (listed sub Carventinae )

Type species: Bergrothista villiersi Kiritshenko 1959

Hoberlandt 1957 erected the genus Jarmilaia for two species: aeterna and mollis , the first being the type species of the genus. The genus Bergrothista was erected by Kirithsenko 1959 also for two species: villiersi and nigricornis , villiersi being the type species of this genus. When Hoberlandt published additional notes on Aradidae from Madagascar in 1963 he had already seen Kirithenko’s types and transferred subsequently his Jarmilaia mollis to Bergrothista and synonymised nigricornis with mollis .

Examination of new material now available and comparison with specimens identified by Hoberlandt brought to light, that both species then assigned to Bergrothista possess distinct metathoracic scent gland canals thus belonging to the subfamily Mezirinae rather than Carventinae where they were placed by Hoberlandt and subsequently by Kormilev & Froeschner 1987. They are now assigned to Mezirinae .

However another important character is not shared by these species: B. villiersi shows a distinct stridulation structure on vltg III with a counterpart structure on inner face of posterior femora which is completely lacking in B. mollis . Therefore it is proposed to erect a new genus Parabergrothista n. gen. to accommodate mollis , which is described below.

Already Usinger & Matsuda 1959 recognized the taxonomic importance of stridulatory structures in Aradidae and erected new genera for such species sharing a particular type e.g. Strigocoris, Pictinus, Rossius.

Diagnosis. The genus Bergrothista is most closely related to Jarmilaia and Parabergrothista n. gen. but distinguished from both at once by the presence of stridulatory structures on vltg III and posterior femora which are lacking in both genera.