Tagalis dichroa, Castro-Huertas, Valentina & Forero, Dimitri, 2014

Castro-Huertas, Valentina & Forero, Dimitri, 2014, First record of the genus Tag ali s Stål, 1860 (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Saicinae) from Colombia with the description of two new species, Zootaxa 3838 (4), pp. 475-485 : 477-478

Tagalis dichroa sp. nov.

( Figs. 1 , 2 )

Diagnosis: Recognized by the overall dark coloration (figs. 1A, B), with pale coxal cavities (fig. 1D), and the structure of the male genitalia (figs. 1F, 2).

Description. Male: Small (Total length, holotype: 4.86 mm). COLORATION: Head: Uniformly dark brown (figs. 1A, D). Antenna: scapus pale brown, basally and apically dark brown. Labium: Second segment dark brown, third and fourth segments brown. Thorax (fig. 1D): Uniformly dark brown; coxal cavities white; apex of the mesonotal spine pale brown. Legs: Proleg pale brown (fig. 1C), procoxae apically pale, profemur apically on dorsal surface and on base of anterior strong setae dark brown, protibia apically on posterior surface dark brown; meso- and metalegs brown (fig. 1B), meso- and metacoxae and trochanters whitish, meso- and metatibiae apically dark brown. Hemelytron: Semi hyaline, brown (fig. 1A). Abdomen: Brown, dorsally pale brown (fig. 1B). Segment eight and pygophore pale (fig. 1F). VESTITURE: Body with rather sparse, fine, suberect setae. Head: Densely setose; postocular lobe dorsally glabrous; antennal scapus with numerous, erect, medium length setae; paired spines each on ventral margin of maxillary plate, on posteroventral margin of eye, and on the gular region, the first two of equal length, the last one about half the length of the first two; two spines on each second and third segments of the labium. Thorax: Dorsally glabrous; posterior lobe of pronotum laterally with sparse setae; proepisternal process with an anteroventrad spine; mesoscutum basally beset with numerous, long setae. Legs: Procoxa with a dorsad basal spine; protrochanter with four ventrad spines; profemora with a ventral row of very short spines, intermixed with decumbent dense setae and erect long sparse setae; anterodorsal surface with six spines, distal four ones large; protibia with three large anterodorsal spines on basal half and one short, stout setae on the apex, close to protibial comb; scopula present on apex of third tarsomere of all legs (fig. 1G). STRUCTURE: Head (figs. 1A, D): Anteocular lobe very short, postocular lobe as long as eye, globose, polished; interocular sulcus deep, almost straight; clypeus barely protruding, anterior margin straight nearly vertical. Eyes (figs. 1A, D): Hemispherical in dorsal view, elongate ovoid in lateral view. Antenna: Scapus the longest, pedicel about half the length of scapus, basiflagellomere as long as pedicel, distiflagellomere about as half as long as basiflagellomere. Labium: Second labial segment stout, third segment basally swollen, about as long as second segment, fourth segment narrowing toward apex, about as long as third. Thorax (fig. 1D): Pronotum longer than wide; anterior lobe subquadrate, anterior margin with collar, lateral angle with a broadly rounded projection, disc rugose, anterior and posterior margins with a pair of low protuberances each, distance between anterior protuberances smaller than between posterior ones; posterior lobe trapezoidal, about as long as anterior lobe, disc shallowly depressed, humeral angles rounded; transverse furrow impressed, strongly emarginated medially, with a deep circular depression; mesoscutum with broad base, medially depressed, laterally forming a ridge, truncated apex, tapering into a long erect spine (figs. 1D, E); metanotum with an anterior short, blunt spine, and a posterior larger spine (broken) (fig. 1E). Prosternum with proepisternal process projected, apex pointed; stridulitrum narrow; prosternal process very small; mesosternum slightly longer than prosternum; metasternum slightly shorter than mesosternum. Legs: procoxa cylindrical; protrochanter triangular; profemur stout; protibia slightly curved, apically expanded (fig. 1C), with flat protibial comb; tarsi three-segmented, apical one globose; simple, slender, curved claws; meso- and metaleg similar in structure, metaleg slightly longer than mesoleg; meso- and metacoxa ovoid; meso- and metatrochanter triangular; meso- and metafemur and meso- and metatibia long and slender; meso- and metatarsi similar to protarsi. Hemelytron: with two closed cells (fig. 1A). Abdomen: elongate ovoid (fig. 1B), lateral margins smooth. MALE GENITALIA: Pygophore elongate ovoid (figs. 2A-C), median process (mpp) reclined in lateral view (fig. 1B), broadly rounded basally, strongly tapering towards acute apex (figs. 2A, C); process of the genital opening (pgo) triangular, with apex acute (fig. 2B); genital opening (go) and anterior opening (ao) separated by a narrow transverse bridge (br) (fig. 2A); area surrounding paramere socket (ps) with long, delicate setae (figs. 2A, B). Paramere long, of approximately equal width on basal half, apical half slightly compressed apically, gently curving apically, about nine long setae on dorsal surface of apical half before curvature, apical half on ventral surface with a broadly rounded protrusion (fig. 2G). Arms of articulatory apparatus (apt) strongly curved in dorsal view (fig. 2E); basal plate bridge absent. Phallosoma with dorsal phallothecal sclerite (dps) ovoid, with large, nearly triangular prolongation (pro) about as long as length of sclerite (figs. 2D, E). Endosoma with numerous paddle-shaped sclerites (pss) (figs. 2D-F).

Female: Unknown.

Etymology. The specific name dichroa is taken from the Greek words di (two) and chroa (color), because of the contrasting coloration pattern of this species on the thorax.

Biology. The single examined specimen was collected at night on ruderal vegetation.

Discussion. Tagalis dichroa can be easily distinguished from all of the known Tagalis species by the structure of the male genitalia and the coloration pattern. Males are known for all species of Tagalis ( Gil-Santana 2011; Gil- Santana et al. 2010; Melo 2008), making comparisons meaningful. Tagalis dichroa apparently is more similar, with regard to the male genitalia, to T. inornata inornata . Tagalis dichroa has a reclined median process of the pygophore, with a wide base and an acute and long apex, similar to that of T. seminigra and T. inornata inornata ( Gil-Santana 2011; Gil-Santana et al. 2010). Comparatively, T. femorata has the median process of pygophore long and nearly vertical; T. evavilmae has a very short and erect median process; T. baenai , T. grossii , and T. marquesi have reclined, short and narrow median processes ( Gil-Santana 2011; Gil-Santana et al. 2010; Melo 2008). The process of the genital opening in T. dichroa is triangular and apically acute, not rounded or truncate as in e.g., T. baenai , T. femorata , T. marquesi , T. seminigra ; or bilobed as in T. evavilmae ( Gil-Santana et al. 2010) . Only T. inornata has a similar process of the genital opening to that found in T. dichroa . More conspicuously, T. dichroa has a posterior prolongation of the dorsal phallothecal sclerite, which is long, narrowing towards the apex, and rounded apically, different from T. seminigra which is (apparently) not elongate ( Gil-Santana et al. 2010), but very similar to what is found in T. inornata ( Gil-Santana 2011) . Parameres are similar in all species, except in T. evavilmae which has the apical curvature strongly angled with respect to the body of the paramere ( Gil-Santana et al. 2010). The paramere in T. dichroa has a broadly rounded protrusion on the ventral margin, which is less pronounced in T. inornata inornata ( Gil-Santana 2011) .

As discussed above the most similar species to T. dichroa with regard to the male genitalia is T. inornata inornata . This species is widely distributed in the Neotropical region, ranging from Mexico to Argentina ( Blinn 2008; Gil-Santana 2011). The closest known localities of T. inornata inornata to Acandí, the type locality of T. dichroa , are Portobello in the Colón province, Panama ( McAtee & Malloch 1923), about 290 km to the east, and Pagoreni (Cuzco) and Kirigueti (Ucayali) in Peru ( Melo 2008), some 2,200 km SSW of Acandí. This noncontinuous distribution of T. inornata inornata is just a reflection of poor collecting.

Distribution. Only known from Capurganá, in the municipality of Acandí, Chocó.

Examined material. Holotype: Male: COLOMBIA: Chocó, Acandí, Capurganá [8.635046°N – 77.347716°W], Jardín Botánico, 60 m, 13 abr 2008, A. Vergara, leg. / Nocturno, rastrojo, colecta manual / Tagalis dichroa sp. nov. Castro-Huertas & Forero 2014 / MPUJ _ ENT 0 0 17413 ( MPUJ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Tagalis dichroa sp. nov. Male holotype. A. Habitus, dorsal view. B. Lateral view. C. Proleg, lateral view. D. Head and thorax, lateral view; arrow indicates pale coxal cavity. E. Meso- and metathorax showing mesoscutellar and metanotal spines; posterior metanotal spine is broken. F. Eight abdominal segment and pygophore. G. Tarsi of metaleg; arrow indicates the scopula.

FIGURE 2. Tagalis dichroa sp. nov., male genitalia. A-C. Pygophore, A. dorsal view; B. lateral view; C. ventral view. D-F. Phallus, D. lateral view; E. dorsal view; F. ventral view. G. Paramere, lateral view. Abbreviations: ao, anterior opening; apt, articulatory apparatus; br, transverse bridge; dps, dorsal phallothecal sclerite; go, genital opening; mpp, median process of the pygophore; pgo, process of the genital opening; pro, prolongation of the dps; pss, endosomal paddle-shaped sclerites.