Phyllomictis, Xun & Gao & Yin, 2024

Xun, Harvey, Gao, Hao-Ran & Yin, Zi-Xu, 2024, A remarkable new genus and species of Mictini from southern China (Heteroptera: Coreidae: Coreinae), Zootaxa 5555 (1), pp. 105-115 : 107-108

Phyllomictis gen. nov.

( Figs. 1–3 )

Type species. Phyllomictis chinensis sp. nov., by present designation.

Diagnosis. Phyllomictis gen. nov. can be diagnosed from other genera by the following morphological characters: (1) body size large (29.2–36.4mm); (2) red-brown, integument with irregular, short, white hairs, especially on the ventral surface; (3) pronotum steeply declivent medially, smooth, and without tubercles; (4) lateral margins of pronotum faintly serrate, humeral angles pointing forward, extending above and past the head in lateral and dorsal views, respectively; (5) apex of scutellum not armed with a tubercle; (6) male hind femora with a large spine on the ventral basal quarter; (7) female hind femora smooth, with faint tubercles; (8) fore and mid tibiae dilated dorsally and ventrally, the dorsal dilation’s maximum width about half its length; (9) hind tibiae dilated dorsally and ventrally, the dorsal dilation in males with a large apical spine and the ventral dilation with a big spine at the midpoint; (10) ventral surface of abdomen without spines or protuberances.

Description. Color and vestiture. Large size, reddish-brown, ventral color lighter; body covered with short, suberect, yellow setae and short, suberect, white setae, especially on the ventral surface and the femora; pronotum and dilation of each tibia with irregular, round, black spots; abdominal spiracles black.

Head. Quadrate, width across eyes greater than length; eyes small, flat; antenniferous tubercle large, prominent; antennae long, terete, relatively stout, relative lengths of antennal segments I> IV> II> III; rostrum with short setae, reaching midpoint of mesosternum.

Thorax. Pronotum steeply declivent, medially, extremely extended anterolaterally, smooth, without tubercles; anterior margins with 3–4 sharp spines, lateral margins faintly serrate, humeral angles pointing forward, over the top of the head, posterior margin flat, smooth. Scutellum. Smooth, with obscure transverse striations; apex flat, white. Hemelytra. Extending slightly beyond the tip of abdomen. Legs. Fore and mid femora smooth, slightly incrassate (both sexes), hind femora more incrassate (especially in male), all femora ventrally with two subdistal spines (not very prominent in the male); male hind femora curved, with faint tubercles, ventral basal quarter with a large spine; female hind femora smooth, with faint tubercles; fore and mid tibiae dilated dorsally for about the mid half of their length; hind tibiae dilated dorsally and ventrally, ventral dilation of male with a big spine at midpoint; relative lengths of tarsal segments I> III> II ( Figs. 2C, D ).

Abdomen. Ventral surface simple, without spines or protuberances; abdomen laterally expanded (both sexes), the connexivum visible dorsally; abdominal spiracles small, round, and closer to anterior than to lateral margins of their sterna.

Male genitalia. The single included species are described below.

Molecular results. The Bayesian phylogenetic tree showed low BPP (<0.95) across several clades, suggesting that the mitochondrial tree may not reliably reflect phylogenetic relationships at the genus level ( Fig. 4 ). Nonetheless, the uncorrected genetic distance (p-distance) reveals that the new genus exhibits significantly greater genetic divergence from other genera (13.6–20.0%), supporting its status as a distinct new taxon ( Table 2).

Etymology. The name Phyllomictis was crafted from the Greek “φύλλο” (phúllon, leaf), referring to the Mictini with leaf-like legs.

Distribution ( Fig. 5; Table 3). China: Guangxi, Guizhou, Yunnan. Observation records: Chongqing, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Hunan.

Chinese common name. 叶DzøDz.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Phyllomictis chinensis sp. nov., habitus: A–C. holotype, male; D–F. paratype, female. A, D. dorsal; B, E. lateral; C, F. ventral. Scale in 10 mm.

FIGURE 2. Phyllomictis chinensis sp. nov., holotype, male: A. apex of abdomen, posterior; B. apex of abdomen, ventral; C. right hind femur, dorsal; D. right hind tibia, dorsal. A–B. scales in 1 mm; C–D. Scales in 10 mm.

FIGURE 3. Phyllomictis chinensis sp. nov., holotype, male: A. genital capsule, dorsal; B–D. left paramere in their different aspects. Abbreviations: cs = cuplike sclerite; lr = lateral rim infolding; pr = proctiger; vr = ventral rim. A. scale in 1 mm; B–D. Scale in 0.5 mm.

FIGURE 4. Mitochondrial genealogy of the Mictini inferred by Basyesian analyses based on the COI gene. Numbers at each node indicate Bayesian posterior probabilities. Photos by Chen Wang, Hao-Ran Gao, and Si-Ke Shen.