Laetifulvius gen. nov.

Type species.

Laetifulvius morganensis sp. nov. by original designation.

Diagnosis.

Differs from other representatives of Cylapinae in the following combinations of characters: head semi-horizontal, antennal fossa attached near depression between mandibular and maxillary plates (Fig. 11C); antennal segment I length subequal to vertex width; eye located close to pronotum and slightly covering its anterior angle (Fig. 11B, C); vertex not carinate (Fig. 11B, C); labial segment I only slightly surpassing anterior margin of head, subdivided with suture (Fig. 11D, E), segment II subdivided with shallow suture apically (Fig. 11F); calli flat, indistinct (Fig. 6B); lateral margins of pronotum not carinate, rounded (Fig. 11C); collar delimited with shallow depression, relatively wide, wider than antennal segment I (Fig. 11B); evaporative area large and triangular (Fig. 11J); cuneus slightly longer than wide (Fig. 11I); forefemora not enlarged; hind femur twice wider than forefemur; tarsal segments subequal in length (Fig. 11L); body impunctate, clothed with simple semi-adpressed setae (Figs 2, 11B, H-J); endosoma not subdivided into vesica and conjunctiva (Fig. 12A, B).

Description.

Male. Coloration (Fig. 2). Mainly reddish brown with whitish yellow, yellow and pale brown markings. Surface and vestiture (Fig. 11B, C, H-J). Dorsum glabrous, shiny, impunctate and not rugose, without distinct tubercles or net-like pattern of microsculpture on dorsum and pleura; scutellum not serrated laterally; body clothed with pale sparse simple semi-adpressed setae, shorter than antennal segment II width, those setae denser on antennae and tibiae and very rare on pleura. Structure. Head. Semi-horizontal, in dorsal view head wider than long; vertex not carinate posteriorly; eye not protruding, covering anterior part of pronotum (Fig. 11B); in anterior view head slightly wider than high; antenna attached near ventral margin of eye; clypeus not separated from frons by depression, its base placed slightly above ventral margin of antennal fossae (Fig. 11A); in lateral view head as high as long; vertex not upraised above eye; eye removed from ventral side of head at distance subequal to fifth part of eye height, not covering anterior angles of pronotum; antennal fossa adjacent to eye, placed near suture between mandibular and maxillary plates, mandibular and maxillary plates not separated from head by suture posteriorly; labrum triangular, shorter than labial segment I; buccula elongate, ca. 5-6 × as long as high; distance between buccula and pronotum subequal to buccula length (Fig. 11C, D). Antenna. Segment I subequal to vertex width; segment II as wide as segment I, cylindrical, not incrassate apically (Fig. 11K). Labium. Labial segment I subdivided in apical half (Fig. 11E), apex reaching base of forecoxa (Fig. 11D); segment II slightly longer than segment I, subdivided apically with shallow suture (Fig. 11F). Thorax. Pronotum wider than long, lateral margins straight in dorsal view (Fig. 11B), in lateral view not carinate, rounded (Fig. 11C); collar delimited with shallow suture, relatively wide, wider than antennal segment I (Fig. 11B); posterior margin of pronotum concave (Fig. 11B, H); calli flat, almost indistinct, occupying less than half of pronotum (Fig. 11B); scutellum flat; mesoscutum exposed (Fig. 11H); propleural apodeme T-shaped (Fig. 11C); mesepimeral apodeme slit-like; mesepimeral spiracle oval, with wide area of microsculpture along anterior margin dorsally; metathoracic gland evaporative area triangular, lateral margin almost reaching base of hind coxa; peritreme upraised, rounded; metepimeron narrow (Fig. 11J). Hemelytron (Fig. 11H, I). Outer margin almost straight; clavus with longitudinal ridge; claval commissure longer than scutellum; medial fracture reaching middle of corium, but not surpassing it; ridge along medial fracture shallow, present basally and medially; white marking on corium posteriorly slightly upraised; R+M visible over entire length; embolium narrow, its widest part subequal to 1/5-1/6 of cuneus width; cuneus delimited, slightly longer than wide, its base not incised; membrane with singe cell, distance between cell and apex of membrane longer than cell length. Legs. Forecoxa as long as pronotum; fore- and hind coxae subequal in size, middle coxa slightly smaller than forecoxa; forefemur slightly longer than pronotum, ca. 4 × as long as wide, as long as and slightly wider than middle femur; hind femur twice as wide and ca. 1.5 × as long as forefemur (Fig. 11G); hind tarsus three-segmented, segments subequal in length (Fig. 11L); claw with subapical tooth, middle row of tiles on unguitractor full (Fig. 11M). Genitalia. See species description.

Female. Unknown.

Etymology.

The species is named for its colourful appearance, laetus from the Latin meaning colourful. The gender is masculine.

Remarks.

In Cylapinae tribe diagnoses, the length of the antennae and labium are among the most important characters (Gorczyca 2000; Cassis et al. 2003; Wolski 2017; Namyatova et al. 2019; Namyatova and Cassis 2019a), and Laetifulvius representatives do not match the diagnoses for these traits. However, they do have antennal segments I and II subequal in width, an impunctate body, labial segments I and II subdivided, antennal fossa placed near suture between mandibular and maxillary plates, and this combination of characters is typical for Fulviini . Therefore, we place Laetifulvius in this tribe. Although most Fulviini have a horizontal head, in some its genera it is also subhorizontal, e.g., Mycetocylapus Poppius, 1914 (Namyatova and Cassis 2019a), Trynocoris Herring, 1976 (Herring 1976), Fulviella Carvalho, 1991 (Carvalho 1991).

Laetifulvius may be related to Phylocylapus Poppius, 1913, as according to the initial description, the latter has a vertical head, wide collar, flat calli and a large evaporative area. Phylocylapus differs from Laetifulvius in the leaf-like forefemora, the labial segment I reaching the middle of the forecoxa, and tarsal segment I being longer than segments II and III (Poppius 1913). Many characters in the description of the Neotropical genus Tucuruisca also fit those of Laetifulvius . Both of these genera have an inclined head, wide collar, large hind femur, and tarsal segments subequal in length (Carvalho 1986). Tucuruisca differs in the long setae covering the body, the antennal segment I being shorter than the clypeus length and the wide embolium.

Laetifulvius is not very similar to any other Australian genus, although it may be related to Fulviella and Phyllofulvius Carvalho, 1991 as they have a similar structure of the aedeagus with a voluminous endosoma not subdivided into conjunctiva and vesica and bearing numerous sclerites (Fig. 12A, B; Carvalho 1991: figs 4, 11). Both genera differ from Laetifulvius in the forefemora being widened. Fulviella also differs from Laetifulvius in the vertex and the lateral margins of pronotum being carinate, the antennal segment I shorter than the vertex and the tarsal segment I longer than segments II and III each. Phyllofulvius differs from Laetifulvius in the leaf-shaped antennal segment II (Carvalho 1991).