Triatoma longipennis Usinger, 1939

Rengifo-Correa, Laura, Téllez-Rendón, Juan Luis, Esteban, Lyda, Huerta, Herón & Morrone, Juan J., 2021, The Triatoma phyllosoma species group (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae), vectors of Chagas disease: Diagnoses and a key to the species, Zootaxa 5023 (3), pp. 335-365 : 346-347

Triatoma longipennis Usinger, 1939

( Fig. 5A )

Triatoma longipennis Usinger, 1939: 48 ; Lent & Wygodzinsky, 1979: 259; Schofield & Galvão, 2009: 91; Monteiro et al., 2018: 284.

Triatoma phyllosoma usingeri Mazzotti, 1943: 81 (pro parte), 1944: 60.

Triatoma phyllosoma intermedia Usinger, 1944: 61 .

Triatoma phyllosoma longipennis ; Usinger, 1944: 61; Marcilla et al., 2001: 141; Martínez et al., 2006: 285; Martínez-Hernández et al., 2010: 80.

Meccus longipennis ; Carcavallo et al., 2000: 81; Galvão et al., 2003: 7.

Diagnosis. Male body length 29.0–34.0 mm. Female body length 30.0–37.0 mm. Anteocular region three times as long as postocular region. First antennal segment from attaining to slightly surpassing level of apex of clypeus. Pronotum black, sometimes with small orange spot on humeri; short (0.1–0.3 mm), adpressed or semierect setae. Hemelytra of males attaining middle or apex of urotergite VII; hemelytra of females reaching but not extending beyond hind margin of urotergite VI. Overall color of hemelytra dark brown. Corium with yellow or orange areas, a large basal triangular mark, and sometimes a small subapical spot or irregular-shaped mark; short (0.1–0.2 mm) adpressed or decumbent setae. Spongy fossulae of fore and mid tibiae absent in both sexes. Abdomen strongly widened. Overall color of connexival segments dark brown or black, with yellow or orange-red marks extending or not to connexival suture. Pygophore nearly round, slightly wider than longer ( Figs. 8B , 9B ).

Specimens examined. Mexico. 1 female ( CAIM), Aguascalientes, Calvillo, La Fortuna, 03 vi 2010 , E. Islas Ojeda. 1 male ( CAIM), Aguascalientes, Calvillo , El Temazcal, 15 xii 2009 , J. Ponce and J. Martínez. 1 female ( CAIM), Jalisco, Amacueca, 22 vii 2004 , n/d. 1 female ( CAIM), Jalisco, Ameca, 06 v 2004 , n/d. 1 female ( CAIM), Jalisco, Juchitlán, 11 vi 2004 , n/d. 1 female ( CAIM), Jalisco, San Martín de Hidalgo, 01 vii 2004 , 1 male ( CAIM), Jalisco, Tamazula , Vista Hermosa, 01 vii 2004 , n/d. 1 female ( CAIM), Nayarit, Ixtlán del Río, San José de Gracia , InDRE insectarium 2008 .

Distribution. Mexico: Aguascalientes, Colima, Chihuahua, Jalisco, Nayarit, Sinaloa, and Zacatecas ( Zárate & Zárate 1985; Galvão et al. 2003). We agree with Zárate and Zárate (1985) that the only historical record of a single specimen in Yucatán state does not represent the true distribution of T. longipennis . Wild hybridization between T. longipennis , T. pallidipennis , and T. picturata is recorded in Jalisco and Nayarit ( Martínez-Hernandez et al. 2010).

Comments. This species is closely related to T. picturata and T. recurva ( Rengifo-Correa et al. 2021) . Crosses of T. longipennis with T. pallidipennis produce cryptic hybrids with either of both parental phenotypes (Martínez- Ibarra et al. 2009). Also, hybrids of T. longipennis and T. picturata are cryptic ( Martínez-Ibarra et al. 2008). Triatoma longipennis was considered a subspecies of T. phyllosoma because of its potential of hybridization and low genetic divergence from other closely related species ( Marcilla et al. 2001; Martínez et al. 2006; Martínez-Ibarra et al. 2008; Martínez-Hernández et al. 2010). However, the head phenotype presents more cohesion within specimens identified as T. longipennis than between these specimens and those classified as T. pallidipennis ( Martínez-Hernández et al. 2010; de la Rúa et al. 2014). The antennal phenotype of T. longipennis and T. picturata is indiscernible (Martínez- Hernández et al. 2010), but this might be a consequence of their common ancestry. Hybrids of T. longipennis with T. pallidipennis or T. picturata exhibit diagnostic morphological characters of just one parent, as well as lower fitness than their parents ( Martínez-Ibarra et al. 2008; Martínez-Ibarra et al. 2015a). Then specimens or these three retain phenotypic identity despite hybridization. Besides, non-hybrid specimens of T. longipennis have more genetic cohesion with T. picturata and T. recurva than with T. bassolsae , T. mazzottii , T. pallidipennis , and T. phyllosoma ( Rengifo-Correa et al. 2021) . Then, T. longipennis cannot be longer classified as a subspecies of T. phyllosoma and here, we re-establish its valid species status.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Triatoma spp. A, T. longipennis; B, T. mazzottii; C, D, E. T. mexicana. F, T. pallidipennis.

FIGURE 8. Pygophore of Triatoma spp., ventral view (A, T. bassolsae; B, T. longipennis; C, T. mazzottii; D, T. pallidipennis; E, T. phyllosoma; F, T. picturata.

FIGURE 9. Pygophore of Triatoma spp., lateral view A, T. bassolsae; B, T. longipennis; C, T. mazzottii; D, T. pallidipennis; E, T. phyllosoma; F, T. picturata.