Poppiomegacoelum gearyi Malipatil & Chérot, 2016

Chérot, F. & Malipatil, M. B., 2016, A review of Adelphocoris - Creontiades - Megacoelum complex (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Mirini), with descriptions of two new genera and four new species, Zootaxa 4126 (2), pp. 151-206 : 186-187

16.1. Poppiomegacoelum gearyi Malipatil & Chérot n. sp.

( Figures 55 , 62–64 , 65–67 )

Material examined. Type specimens: Holotype Ƌ: AUSTRALIA: QUEENSLAND: Morven dist., iv.1941, N. Geary leg. ( ANIC) (fourth segment of left antenna missing). Paratypes of both sexes. AUSTRALIA: QUEENSLAND: 3♀♀: same data as holotype ( ANIC); 2♀♀: Cairns dist., A.M. Lea leg. ( SAM); 1♀: Bunya Mountains, 2000', 14.xii.1937, N. Geary leg. (AM). AUSTRALIA: NEW SOUTH WALES: 1♀, Dorrigo, W. Herron leg. ( ANIC); 1Ƌ: Mt Wilson, Blue Mountains, 10.i.1963, D.K. McAlpine leg. ( ANIC).

Diagnosis. Body orange brown with yellow areas, sub-oblong, slightly convex. Vertex stramineous, ecarinate, distinctly sulcate. First antennal segment orange brown, spotted with red, distal part of the second and last two segments darker. Labium reaching mid coxae. Pronotal collar stramineous. Pronotal disk red brown, with yellow areas in females. Legs stramineous, metafemora red brown, tibial spines yellowish brown. Scutellum and hemelytra orange brown, base of cuneus red, its apex yellow, membrane brown, veins apically red.

Description. Color generally brown, with yellow on tip of scutellum, narrow lateral margin of hemelytra ending before cuneal suture, and continuing broadly exteriorly on cuneus. Body elongate ovate, orange brown. Body above excluding membrane and abdomen below covered with yellow decumbent setae; tibiae with rows of sparse dark bristles in addition to pubescence. Head mostly orange brown. Head above appears more swollen in female than in male; tylus slightly exceeding mandibular plates; eyes larger and interocular space narrower in male than in female, eyes dark red, touching pronotum, coarsely granulate, in side view appear narrow towards ventral aspect of head; buccula narrow and short ending about half-way on eye length. Antennae moderately long, first segment short, scarcely thicker than other segments. Labium extending to mid coxae, first segment thickest, reaching base of head. Antennae mostly orange brown; distal 1/2 of second segment, third and fourth antennal segments darker. First segment spotted with red. Collar orange brown as head; median line on pronotum shade paler, otherwise entire pronotum fuscous or fuscous brown similar to most of hind femur, posterior margin of pronotum narrowly yellow; pronotal coloration slightly variable in type-series. Pronotum collar narrow, without distinct punctures, posterior margin scarcely deflexed. Scutellum with fine subbasal line across base, tip pointed, not swollen or deflexed. Legs long and slender, claws distinct, fore legs shortest, hind legs conspicuously longer and thicker than other legs. Most or all of hind femur fuscous. Hemelytra exceeding abdomen by about 1/4, membrane with distinct veins. Cuneus basally reddish, apically yellow. Pygophore and phallus generally with minute rounded knob at base of paramere; right paramere with knob ( Fig. 63 ); left paramere with wide primary apophysis ( Fig. 62 ). Phallus with DS widened, membrane lobes with finely serrate margins, one pointed, elongate phallic support (ACH), also 2 or 3 small free floating sclerites in membranous lobes, latter margin finely serrate, SG well developed, complete ( Fig. 64 ). Parietovaginal rings ( Fig. 65 , Ap) thin, elongate, anterior and latero-outer margins convex, posterior margin concave, lateroinner margin point-like. Dorso-labiate plate (DLP) wide. Posterior wall ( Fig. 66 ) classical for Mirini . Dorsal and median processes wide, unified, interramal sclerite (A structures) elongate, interramal lobes (E-structures) narrow, with lateral reinforcements. Dorsal wall including pair of sclerites ( Fig. 67 ).

Measurements (male holotype, followed by that of a paratype female in parentheses). Total length: 6.5 (7.1); maximum width: 2.00 (2.10). Head: length: 0.67 (0.89), width across eyes: 1.09 (1.18), interocular space: 0.22 (0.38), eye length: 0.41 (0.39); eye width: 0.47 (0.30); length of antennal segments: I: 0.79 (0.96); II: 2.64 (2.73); III: 1.72 (2.27); IV: 0.92 (1.05); length of labial segments: I: 0.60 (0.60); II: 0.60 (0.64); III: 0.43 (0.51); IV: 0.70 (0.79). Labrum length: 0.41 (0.47). Pronotal length: 0.98 (1.06), pronotal width at posterior margin: 1.88 (2.01). Scutellum length: 1.02 (1.02); width: 0.98 (1.04). Length of hemelytra: 5.00 (5.25), length corium: 4.00 (4.13).

Discussion. In color variation this species is similar to P. biseratensis . The species differs from P. biseratensis in having narrow margins of hemelytra including cuneus yellow, pronotal posterior margin narrowly yellow, midline of pronotum also almost always with pale line; tip of scutellum conspicuously yellow; hind femora most or all of it fuscous. It appears the color is sex linked—males have most or all of the pronotum uniformly fuscous, whereas females have always broader pale areas. In Mt Wilson specimen the entire pronotum is uniformly fuscous, only posterior margin narrowly yellow. In 2 female paratypes from Morven district the collar and the pronotal broad lateral areas pale and the median longitudinal line a shade paler.

Figures

FIGURES 51 – 58. Habitus of ACMc members: 51. Pleurochilophorus quadripunctatus Reuter, 1905, female holotype from Eritrea (MRAC). 52. Poppiocapsidea biseratensis (Distant, 1903), a male from Thailand. 53. “ Megacoelum townsvillensis ” Distant, 1904, a junior synonym of P. biseratensis (Distant, 1903) (new synonymy), female lectotype from Australia. 54. Poppiocapsidea tagalica (Poppius, 1915) n. comb., female holotype from Philippine Islands (MZHF). 55. Poppiomegacoelum gearyi n. gen., n. sp., female paratype from Australia. 56. Pseudomegacoelum beckeri (Fieber, 1870) n. comb., a specimen from Spain (MNHN). 57. Pseudomegacoelum irbilanum (Linnavuori, 1988) n. comb., male holotype from Iraq (AMNH). 58. Pseudomegacoelum quercicola (Linnavuori, 1965) n. comb., male holotype from Tunisia (AMNH). Scales = 1 mm.

FIGURES 62 – 64. Genitalia of Poppiomegacoelum gearyi n. gen., n. sp.: 62. Left paramere. 63. Right paramere. 64. Phallus. Scales = 0.1 mm.

FIGURES 65 – 67. Genitalia of Poppiomegacoelum gearyi n. gen., n. sp.: 65. Parieto-vaginal rings. Ap: left parieto-vaginal ring. Fi I: fibulae I or VIII. LDLP: anterior part or lobe of dorso-labiate plate. Vfer I: valvifer I or VIII (gonocoxite I or VIII). Vlae I: valvulae I or VIII (= gonopaphyse I or VIII). VLP: ventro-labiate plate. 66. Posterior wall. SA: A-structures or interramal sclerites. SE: E-structures or interramal lobes. 67. Sclerites of dorsal wall. DW: dorsal wall. lO: lateral oviduct. S: sclerite. Scales = 0.1 mm.