Triatoma phyllosoma (Burmeister, 1835)

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 : 339

Triatoma phyllosoma species group Monteiro, Weirauch, Felix, Lazoski & Abad-Franch, 2018

Triatoma phyllosoma species group Monteiro, Weirauch, Felix, Lazoski & Abad-Franch, 2018: 284.

Diagnosis. Medium to large size (15–40 mm). Head subcylindrical, long and narrow. Head slightly longer than pronotum. Antenniferous tubercles situated at or before middle of anteocular region. Genae tapering or rounded apically, not or only slightly surpassing apex of clypeus. First and third rostral segments much shorter than second. Third rostral segment shorter than first. Humeral angles rounded or angular but not spined. Scutellar process subcylindrical or subconical. Legs with all segments, except tarsi, uniformly dark. Fore femora usually long and slender; if relatively stout, at least 4.5 times as long as wide. Spongy fossula of males variable, from a small spongy fossula to absent in both fore and mid tibiae. Spongy fossula absent in females. Abdomen narrow to wide, with lateral portions of urotergites exposed or completely covered by hemelytra. Dorsal and ventral connexival segments normally developed.

Comments. This group is diagnosed by a combination of characters of adult specimens. Nymphs might provide valuable taxonomical characters for generic classification ( Lent & Wygodzinsky, 1979), but still are underused in taxonomical practices. Some authors argued that species of the T. phyllosoma complex merit generic status ( Meccus Carcavallo, 2000 ); however, the close phylogenetic relationship of Meccus with the remaining species groups supposes leaving Triatoma paraphyletic if the species assigned to Meccus were excluded ( Schofield & Galvão 2009).