Balta curvirostris Che and Chen

Che, Yanli, Chen, Li & Wang, Zongqing, 2010, Six new species of the genus Balta Tepper (Blattaria, Pseudophyllodrominae) from China, Zootaxa 2609, pp. 55-67 : 63-65

Balta curvirostris Che and Chen sp. nov.

Figures 46–56

Description. Pronotum length×width 3× 4.2 mm; tegmen 14.5 mm; overall length including tegmen 17.2 mm. Body pale brown. Vertex brown, occiput region yellowish white; antenna dark brown. Pronotum with discoidal area and anterior margin brown, lateral and posterior margins hyaline ( Fig. 47 ). Tegmina pale brown with costal areas paler. Venter and legs yellowish brown suffused with brown. Vertex with interocular space slightly less than distance between antennal sockets ( Fig. 46 ). Fourth and fifth maxillary palpomeres about same length, both distinctly shorter than the third. Pronotum with one irregular macula ( Fig. 47 ). Tegmen with discoidal veins strongly oblique. Hind wing with costal veins slightly clubbed or thickened; medial vein curved near medial part and without branches; cubital vein with 5 complete branches, two branches bifurcated at apex, triangular apical area reduced and small ( Fig. 48 ). Front femur of Type C2 ( Fig. 49 ), tarsal claws strongly asymmetrical and unspecialized ( Fig. 50 ). Male genitalia with supraanal plate in ventral view short, with mediodistal region rounded-convex ( Fig.51 ); right and left paraprocts slightly asymmetrical, plate simple with apices rounded and with numerous setae ( Fig.51 ). Subgenital plate in dorsal view nearly elliptic, lateral margins smoothly curved, hind margin deeply and concavely excavated with one large projecting medial lobe; styli small and fingerlike, with scattered short setae, located on lateral lobes and directed posteriorly ( Fig. 52 ). Left phallomere enlarged, sclerotized plates irregular ( Fig. 53 ). Median phallomere long, sticklike, slightly curved, with base blunt and apex bifurcated ( Fig. 54 ); one associated median phallomere appendage present and below median phallomere, the upper half nearly S-shaped with apical part slender and acuminate, distal part robust, hind margin serrated, the other half a simple plate but left side irregular ( Fig. 55 ). Hook-like phallomere with sclerotized portion very small, slender and with V-shaped incision ( Fig. 56 ).

Material examined. Holotype m?, China, Hainan, Jianfeng Mountain, 26 November 1981, Liang Songzhi coll. Paratypes: 1m?, same data as holotype but 7 July 1981, Guo Qiuming coll.; 1m?, same data as holotype but 28 July 1983, Hua Lizhong coll.

Remarks. Balta curvirostris is easily differentiated from B. variegata (Hanitsch, 1933) by the following: 1) pronotum with discoidal area and anterior margin brown, lateral and posterior margins hyaline in B. curvirostris ; pronotal disk shiny reddish brown, lateral margins yellowish, posterior margin dark brown in B. variegata ; 2) supraanal plate in ventral view short, with mediodistal region rounded convex in B. curvirostris ; supraanal plate transverse in B. variegata ; 3) median phallomere long, sticklike, slightly curved with base blunt and apex bifurcated in B. curvirostris ; median phallomere divided on distal half, one branch with setose membrane and long filament directed to left in B. variegata .

Etymology. The specific name “ curvirostris ” is derived from Latin and refers to the distinctly curved, posteriorly directed styli.

Figures

FIGURES 46 – 56. Balta curvirostris Che and Chen sp. nov. 46. Head. 47. Pronotum. 48. Hind wing. 49. Front femur. 50. Tarsal claws and arolium. 51. Supraanal plate and paraprocts, ventral view. 52. Subgenital plate, dorsal view. 53. Left phallomere. 54. Median phallomere. 55. Appendage of median phallomere. 56. Right phallomere.