Zelus litigiosus 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 litigiosus Stal, 1862

Zelus litigiosus Stål, 1862, p. 453, orig. descr.; Stål, 1872, p. 90, cat. (subgenus Diplodus ); Lethierry and Severin, 1896, p. 152, cat.; Champion, 1898, p. 257, Tab. XV. fig. 20, 20a, fig. and junior syn. of Z. janus ; Maldonado, 1990, p. 328, cat.

Diplodus litigiosus : Walker, 1873, p. 124, cat; Uhler, 1886, p. 24, checklist.

Materials

Type status: Lectotype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00041006 ; occurrenceRemarks: Lectotype of Zeluslitigiosus Stål, 1862 (New Designation by Zhang, Hart & Weirauch, 2016) Verbatim label info: Mexico / Salle / litigiosus Stal / Lectotype Zeluslitigiosus Stal / designated by E.R.Hart / Typus / NHRS-GULI 000000332; recordedBy: salle; sex: Adult Female; Taxon: scientificName: Zeluslitigiosus; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Stål, 1862; Location: country: MEXICO; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2012; Record Level: institutionCode: NHRS Type status: Paralectotype. Occurrence: occurrenceRemarks: Paralectotype of Zeluslitigiosus Stål, 1862 (New Designation by Zhang, Hart & Weirauch, 2016) Verbatim label info: Mexico / Salle / litigiosus Stal / Paralectotype Zeluslitigiosus Stal / designated by E.R.Hart; recordedBy: salle; sex: Adult Female; Taxon: scientificName: Zeluslitigiosus; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Stål, 1862; Location: country: MEXICO; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; Record Level: institutionCode: NHRS

Description

Figs 124, 125, 126

Male: (Fig. 124a, b, c, d) Large, total length 17.10-18.80 mm (mean 18.15 mm, Suppl. material 2); robust. COLORATION: Brown, brownish-black, sometimes with orange or red. Dorsal and lateral surfaces of head usually brownish-black, ventral surface yellowish-brown; variable amount of yellowish-brown on anteocular lobe; yellowish-brown patch usually between eye and ocellus and medially on postocular lobe. Scape and pedicel with yellow and black bands. Areas of setal tracts on anterior pronotal lobe lighter than glabrous surface, difference subtle in some specimens. Posterior lobe usually uniformly brown, orange or red; lateral surfaces lighter in some specimens. Scutellum dark brown. Corium and clavus usually uniform, orange, brown or dark brown; some specimens with distal part lighter; membrane dark brown. Legs usually yellowish-brown with black bands, usually one on tibiae and two or three on femora; completely black in some dark specimens. VESTITURE: Densely setose. Head with both recumbent and erect setae dorsally, and predominantly short, recumbent setae ventrally. Anterior pronotal lobe with long erect setae, mainly occupying setal tracts; posterior pronotal lobe with fine, erect setae. Abdomen with short, recumbent setae, interspersed with long, erect setae. STRUCTURE: Head: Cylindrical, L/W = 2.25. Postocular lobe long; in dorsal view anteriorly gradually narrowing, posterior portion constant, slightly narrower. Eye smallish; lateral margin only slightly wider than postocular lobe; dorsal margin removed from postocular transverse groove, ventral margin attaining ventral surface of head. Labium: I: II: III = 1: 1.4: 0.4. Basiflagellomere diameter subequal to that of pedicel. Thorax: Anterolateral angle bearing small protuberance; medial longitudinal sulcus evident throughout, deepening posteriorly. Posterior pronotal lobe with rugulose surface; disc distinctly elevated above humeral angle; humeral angle armed, with short tuberculate process. Scutellum moderately long; apex angulate. Legs: Slender. Hemelytron: Slightly surpassing apex of abdomen, not more than length of abdominal segment seven; quadrate cell large and broad; Cu and M of cubital cell converging towards R. GENITALIA: (Fig. 125) Pygophore: Rounded; slightly expanded laterally near base of paramere in dorsal view; posteriorly expanded sac-like sclerite between paramere and medial process. Medial process cylindrical; slender; moderately long; posteriorly directed; straight; apex in posterior view rounded, with very inconspicuous lateral prongs. Paramere: Cylindrical; moderately long, not reaching apex of medial process; directed posteriad; nearly straight; apical part not enlarged. Phallus: Dorsal phallothecal sclerite somewhat squarish; sharp laterally oriented process close to posterior margin of foramen and basal arms; apical portion of phallothecal sclerite not distinctly tapered, flat, lateral margin narrowly angulate; apex rounded; posterior margin of foramen broadly concave, medially deeper. Struts attached to dorsal phallothecal sclerite; apically fused; basally mostly separate, moderately fused. Basal plate arm moderately robust; separate; diverging; in lateral view very slightly curved; bridge short; extension of basal plate small and confined to apex of basal plate arm.

Female: (Fig. 124e, f) Similar to male, except for the following. Larger than male, total length 19.75-21.95mm (mean 20.88 mm, Suppl. material 2). Dorsal surface never entirely brownish-black.

Diagnosis

Among species in the Zelus armillatus species group occurring in overlapping geographical regions, Zelus litigiosus can be easily distinguished from Z. janus by the elevated disc of the posterior pronotal lobe. It can be separated from Z. sulcicollis by the flat or slightly convex disc of the posterior pronotal lobe, and that being depressed in Z. sulcicollis .

Distribution

Southwestern Mexico (Fig. 126).