Balticranocapsus aleksanderi Kim, Taszakowski & Jung, 2023

Kim, Junggon, Taszakowski, Artur & Jung, Sunghoon, 2023, A new genus and two new species of fossil deraeocorine plant bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae) from Eocene Baltic amber, Zootaxa 5382 (1), pp. 170-178 : 173-174

Balticranocapsus aleksanderi Kim, Taszakowski & Jung , sp. nov.

( Fig. 1 )

Type material: [ CNU] Holotype: Female in a 14×7× 6 mm elongate light-brown piece of amber. Dorsal, lateral and ventral surfaces flat. Amber internally with small bubbles and internal fractures. No syninclusions. Collection code CNUHHMF006.

Description: Female: Body elongate oval, length 4.23 mm. Coloration. Mostly dark brown. Head: mostly dark brown; antennae brown with dark brown parts; first antennomere brown with dark base and apex; second antennomere mostly pale brown, dark brown subapically; third antennomere pale brown with dark apex; fourth antennomere mostly brown with dark apex; labium mostly brown, apex of fourth labial segment dark brown. Thorax: pronotum mostly dark brown, posterior margin paler; pronotal collar entirely pale brown; scutellum mostly dark brown, mesoscutum dark brown, scutellum paler; hemelytron mostly dark brown, posterior part of clavus dark brown; posterior part of corium with dark brown markings; embolial margin brown; cuneus paler brown, inner and apical parts with dark spots; membrane subhyaline, veins dark brown; legs mostly pale brown with dark small markings and annulations; fore and mid femur pale brown with small dark markings; hind femur brown with dark annulation in middle part; tibia mostly pale brown; tarsus brown, third tarsomere dark brown. Abdomen: mostly dark brown in ventral view. Surface and vestiture. Body glossy, partly punctate, densely covered with short setae; head impunctate, covered with short setae; thorax mostly glossy, partly punctate, covered with dense setae; pronotum glossy, densely covered with setae; callosite strongly punctate; scutellum glossy, punctate, covered with dense setae, mesoscutum clearly punctate, scutellum weakly punctate; hemelytra glossy, punctate, covered with dense setae; embolium area impunctate; legs covered with setae and armed with spines; femur densely covered with short setae; tibia covered with setae and armed with spines; abdomen covered with long setae. Structure. Head: prognathous, wider than long, shorter than pronotal midline, longer than first antennomere length; vertex wide, wider than compound eye width; antennae generally linear, shorter than body length; second antennomere clearly thicker than third, fourth antennomere; third antennomere shorter than fourth antennomere; labium reaching hind coxae. Thorax: pronotum trapezoidal, anterior width shorter than head width, pronotal midline length longer than 1/2 of basal width, slightly longer than scutellum midline; pronotal collar subequal to first antennomere diameter; scutellum large, strongly tumid; commissure length subequal to scutellum midline length; lateral margin of hemelytra slightly rounded; cuneus equilateral triangular, inner margin slightly sinuate; legs somewhat thickened; combined length of hind femur and hind tibia shorter than body length; tarsus subequal to 1/3 tibia; third tarsomere longest, shorter than combined lengths of first and second tarsomeres. Abdomen: elongate, reaching apex of cuneus.

Measurements (in mm): body length: 4.23; head length 0.51; head width including compound eyes: 0.75; vertex width: 0.31; first antennomere length: 0.48; second antennomere length: 1.32; third antennomere length: 0.56; fourth antennomere length: 0.78; first labial segment: 0.48; second labial segment: 0.41; third labial segment: 0.52; fourth labial segment: 0.51; pronotal midline length: 0.81; basal pronotal maximal width (straight): 1.37; anterior scutellar width: 0.71; scutellar midline length: 0.75; commissure length: 0.78; outer embolial margin length (straight): 2.18; hindleg (femur: tibia: tarsus): 1.21: 1.45: 0.43.

Type locality and stratum: Unknown locality on the Baltic Sea Coast, Poland or Russia, mid-Eocene (ca. 44.1±1.1 Ma) ( Wappler, 2005) .

Etymology: Named after Aleksander Herczek, a well-known mirid taxonomist, on the occasion of his 70 th birthday; noun in genitive case.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Balticranocapsus aleksanderi sp. nov., holotype (CNUHHMF006). A, dorsal habitus. B, C, lateral habitus. D, head, pronotum and scutellum. E, antennae. F, hind tarsus. G, claw. Scale bars: 1 mm.