Neomacrocoris transvaalensis (Distant) Distant, 2012

Sites, Robert W. & Mbogho, Aaron Y., 2012, Revision of the African genus Neomacrocoris (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Nepomorpha: Naucoridae), Zootaxa 3555, pp. 1-39 : 29-30

Neomacrocoris transvaalensis (Distant) , NEW COMBINATION

Figs. 51–53

Macrocoris transvaalensis Distant 1904 : Entomol. 37: 258–259.

Discussion. This species is known from a single female specimen described from eastern South Africa. Recent examination of a photograph of the specimen in the British Museum suggested that Macrocoris transvaalensis was in the wrong genus because of the proportionately small head. Closer examination, including of the claval commissure (right clavus is broken) and the mesosternal carina, confirmed that this is a species of Neomacrocoris and is hereby transferred from Macrocoris to Neomacrocoris. Montandon (1913) evidently did not examine M. transvaalensis when he transferred M. angusticeps , M. handlirschi , and M. parviceps to his new genus Neomacrocoris. In addition, Poisson did not recognize its incorrect generic assignment in his discussion of several species of Macrocoris ( Poisson 1948) , nor in his key to the species of Macrocoris ( Poisson 1959) . Distant (1904) reported its length to be 10 mm. We remeasured the specimen at 8.8 mm; disfiguration of the wing apices because of the absence of the terminal abdominal segments could account for some of the difference in body length. In the USNM are two females from South Africa with a subgenital plate similar in shape to that of N. transvaalensis . Although the specimens are shorter (8.3 mm), the distal tongue-like lobe is more elongate, and males are unknown and not available for association, we have provisionally identified the USNM females as N. transvaalensis .

Diagnosis. The female subgenital plate has a projection on the lateral margins ( Fig. 52 ), which differs from that of all known congeneric females except those of N. hungerfordi and N. vuga . It can be distinguished from N. hungerfordi and N. vuga by its substantially smaller body size and shorter tongue-like lobe of the subgenital plate.

Published records. [ SOUTH AFRICA] ( Distant 1904).

Material examined. LECTOTYPE by present designation: [ SOUTH AFRICA]: Transvaal, Lydenburg Dist. / Transvaalensis Dist. Type / 8I / Type H. T. ( BMNH, Ƥ). SOUTH AFRICA: Natal. Mtubatuba, III-24 &25-1968, Paul J. Spangler ( USNM, 2Ƥ).

Figures

FIGURES 51 – 53. Neomacrocoris transvaalensis LECTOTYPE (51) habitus; (52) female subgenital plate, blue arrow indicates position of lateral projection; (53) specimen labels and card-mounted body parts. Sizes are not proportionate among figures.