Thaumastocoris Kirkaldy, 1908

Noack, Ann E., Cassis, Gerasimos & Rose, Harley A., 2011, Systematic revision of Thaumastocoris Kirkaldy (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Thaumastocoridae), Zootaxa 3121, pp. 1-60 : 16-17

Thaumastocoris Kirkaldy, 1908

Thaumastotherium Kirkaldy, 1908: 768 ; Type species: Thaumastotherium australicum Kirkaldy, 1908 , by monotypy. Thaumastocoris Kirkaldy 1908: 768 [corrigenda] justified emendation of Thaumastotherium Kirkaldy, 1908 ; Type species: Thaumastocoris australicus Kirkaldy, 1908 , by monotypy; Drake and Slater 1957: 365 (description); Cassis and Gross 1995: 393 (catalogue).

Diagnosis. Thaumastocoris is recognized by the following character states: body strongly dorsoventrally compressed and elongate ( Figure 3–9 ); small, with most species between 2–3.5 mm in length (Table 2); dorsum moderately polished, with shallow to deep setose punctures ( Figure 3–9 ; 15A,D; 10D); head broad; eyes pedicellate; elongate conspicuous mandibular plates ( Figure 10 A; 11A; 15A; 16A); pronotum weakly to strongly constricted medially ( Figure 15 D; 14D; 17D); femora incrassate ( Figure 11 A,B; 13B; 15B); tibial teeth conspicuous ( Figure 13 F; 17F); and fossula spongiosa elongate ( Figure 12 F; 13F).

Redescription. Colouration. Dorsum variable, but typically yellowish brown with contrasting brown to fuscous markings ( Figure 3–9 ). Head: mostly cream to light brown with vertex and mandibular plates often darker; lateral aspects of mandibular plates and genae frequently with brown to fuscous stripe. Antennae: straw to yellowish brown often with brown to fuscous regions on subapical AII–AIV. Labium: straw to brown, apex LIV darker. Pronotum: mostly yellowish brown, midline of callosite region sometimes darker; pronotal disc cream to yellowish brown. Thoracic pleura and sterna: typically yellowish brown to dark brown, pleura often darker dorsally; prosternum cream to fuscous. Scutellum : yellowish brown to dark brown, posterior half of midline lighter. Hemelytra: yellowish brown, clavus lighter; membrane cream to light yellowish brown often apically infused with dark brown to fuscous. Legs: straw-coloured, with distal margin of second tarsomere brown. Abdomen: light to dark brown. Texture. Dorsum moderately polished, with scattered shallow to deep setose punctures. Head: vertex mostly impunctate, with transverse puncticulate rows often visible, epicranial suture with shallow to moderately deep irregular punctures; areas of vertex adjacent to eyes, medial to ocelli impunctate; mandibular plates irregularly punctate, often denser posteriorly ( Figure 15 A; 16A; 10A; 12A; 14A). Pronotum: callosite region sparsely punctate, punctures shallow, often denser along midline and anterolateral angles; pronotal disc densely and regularly punctate, punctures deep, posterolateral angles impunctate ( Figure 10 D; 14D; 15D; 16E). Thoracic pleura and sterna: pleura variously punctated with fine to deep punctures ( Figure 11 E; 13D; 15E); sterna mostly with sparse, irregular, shallow punctures; mesosternum often polished. Hemelytra: clavus and corium with uniform distribution of deep punctures ( Figure 11 F; 14F; 15F). Abdomen: impunctate, moderately to highly polished. Vestiture. Dorsum with uniform distribution of setose punctures, setae short erect straw-coloured. Lateral and ventral aspects of body irregularly to uniformly clothed with erect to decumbent setae ( Figure 11 E; 13E; 14E), often more densely distributed on ventral aspect of mandibular plates, adjacent to bucculae and gula ( Figure 11 B; 14B). Antennae with uniform distribution of decumbent setae intermixed with fine erect setae; AIII–AIV often with dorsal and ventral margins bare ( Figure 10 C; 11C; 12C; 15C). Femora with short decumbent setae ( Figure 15 B); tibia with longer denser setae distally. Structure. Head: transverse weakly declivent; mandibular plates elongate and broad, surpassing clypeus by clypeal length or more, briefly to completely contiguous along medial margin ( Figure 3–9 ; 14A; 16A,B; 11A), weakly to strongly flared anteriorly, weakly to strongly excavate dorsally ( Figure 15 A; 12A; 11A), lateral margins rounded to strongly recurved; genae sometimes swollen and truncate anteriorly; vertex weakly swollen, epicranial suture obvious; bucculae, weakly to strongly arcuate ( Figure 16 B; 15B), posterior margin sometimes strongly explanate so as to be reinform ( Figure 13 B; 14B); gula flat to distinctly excavate. Eyes: weakly to strongly pedicellate ( Figure 5 A; 7C,D; 4C,D). Antennae: AI short, cylindrical; AII approximately double length of AI, cylindrical to dorsoventrally compressed, often weakly expanded distally, sometimes with ‘antennal pit’ visible on subanterolateral margin ( Figure 16 D); AIII approximately same length as AII, cylindrical to dorsoventrally compressed, sometimes weakly expanded distally; AIV slightly shorter than AII and AII, dorsoventrally compressed and weakly lanceolate ( Figure 10 C; 15C). Labium: short, not surpassing anterior margin of prosternum to long, reaching subposterior margin of prosternum. Pronotum: weakly to strongly constricted medially; callosite region subequal to shorter than disc, disc often broader; callosite region often depressed along midline; calli weakly swollen; anterolateral angles rounded to distinctly tuberiferous ( Figure 15 D; 16E); lateral margin of disc weakly arcuate; disc sometimes slightly raised. Thoracic pleura and sterna: propleuron sometimes moderately to strongly ventrally expanded, approaching midline of body ( Figure 10 B; 15B), posteroventral angle rounded, weakly swollen, to distinctly tuberiferous ( Figure 10 B,E); metapleuron sometimes weakly swollen posteroventrally; prosternum flat (Figure 10B), swollen ( Figure 12 B), or excavate anteriorly, sometimes bipartite and posteriorly reduced subcardiform ( Figure 15 B), often with posterior lateral margins rounded, flared or truncate. Hemelytra: typically submacropterous ( Figure 3–4 ; 6–9), extending to submarginal TIX or basal half of pygophore, sometimes macropterous ( Figure 5 A); medial margin of corium typically convex medially becoming weakly excavate distally, apex of corium at membrane usually narrowed, medial margin typically less than 45° to costal margin. Legs: fore and mesofemora moderately to strongly incrassate ( Figure 11 B; 15B); tibia slightly swollen subapically, fossula spongiosa elongate, reaching distal half or third of second tarsomere ( Figure 13 F; 12F); tibial teeth on inner apical margin, conspicuous and variable in number ( Figure 13 F; 17F). Male Genitalia: pygophore ovoid sometimes ellipsoid ( Figure 19 F); pygophoral lock elongated and variously modified apically, typically narrowing to point ( Figure 19 B,C) or concave ( Figure 19 E,F) or rounded ( Figure 18 A) or oblique angle ( Figure 19 A), often weakly trapezoid with angles flared and pointed ( Figure 18 C) or flared with rounded angles ( Figure 18 G,H), others subrectangular and recurved ( Figure 18 B) or with a medial notch ( Figure 18 D); paramere heavily sclerotized, usually subquadrate ( Figure 19 A,B,C) to subquadrangular ( Figure 18 B) or ovoid ( Figure 18 A; 19F), others more elongate and apically spatulate ( Figure 18 D,G,H) or recurved ( Figure 18 C; 19E), sometimes with a medial keel ( Figure 19 D) or ovate with a horn like projection apically ( Figure 18 E,F).

Distribution. Thaumastocoris is endemic to Australia. Thaumastocoris peregrinus has been accidentally introduced to southern Africa and South America.

Remarks. Key characters that differentiate the four genera of the Thaumastocorinae are summarized in Table 1 . Thaumastocoris is best recognized by the flat to strongly excavated mandibular plates, which are often anterolaterally flared and recurved. In contrast the mandibular plates of Baclozygum Bergroth , Onymocoris Drake & Slater and Wechina Drake & Slater are convex. Additionally, the mandibular plates of Thaumastocoris are usually contiguous medially, often for their entire length. However, mandibular plate contiguity is slight in the monotypic genus Wechina, only contiguous in one of the four species of Baclozygum ( B. bergrothi Drake & Slater ), and nonexistent in all species of Onymocoris . The labium of Thaumastocoris is generally shorter than those of the other three thaumastocorine genera, being short to moderate in length, and never reaching beyond the posterior margin of the prosternum, with the labium of most species just reaching the anterior margin of the forecoxae. The length of the labium in Baclozygum , Onymocoris , and Wechina is generally longer than the posterior margin of the prosternum.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Habitus, dorsal view. A and B Thaumastocoris australicus. C and D Thaumastocoris busso. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 4. Habitus, dorsal view. A and B Thaumastocoris freomooreae. C and D Thaumastocoris hackeri. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 5. Habitus, dorsal view. A Thaumastocoris macqueeni. B Thaumastocoris kalaako. C and D Thaumastocoris majeri. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 6. Habitus, dorsal view. A and B Thaumastocoris nadeli. C and D Thaumastocoris ohallorani. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 7. Habitus, dorsal view. A and B Thaumastocoris peregrinus. C and D Thaumastocoris petilus. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 8. Habitus, dorsal view. A and B Thaumastocoris roy. C and D Thaumastocoris safordi. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 9. Habitus, dorsal view. A and B Thaumastocoris slateri. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 10. Scanning electron micrographs: Thaumastocoris busso. A 3 head, dorsal view. B 3 head and prosternum, ventral view. C 3 antenna, dorsal view. D 3 pronotum, dorsal view. E 3 head and propleura, lateral view. F 3 thorax, lateral view. G 3 genitalia, ventral view. H Ƥ genitalia, ventral view. b = bucculae, c = clypeus, I = labium, me = mesopleuron, mp = mandibular plate, mt = metapleuron, p = paramere, pI = propleuron, ps = prosterna, py = pygophore, pyl = pygophoral lock, t = tubercle. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 11. Scanning electron micrographs: Thaumastocoris freomooreae. A 3 head and pronotum, dorsal view. B 3 head and prosternum, ventral view. C 3 antenna, dorsal view. D 3 head and propleura, lateral view. E 3 thorax, lateral view. F 3 hemelytra, dorsal view. G 3 genitalia, ventral view. H Ƥ genitalia, ventral view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 12. Scanning electron micrographs: Thaumastocoris majeri. A Ƥ head, dorsal view. B Ƥ head and prosternum, ventral view. C Ƥ antenna, dorsal view. D Ƥ head and pronotum, dorsal view. E Ƥ head and thorax, lateral view. F Ƥ foretarsus, lateral view. G Ƥ tarsal claw, anterolateral view. H Ƥ genitalia, ventral view. cl = claw, fs = fossula spongiosa, tc = tibial comb, tii = second tarsomere. Scale bar = 0.1 mm except for G scale bar = 0.01 mm.

FIGURE 13. Scanning electron micrographs: Thaumastocoris nadeli. A 3 head and pronotum, dorsal view. B 3 head and pro sternum, ventral view. C 3 antenna, dorsal view. D 3 head and propleura, lateral view. E 3 thorax, lateral view. F 3 midtarsus, lateral view. G 3 genitalia, ventral view. H Ƥ genitalia, ventral view. tt = tibial tooth. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 15. Scanning electron micrographs: Thaumastocoris petilus. A 3 head, dorsal view. B 3 head and prosternum, ventral view. C 3 antenna, dorsal view. D 3 head and pronotum, dorsal view. E 3 thorax, lateral view. F 3 Hemelytra, dorsal view. G 3 genitalia, ventral view. H Ƥ genitalia, ventral view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 16. Scanning electron micrographs: Thaumastocoris safordi. A 3 head, dorsal view. B 3 head, ventral view. C 3 head, lateral view. D 3 antenna, lateral view. E 3 pronotum, dorsal view. F 3 thorax, lateral view. G 3 genitalia, ventral view. H Ƥ genitalia, ventral view. t = tubercle. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 18. Male genitalia. A. Thaumastocoris australicus, ventral view B. Thaumastocoris busso, ventral view C. Thaumastocoris freomooreae, ventral view D. Thaumastocoris majeri, ventral view E. Thaumastocoris hackeri, ventral view F. Thaumastocoris hackeri, dorsal view G. Thaumastocoris ohallorani, ventral view H. Thaumastocoris ohallorani, dorsal view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 19. Male genitalia. A. Thaumastocoris nadeli, ventral view. B. Thaumastocoris peregrinus, ventral view C. Thaumastocoris petilus, ventral view D. Thaumastocoris roy, ventral view E. Thaumastocoris safordi, ventral view F. Thaumastocoris slateri, ventral view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.