Sephina crassa, Brailovsky & Barrera, 2021

Brailovsky, Harry & Barrera, Ernesto, 2021, Illustrated key to the species in the genus Sephina (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Coreidae: Coreinae: Spartocerini), with descriptions of three new species and new distributional records, Zootaxa 5048 (1), pp. 77-98 : 86-87

Sephina crassa , sp. nov.

( Figs. 36 , 41‒42 )

Type locality. Ecuador, Guayaquil .

Description. Holotype male. Dorsal coloration. Head black, tinged with pale yellowish orange on each side near eyes, including the postocular surface; tylus yellowish orange, apically black; ocelli pale reddish; antennal segments I‒IV dark brown; pronotal disc including anterior margin, collar, anterolateral margins and humeral angles black, with following areas yellow: calli and relatively wide arched fringe, running from the raised areas of the anterior third of disc to the posterolateral borders; scutellum black with apex dark yellow; clavus yellow with claval commissure and inner margin close to scutellum black; corium black with anterior third near clavus, apical margin and apical angle yellow; costal margin black except the yellow apical third; hemelytral membrane dark brown; connexival segments III–VI bicolorous, yellow with posterior third black; VII yellow with inner margin black; dorsal abdominal segments III‒V pale yellow, VI pale yellow with two dark brown spots at each side of posterior margin, and VII dark brown to black with posterior margin yellow. Ventral coloration. Head including the buccula yellow; rostral segments I‒IV black; pro-, meso-, and metasternum, and acetabulae yellow; propleuron yellow with two black discoidal spots; mesopleuron yellow with anterior margin and two black discoidal or irregular spots; metapleuron yellow with two irregular black spots, one is covering the evaporative surface; anterior lobe of metathoracic peritreme black, posterior lobe yellow; coxae and trochanters pale castaneous orange; femora pale castaneous orange with apical third dark reddish; tibiae dark castaneous orange with basal joint dark reddish; tarsi dark castaneous orange; abdominal sterna yellow with dark brown to black irregular spots on each side of midline; rim of abdominal spiracles black; pleural margins III–VI yellow with posterior third black, VII yellow with inner margin black; genital capsule black with posteroventral edge dark castaneous orange. Structure. Body medium size, robust, with greatest width across abdominal segments IV‒V. Head. Ocellar tubercle slightly raised, not protuberant; anterior margin of each ocellus just reaching the posterior border of each eye; rostrum reaching the posterior border of mesosternum; rostral segment I stouter, almost reaching the anterior border of prosternum. Thorax. Pronotum campanuliform, punctate, with punctures scattered and shallow; anterior third of pronotal disc sloping and medially split forming two small humps or tubercles; in lateral view the humps are not conspicuously raised; humeral angles rounded, obtuse, not exposed ( Fig. 36 ); posterior border of metapleuron slightly convex. Genitalia. Parameres. Elongate, apically with short, and thin hook ( Figs. 41‒42 ). Integument. Dorsal surface with head, pronotal disc, scutellar disc, clavus and corium densely clothed with elongate, erect and conspicuous, silver setae; antennal segments I–III thickly, with rather long, silvery, erect setae, IV with short depressed setae.

Female. Habitus and color are similar to male holotype. Humeral angles of pronotum slightly subacute; connexival segments VIII‒IX with anterior half and upper margin of posterior half yellow and posterior half black to dark brown; dorsal abdominal segments VIII‒IX dark brown to black with upper margin yellow; valvulae VIII black with outer border yellow; laterotergite VIII yellow with the rim of abdominal spiracle and an apical discoidal spot near posterior third dark brown; laterotergite IX yellow.

Measurements. Male. Body length 17.90; head length 1.36; head width across eyes 1.98; interocular distance 1.11; interocellar distance 0.59; length antennal segments I 2.66, II 2.97, III 2.23, IV 3.12; pronotum total length 3.72, maximum width across humeral angles 6.01; scutellum length 2.17, width 2.23.

Female. Body length 19.82; head length 1.42; head width across eyes 2.07; interocular distance 1.13; interocellar distance 0.62; length antennal segments I 2.60, II 3.02, III 2.48, IV 3.16; pronotum total length 3.78, maximum width across humeral angles 6.94; scutellum length 2.17, width 2.51.

Type material. HOLOTYPE male: ECUADOR: Guayaquil , 6-VII-1905, F. von Buchwald ( ZIZM). PARA- TYPES: ECUADOR: Guayaquil, 6-VII-1905, F. von Buchwald ( UNAM 1 female, ZIZM 1 male, 2 females).

Etymology. From the Latin “crassus” (thick or stout), referring to the broad body of this insect.

Discussion. Differential diagnosis. Sephina crassa sp. nov., described from Ecuador, is very similar to S. miniacea ( Blanchard 1843) , which was described from Bolivia. Both species have the pronotum, including the anterolateral margins and the humeral angles, black, with calli and relatively wide arched fringe running from the raised areas of the anterior third of the disc to the posterolateral borders; the clavus yellow with claval commissure and claval margin black, and corium black with anterior third near clavus, apical margin and apical angle yellow with costal margin black except the yellow apical third. In S. miniacea ( Fig. 35 ), the scutellum is black with a yellow longitudinal stripe across midline; the pronotal disc has the posterior margin and wide longitudinal stripe running across midline yellow and corium with the wide yellow transverse stripe absent. In S. crassa sp. nov., ( Fig. 36 ), the posterior margin of pronotum is black, and pronotal disc lacks the yellow longitudinal stripe crossing the midline; scutellum is entirely black. In S. miniacea , the legs are brassy and in S. crassa , the coxae, trochanters and femora are pale castaneous orange, with the apical third of femora, tibiae, and tarsi dark castaneous orange (perhaps this difference in coloration due to the conservation of each species).

Sephina faceta ( Fig. 8 ), the only other known species recorded from Ecuador, is distinguished in having the femora black with apical third yellow; the tibiae black with basal joint yellow; the hemelytral membrane black with several yellow spots; the clavus black and the corium with a yellow discoidal spot near the middle third. In the new species, the femora are pale castaneous orange with apical third darker; the tibiae are dark castaneous orange with the dark reddish basal joint; the hemelytral membrane is entirely black; the clavus is yellow, and the corium lacks a yellow discoidal spot. The ocellar tubercles are conspicuously protuberant and the anterior margin of each ocellus reaching the middle third of each eye. In S. crassa , the ocellar tubercles are slightly raised, and the anterior margin of each ocellus just reaching the posterior border of each eye.

Figures

FIGURES 34‒36. Dorsal view of Sephina spp. 34, S. maculata (Dallas) (male). 35, S. miniacea (Blanchard) (female syntype). 36, S. crassa sp. nov. (female).

FIGURES 37‒46. 37‒38. Male genital capsule of Sephina vinula Stål. 37, caudal view. 38, lateral view. 39‒46. Parameres of Sephina spp. 39‒40, S. vinula Stål. 41‒42, S. crassa sp.nov. 43‒44, S. indierae Wolcott. 45, S. effrena sp. nov. 46, S. ornata sp. nov.

FIGURES 5‒10. Dorsal view of Sephina spp. 5, S. talamancana Brailovsky (male). 6, S. nigripes Schmidt (female type). 7, S. nigripes Schmidt (male). 8, S. faceta Brailovsky (female). 9, S. geniculata Distant (female). 10, S. bicornis Distant (male holotype).