Melaleucoides akaina, Schuh & C. Weirauch, 2010

Schuh, R. T. & C. Weirauch, 2010, Myrtaceae-Feeding Phylinae (Hemiptera: Miridae) From Australia: Description And Analysis Of Phylogenetic And Host Relationships For A Monophyletic Assemblage Of Three New Genera, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2010 (344), pp. 3-94 : 30-32

Melaleucoides akaina , new species Figures 10, 11; map 3; plate 1

DIAGNOSIS: Unequivocally recognized among Melaleucoides species by the uniquely short, stout endosoma with a short apical projection, no spinelike processes associated with the region of the secondary gonopore, and a row of denticles on the margin of the secondary gonopore, as well as the long, recurved, tapered, apical spine on the apex of the left paramere. Easily confused with Harpagophylus calytrix , Thryptomenomiris spp. , and Melaleucoides pileanthicola on the basis its small size and reddish coloration on a pale background. All of those taxa with ventral/and or dorsal processes on the endosoma and with a long apical endosomal spine.

DESCRIPTION: Male: Body moderately elongate, parallel sided; small, mean total length 2.36, mean width pronotum 0.79. COLORATION (pl. 1): Head: Uniformly pale; scapus and pedicellus yellow to dirty yellow; labium pale with segment 4 heavily infuscate. Thorax: Pronotum unicolorous pale; scutellum unicolorous with remainder of dorsum; hemelytron mostly pale, endocorium somewhat darker than remainder; markings on cuneus absent; membrane, including veins, pale; hind femur unicolorous pale, without black spots; hind tibial spines dark, without dark spots at bases. Abdomen: Venter unicolorous pale or mostly so. SUR- FACE AND VESTITURE (fig. 10C): Vestiture of dorsum consisting of simple, recumbent setae with coloration of dorsum. STRUCTURE: Head: Somewhat projecting; interocular space relatively large; eyes leaving gena only very slightly exposed in lateral view. Antenna: Segment 2 weakly tapering, more slender at base; antennal fossa with ventral margin at ventral margin of eye. Labium: Reaching to about anterior margin of pygophore. Thorax: Pretarsus (fig. 10D): Parempodia fleshy, recurved, lyriform; pulvilli absent. GENITALIA (fig. 11): Endosoma: Base short, curving, C- or J-shaped; body with torsion, primary strap dorsal to secondary gonopore, apically short, ratio length apex strap/length secondary gonopore 1.33–1.50, at least weakly arcuate and curving dorsally, no ornamentation; secondary endosomal strap fused with primary strap, reaching just beyond secondary gonopore as fingerlike extension with one tip, and devoid of ornamentation; secondary gonopore seen laterally in lateral view of endosoma, with a denticulate ridge on right side of endosoma. Phallotheca: Smoothly curving on dorsal margin; apex simple. Left Paramere: Vertical; shaft at right angles to body; in dorsal perspective not exceeding margin of pygophore; in lateral perspective covering limited extent of lateral surface of pygophore; body spoon shaped; apex medially with an elongate, acuminate, recurved, medial spine; anterior process triangular in lateral view; posterior process in the form of a long, straight, slender, fingerlike projection; base of posterior process without conspicuous shoulder. Right Paramere: Body short and broad, lanceolate; apex short, clawlike, decurved.

Female: Slightly more ovoid than male; mean total length 2.61, mean width pronotum 0.85. COLORATION (pl. 1): Paler than male. STRUCTURE: Head (fig. 10A). GEN- ITALIA (fig. 11): Posterior wall laterally with distinct crescent-shaped interramal scler- ites; posteriorly without a sclerotized transverse band; posterolaterally with a distinct swelling covered with microtrichia; longitudinal fold on either side of midline along part of length; posterior margin of posterior wall without spicules, and not reflexed dorsally; interramal lobes roughly symmetrical, erect, and heavily ornamented with spicules; vestibulum with medial plates sclerotized and readily observed, large, nearly symmetrical, with sclerotized guide structure present as short heavily sclerotized tube on left side.

ETYMOLOGY: Named for the spearlike apex of the left paramere, from the Greek akaina , ‘‘thorn, spine.’’

HOSTS: Micromyrtus hursthousei W. Fitzg. (pl. 7A) and Scholtzia leptantha Benth. (Myrtaceae) .

DISTRIBUTION (map 3): Known from two localities north of Kalbarri National Park and the Carnarvon region of Western Australia.

DISCUSSION: Melaleucoides akaina is unique among members of the genus in having the endosoma with no processes associated with the region of the secondary gonopore. Nonetheless, other aspects of morphology, especially the novel structure of the parempodia and left paramere agree closely with the remaining species we place in Melaleucoides . On the basis of our phylogenetic analyses, we conclude that the relatively simple endosoma in M. akaina is the result of reduction.

HOLOTYPE: AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: NW Coastal Hiway 58 km N of Kalbarri Road, 27.43701uS 114.6768uE, 500 m, 30 Oct 1996, Schuh and Cassis, Micromyrtus hursthousei W. Fitzgerald (Myrtaceae) , det. Perth 05120241,1 - (AMNH_PBI 00372340)( WAMP).

PARATYPES: AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: NW Coastal Hiway 58 km N of Kalbarri Road, 27.43701uS 114.6768uE, 500 m, 30 Oct 1996, Schuh and Cassis, Micromyrtus hursthousei W. Fitzgerald (Myrtaceae) , det. Perth 05120241, 4 - (00372342, 00372343, 00087543, 00087346), 3 U (00372345–00087347) ( AM), 1 - (00372344), 1 U (00372347) ( AMNH), 1 - (00372341), 1 U (00372348) ( WAMP).

OTHER SPECIMENS EXAMINED: AUSTRA- LIA: Western Australia: 4.5 km NW of jct of Blowholes Rd and North West Coastal Hiway, N of Carnarvon, 24.72267uS 113.7158uE, 28 m, 27 Oct 2004, Cassis, Wall,

Weirauch, Tatarnic, Symonds, Scholtzia leptantha Benth. (Myrtaceae) , det. Perth- 6988687, 3 - (00373164–00373166), 3 U (00373170–00373172) (AM), 3 - (003731- 67–00373169), 2 U (00373173, 00373174) (AMNH).