Sephina ornata, Brailovsky & Barrera, 2021

Brailovsky, Harry & Barrera, Ernesto, 2021, Illustrated key to the species in the genus Sephina (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Coreidae: Coreinae: Spartocerini), with descriptions of three new species and new distributional records, Zootaxa 5048 (1), pp. 77-98 : 90-92

Sephina ornata , sp. nov.

( Figs. 14 , 46 )

Type locality. Panama, Ocu , and Altos de Pacora .

Description. Holotype female. Dorsal coloration. Head, antennal segments I–IV and ocellar tubercles black; postocular area shiny orange, faintly tinged with pale brown; pronotum black with a shiny reddish semicircular fascia, bifurcate near posterior third; fascia beginning on each side slightly before the anterior margin, and extending subparallel to the anterolateral margins until the middle third of posterolateral margins; the arms are interrupted at humeri; scutellum black with apex dark castaneous; clavus black; corium black with basal third of costal margin reddish; apical margin of endocorium with two or three yellow discoidal spots, one large, the others smaller; hemelytral membrane black; connexival segments III‒VI black with anterior third shiny orange, VII‒IX shiny orange, with black to pale brown stripe covering the upper margin of the middle and posterior third; dorsal abdominal segments III–VI shiny orange, VII–IX shiny orange with the posterior border near midline black. Ventral coloration. Head including the buccula shiny orange; rostral segments I–IV black; pro-, and metasternum shiny orange; mesosternum pale yellow with black stripe at each side of lateral margins; propleuron with collar, acetabulae, posterior margin (except middle third black) and anterior margin shiny orange with anterior angle black; anterior border and middle section of propleuron with an irregular wide black stripe; mesopleuron shiny black with acetabulae and inner third of posterior margin shiny orange; metapleuron shiny black with acetabulae and posterior angle shiny orange; meso-, and meta acetabulae with a black discoidal spot; anterior lobe of metathoracic peritreme pale brown with upper margin dark orange, posterior lobe black; legs black; abdominal sterna shiny orange with an irregular black stripe running lateral to midline and close to pleural margins; posterior margins of abdominal sterna III–IV with short stripe at outer third; abdominal sternite IV near to anterior margin with short black stripe at outer third; pleural abdominal sterna III–VI black with anterior third shiny orange, VII shiny orange with upper margin of middle and posterior third black; rim of abdominal spiracles pale brown; gonocoxae I black with outer margin orange; laterotergites VIII‒IX shiny orange, with apex dark brown. Structure. Body large sized, robust, with the greatest width across abdominal segments IV–V. Head. Ocellar tubercle slightly raised, not protuberant; anterior margin of each ocellus just reaching the posterior border of each eye; rostrum reaching posterior border of mesosternum; rostral segment I stouter, reaching anterior margin of prosternum. Thorax. Pronotum campanuliform; anterior third of pronotal disc sloping and mesally split, forming two obtusely, subconical humps, moderately prominent; in lateral view slightly raised (like fig. 4); humeral angles rounded, obtuse, not exposed ( Fig. 14 ); posterior border of metapleuron almost straight. Integument. Dorsal surface with head, pronotal disc, scutellar disc, clavus and corium densely clothed with elongate, erect and conspicuous, silver and golden setae; antennal segments I‒III thickly clothed with rather long, silvery, erect setae, IV with short depressed setae; posterior lobe of pronotal disc, clavus, corium, propleuron and acetabulae faintly punctate; anterior lobe of pronotal disk, scutellum, connexival segments, pro-, meso-, and metasternum, meso-, and metapleuron, abdominal sterna and female genital plates and male genital capsule impunctate.

Male. Habitus and color similar to female holotype. Pronotum black with a shiny reddish semicircular fascia beginning on each side before anterior margin and extending subparallel to anterolateral margins until middle third of posterolateral margins; the fascia is bifurcate near humeri; abdominal segments III‒VII pale orange; genital cap- sule black with an irregular, castaneous, orange spot near middle third. Genitalia. Parameres. Elongate, apically robust and faintly curved ( Fig. 46 ).

Measurements. Female. Body length 24.71; head length 1.79; head width across eyes 2.43; interocular distance 1.48; interocellar distance 0.84; length antennal segments I 3.78, II 4.46, III 3.72, IV 4.09; pronotum total length 4.89, maximum width across humeral angles 8.86; scutellum length 2.84, width 3.22.

Male. Body length 22.60; head length 1.67; head width across eyes 2.29; interocular distance 1.36; interocellar distance 0.80; length antennal segment: I 3.47, II 3.59, III 3.34, IV 3.72; pronotum total length 4.15, maximum width across humeral angles 7.76; scutellum length 2.35, width 2.79.

Type material. HOLOTYPE female: PANAMA: Provincia Herrera, Ocu , 27-XII-1994, R. Chang ( MIUP) . PARATYPES: PANAMA: Provincia Herrera, Ocu , 27-XII-1994, R . Chang ( UNAM 1 male, MIUP 1 female) ; Provincia Panama, Altos de Pacora , 7-X-1994, L. Hernandez ( UNAM 1 female) .

Etymology. From the Latin “ ornata ” (handsome, splendid) referring to the attractive shape and color of this species.

Discussion. The genus Sephina is represented in Panama by four species. In S. limbata ( Fig. 17 ), S. rogersi ( Fig. 16 ), and S. sulcaticollis ( Fig. 15 ), the corium is black without yellow discoidal spots. The fourth species, S. geniculata ( Fig. 9 ), like S. ornata sp. nov. ( Fig. 14 ), has the corium black with a round yellow spot on the disc. The new species is separated by having the scutellum, femora, tibiae and hemelytral membrane black. In S. geniculata , the scutellum is pale orange, the apical third of femora and basal joint of tibiae are yellow, and the hemelytral membrane is black, with several white discoidal spots ( Froeschner 1999, Packauskas 2010).

Sephina erythromelaena ( Fig. 13 ), described from Brazil, has the corium black with one or two orange to yellow discoidal spots, and the hemelytral membrane, femora and tibiae are black. In this species, the clavus is black with inner margin orange and pronotal disc black with a reddish orange semicircular fascia not bifurcate and extending until the end of posterolateral borders. In S. ornata , described from Panama, the clavus is entirely black and the pronotal disc black with a reddish-orange semicircular fascia bifurcate at the humeri. In S. erythromelaena , the anterior margin of each ocellus is placed far from the posterior border of each eye; in S. ornata , the anterior margin of each ocellus reaches the posterior border of each eye.

Figures

FIGURES 11‒16. Dorsal view of Sephina spp. 11, S. pustulata (Fabricius) (female). 12, S. quintanarooana Brailovsky (female). 13, S. erythromelaena (White) (male). 14, S. ornata sp. nov. (female). 15, S. sulcaticollis Schmidt (male). 16, S. rogersi Distant (male).

FIGURES 37‒46. 37‒38. Male genital capsule of Sephina vinula Stål. 37, caudal view. 38, lateral view. 39‒46. Parameres of Sephina spp. 39‒40, S. vinula Stål. 41‒42, S. crassa sp.nov. 43‒44, S. indierae Wolcott. 45, S. effrena sp. nov. 46, S. ornata sp. nov.

FIGURES 17‒22. Dorsal view of Sephina spp. 17, S. limbata Stål (male). 18, S. esquivelae Brailovsky & Sánchez (male). 19, S. ayalai Brailovsky (male). 20, S. pagella Brailovsky & Sánchez (male). 21, S. subulata Brailovsky & Sánchez (male). 22, S. gundlachi (Guérin-Méneville) (male).

FIGURES 5‒10. Dorsal view of Sephina spp. 5, S. talamancana Brailovsky (male). 6, S. nigripes Schmidt (female type). 7, S. nigripes Schmidt (male). 8, S. faceta Brailovsky (female). 9, S. geniculata Distant (female). 10, S. bicornis Distant (male holotype).