Zelus exsanguis Stal , 1862

Zhang, Guanyang, Hart, Elwood R & Weirauch, Christiane, 2016, A taxonomic monograph of the assassin bug genus Zelus Fabricius (Hemiptera: Reduviidae): 71 species based on 10,000 specimens, Biodiversity Data Journal 4, pp. 8150-8150 : 8150

Zelus exsanguis Stal, 1862

Zelus exsanguis Stål, 1862, p. 452, orig. descr.; Stål, 1872, p. 91, cat. (subgenus Diplodus ); Walker, 1873, p. 124, cat.; Uhler, 1894, p. 283, list; Lethierry and Severin, 1896, p. 152, cat.; Champion, 1898, p. 259-260, senior syn. of Z. luridus Stål, Z. ambulans Stål and Z. cognatus Costa; Banks, 1910, p. 16, cat.; Fracker, 1913, p- 239, 240, 241, key, list and note (subgenus Diplodus ); Van Duzee, 1916, p, 30, checklist (subgenus Diplodus ); Van Duzee, 1917, p. 260, cat. (subgenus Diplodus ); Wygodzinsky, 1949a, p. 49, checklist; Hart, 1986, p. 539, redescription, lectotype desig., note, fig. and key; Maldonado, 1990, p. 327, cat.

Diplodus exsanguis : Uhler, 1886, p. 24, checklist.

Materials

Type status: Lectotype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00075071 ; occurrenceRemarks: Lectotype of Zelusexsanguis Stål, 1862, designated by Hart (1986). Verbatim label info: Mexico coll. Signoret / exsanguis det. Stal / B.C.A. Rhyn.II. Zelusexsanguis St. / Lectotype Zelusexsanguis Stal / designated by E. R. Hart / Lectotypus Zelusexsanguis STAL, 1862 etik. Hecher 1996 REDV. 470/1; recordedBy: Signoret; sex: Adult Female; Taxon: scientificName: Zelusexsanguis; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Stål, 1862; Location: country: MEXICO; stateProvince: unknown; locality: unknown ; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2012; Event: eventDate: No date provided; Record Level: institutionCode: NHMW

Description

Figs 71, 72, 73

Male: (Fig. 71a, b) Medium-sized, total length 13.79-16.41 mm (mean 14.98 mm, Suppl. material 2); slender. COLORATION: Anteocular lobe reddish-brown, most specimens with central dorsal area darker reddish-brown and with lighter mid-dorsal line, dark areas between compound eyes and antennal insertions. Postocular lobe yellowish-brown to reddish-brown, dorsal surface dark brown to brownish-black with mid-dorsal and circumocellar areas yellowish-brown to reddish-brown. Rostrum yellowish-brown to reddish-brown. Antennae reddish-brown, flagellomeres darker, base and apex of scape and pedicel dark brown. Anterior pronotal lobe yellowish-brown to reddish-brown, some specimens with dark brown areas on longitudinal medial sulcus and anterolateral margins. Posterior lobe reddish-brown dorsally with yellowish-brown lateral and posterior margins, lateral surfaces yellowish-brown, dark brown areas at anterior or dorsolateral margins and humeral angle. Scutellum yellowish-brown to reddish-brown. Legs yellowish-brown, most specimens with wide reddish-brown to brownish-black band at apices of femora and small dark area at apices of tibiae. Hernelytron brown with costal margin and veins of corium yellowish-brown. Abdomen venter reddish-brown. VESTITURE: Moderately setose. Anteocular lobe with short recumbent setae dorsally and laterally, short to moderately long erect setae on ventral surface. Postocular lobe with short, recumbent setae on dorsal and lateral surfaces, moderately erect setae scattered over surface, long, fine setae laterally. Anterior pronotal lobe with short, recumbent setae confined to setal tracts, long silky erect setae laterally. Posterior pronotal lobe with recumbent and sparse, erect setae. Meso- and metapleural surfaces with long silky erect setae. Scutellum with silky, erect setae. Clavus and corium of hemelytron with recumbent setae. Dorsum of abdomen with short erect setae, remainder of surface with short recumbent and short to moderately long erect setae, margin of connexivum fringed with erect setae. Exposed surface of pygophore with short to long erect setae. Apex of paramere with long erect setae. STRUCTURE: Head: Cylindrical, L/W = 2.31. Postocular lobe moderately long; in dorsal view anteriorly gradually narrowing, posterior portion constant, slightly narrower. Eye smallish; lateral margin only slightly wider than postocular lobe; in lateral view margins removed from dorsal and ventral surfaces of head. Ocellus noticeably elevated. Labium: I: II: III = 1: 1.8: 0.5. Basiflagellomere diameter about 1.4x as large as that of pedicel. Thorax: Anterolateral angle with inconspicuous, rounded projection; medial longitudinal sulcus shallow near collar, deepening posteriorly. Posterior pronotal lobe with finely rugulose surface; humeral angle armed, with spinous process, raised to level of and nearly continuous with disc. Scutellum moderately long; apex slightly produced into short fingerlike process. Legs: Slender. Femoral diameters subequal. Hemelytron: Surpassing apex of abdomen by about length of abdominal segment seven; quadrate cell small; Cu and M of cubital cell subparallel. GENITALIA: (Fig. 72) Pygophore: Elongate ovoid. Medial process triangular, broad, moderately long, arising from extended posterior margin, erect, straight, apex slightly curving, blunt, without modification. Paramere: Cylindrical; moderately long, slightly exceeding medial process; slightly curved ventrad; apical part enlarged, compressed. Phallus: Dorsal phallothecal sclerite somewhat squarish; medially slightly constricted; Dorsal phallothecal sclerite flat; apex truncate, medially emarginate; apical portion with transverse furrows; posterior margin of foramen broadly inversely V-shaped. Struts attached to dorsal phallothecal sclerite; apically separate, connected by bridge; fused basally. Basal plate arm slender to moderate; separate; converging; in lateral view nearly straight, only very slightly curved; bridge short; extension of basal plate small and confined to apex of basal plate arm.

Female: (Fig. 71c, d) Similar to male, except for the following. Larger than male, total length 15.12-19.36 mm (mean 17.00 mm, Suppl. material 2). Coloration rather similar to that in male; more uniform on head. Lateral process on humeral angle spinous, usually longer. Pro- and mesofemoral diameters larger than that of metafemur. Basiflagellomere not swollen basally. Hemelytron slightly surpassing apex of abdomen.

Diagnosis

As with some species of the Zelus luridus species group, Z. exsanguis has a rather uniform greenish-brown coloration. Can be distinguished from most other species of the same species group by the humeral angle elevated to same level of and nearly continuous with disc. This is also seen in Z. ambulans , but the two species can be easily separated on the basis of coloration (Figs 22, 71). Males can be distinguished from species of the Zelus luridus species group by the greatly enlarged apical part of the paramere (Fig. 72a, b), the medial process moderately broad, and the apex of the medial process somewhat narrowed.

Distribution

Mexico to Panama (Fig. 73). Countries with records: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama.

Taxon discussion

Hart (1986) discussed the confusion over the use of the name Z. exsanguis . As this species appears highly similar to several other species, incorrect identification is common in museum specimens. Almost without exceptions specimens from the US identified as Z. exsanguis are actually Z. luridus . Champion (1898) incorrectly synonymized Z. luridus and Z. ambulans with Z. exsanguis . Zelus exsanguis also appears to prefer mountainous areas, all observed specimens being from moderate to high altitudes.