Triatoma mazzottii Usinger, 1941

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 : 347-349

Triatoma mazzottii Usinger, 1941

( Fig. 5B )

Meccus phyllosoma Champion, 1899: 209 (non Burmeister, 1835).

Triatoma mazzottii Usinger, 1941: 54 ; Lent & Wygodzinsky, 1979: 266; Schofield & Galvão, 2009: 91; Monteiro et al., 2018: 284.

Triatoma phyllosoma mazzottii ; Usinger, 1944: 59; Marcilla et al., 2001: 141; Martínez et al., 2006: 285; Martínez-Hernández et al., 2010: 80.

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

Diagnosis. Male body length 33.0 mm. Female body length 34.0 mm. Anteocular region three times as long as postocular region. First antennal segment extending distinctly beyond level of apex of clypeus. Pronotum black, with numerous long (0.5 mm) erect hairs. Hemelytra of males attaining or slightly extending beyond apex of abdomen; hemelytra of females attaining middle of urotergite VII. Overall color of hemelytra black. Corium with red to orange-red areas, large basal triangular mark, and subapical subquadrate mark; long (0.3–0.4 mm) decumbent setae. Spongy fossulae of fore and mid tibiae absent in both sexes. Abdomen strongly widened. Connexival segments black, with posterior subquadrate orange red marks. Pygophore nearly round, slightly wider than longer ( Figs. 8C , 9C ).

Specimens examined. Mexico. 1 male ( CAIM), Guerrero, Acapulco, Ejido Nuevo, 22 iv 2010 , C. Lozano Tulez. 1 male ( CAIM), Guerrero, Acapulco , La Venta, Paso Limonero, 14 v 2010 , G. Sonora. 1 female ( CAIM), Guerrero, Copala , Barrio Nuevo, 12 xi 2010 , S. Reyes. 1 male ( CAIM), Guerrero, Ometepec, Acatepec, 17 v 2012 , R. Ruiz Ruiz. 1 male ( CAIM), Guerrero, Ometepec , Cerro Grande, 20 vi 2019 , M. C. Guzmán. 1 female ( CAIM), Guerrero, Quechultenango, Juxtlahuaca, ii 1974 , n/d. 1 male ( CAIM), Guerrero, Tecpan de G. 19 ii 2009 , n/d. 1 female ( CAIM) Oaxaca, Pinotepa Nacional , El Chivo, 12 v 2012 , U.E.1. 1 female ( CAIM), Oaxaca, S. Pedro Mixtepec, Basos de Chila , 14 XI 2007 , V. H. Bustamante. 1 female ( CAIM), Oaxaca, S. Pedro Guamelula, Plaxa Grande, 7 ii 2011 , M. Contreras. 1 female ( CAIM), Oaxaca, S. Pedro Pochutla, Corcovado, 18 iii 2012 , R. Pérez. 1 male ( CAIM), Oaxaca, S. Pedro Pochutla, Mazunte, 12 v 2008 , J. M.F. 1 female ( CAIM) Oaxaca, Salina Cruz, Salina Cruz , 06 vi 2008 . 1 male ( CAIM), Oaxaca, San Carlos Yautepec , Road to La Sierra, 28 vii 2010 , S. Martínez- Cartas. 1 male ( CAIM), Oaxaca, San Miguel del Puerto , Copalitla, 16 i 2010 , E. Cortés Zárate. 1 male ( CAIM), Oaxaca, Santa Cruz Tenzontepec , San Miguel, 23 ii 2011 , n/d. 1 female ( CAIM), Oaxaca, Santa María Colotepec , La Ceiba, 10 i 2010 , J. Pacheco. 1 male ( CAIM), Oaxaca, Santa María Tonameca , El Tule, 13 vi 2012 , n/d. 1 female ( CAIM), Oaxaca, Santa María Tonameca , Pochutla, La Ventanilla, viii 1979 , n/d. 1 male ( CAIM), Oaxaca, Santiago Yosondúa , El Vergel, Paraje Chacua, 13 vi 2019 , C. López Sánchez.

Distribution. Mexico: Guerrero and Oaxaca ( Zárate & Zárate 1985; Galvão et al. 2003). Records from Jalisco, Michoacán, and Nayarit seem a consequence of misidentification of specimens of T. longipennis ( Zárate & Zárate 1985) . Despite the extensive material for this species, CAIM collection does not hold specimens of T. mazzottii from these three states. Wild hybridization between T. mazzottii and T. phyllosoma is recorded in Oaxaca, Mexico ( Villalobos et al. 2011).

Comments. This species is closely related to T. bassolsae , T. pallidipennis , and T. phyllosoma ( Rengifo-Correa et al. 2021) . Triatoma mazzottii is inter-sterile with T. bassolsae ( Martínez-Ibarra et al. 2008, 2011a). Hybrids of T. mazzottii with T. pallidipennis and T. phyllosoma are widely expected in the field, given their distribution and reproductive compatibility ( Martínez-Hernández et al. 2010; Rengifo-Correa et al. 2021). Hybrids between T. mazzottii and T. pallidipennis exhibit a mixture of characters of these two species: pilosity, length of hemelytra, and connexivum color like T. mazzottii , with corium color like T. pallidipennis ( Martínez-Ibarra et al. 2008) . Morphology of hybrids of T. mazzottii and T. phyllosoma matches with T. mazzottii diagnosis ( Martínez-Ibarra et al. 2011a). Wild cryptic hybrids of these two species are recorded ( Villalobos et al. 2011). Triatoma mazzottii 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, a recent study shows that the genetic cohesion of T. mazzottii with T. bassolsae , T. pallidipennis , and T. phyllosoma is stronger than the genetic cohesion with T. longipennis and T. picturata ( Rengifo-Correa et al. 2021) . Similarly, reproductive cohesion of T. mazzottii is stronger with T. pallidipennis and T. phyllosoma than with T. bassolsae ( Martínez-Ibarra et al. 2008, 2011a). Hybrids of T. mazzottii and T. phyllosoma retain phenotypic cohesion with the former species. Then, phenotypic cohesion of specimens of T. mazzottii is stronger than cohesion between them and specimens of T. phyllosoma . Considering this information, we re-establish the species status of T. mazzottii .

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.