Micronecta (Micronecta) lobata, Nieser & Chen & Yang, 2005

Nieser, Nico, Chen, Ping-ping & Yang, Chang Man, 2005, A New Subgenus And Six New Species Of Nepomorpha (Insecta: Heteroptera) From Yunnan, China, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 53 (2), pp. 189-209 : 195-197

Micronecta (Micronecta) lobata , new species

( Figs. 22-31 )

Material examined. – Holotype ( ZRC) - brachypterous male, dissected, parts glued on card, CHINA: Yunnan, Xishuangbanna, Menghai, Mengkuan River , Km 57 Dalou to Menghai road, 19 May.2000, coll. L. Cheng (LC006).

Description. – In dorsal view a light brown, shiny, medium sized ovate species, with its greatest width about one third of the length of claval commissure anteriorly of its caudal tip.

Dimensions. Male (holotype only), length 2.10, width 1.04, width of head male 0.76, synthlipsis 0.36, posterior width of an eye 0.21, width of pronotum 0.80, ocular index 1.8.

Colour. Dorsally light brown; head light brown, eyes castaneous. Pronotum unicolorous light brown, yellowish band along posterior margin poorly differentiated; scutellum light brown. Hemielytra light brown; hyaline stripe at base of clavus rather short; corium mid way with a broad but indistinct dark transverse band; embolium yellowish with a greyish stripe at base and a brownish stripe at level of the dark transverse band; caudal margin of right membrane and lateral half of left membrane smoky grey. Venter medium greyish brown, legs yellowish.

Structural characteristics. Body twice as long as wide. Pronotum very slightly wider (1.05) than head; synthlipsis 1.7 times the posterior margin of an eye. Pronotum poorly developed, four times as wide as long, lateral margins short. Hemielytra shiny, densely and distinctly pitted on clavus and corium, with very small spinules in most of the pits of corium. Spines laterally on abdominal segments: VI left side three short, one long; right side two short one long and one additional thin and intermediate ( Fig. 27 ); VII three short, one long; VIII four short, two very long bristle-like, and an additional one short bristle-like. Pala ( Fig. 25 ) with three dorsal bristles; upper row of palm with 12 bristles; ventral row with 23 bristles, distally only slightly thicker than proximally. Leg measurements as in table 1.

Male. Fore leg ( Fig. 25 ): femur with two dorsoapical spines, one dorsally in apical third and two in basal half; tibia with a bristle about half way of dorsal margin and one near apicodorsal angle; palar claw elongate, nearly parallel-sided ( Fig. 26 ). Prestrigilar lobe ( Fig. 29 ) well differentiated, medioapical projection short with a blunt tip. Right side of sixth tergite with very few submarginal bristles ( Fig. 27 ). Strigil ( Fig. 28 ) small, subcircular, with one comb with about 60 densely packed teeth. Mediocaudal lobe of seventh abdominal sternite ( Fig. 31 ) well developed, with an acute apex and five well defined bristles on its surface. Free lobe of left part of segment eight ( Fig. 30 ) elongate, nearly parallel-sided, apical margin shallowly and broadly indented; without bristles in lateroapical part which is not produced. Aedeagus without specialized teeth. Right paramere with its shaft widened in apical half and constricted just before its apex, basal process strongly projecting laterally, with about 20 stridulatory ridges which are based on the medial side of the process ( Figs. 22, 23 ). Left paramere ( Fig. 24 ) with a broad shaft and an irregular shape.

Female and macropterous form unknown.

Etymology. – Lobatus (Latin adjective, meaning lobate) refers to the strongly developed basal process on right paramere.

Comparative notes. – The left paramere is similar to that of M. johorensis Fernando, 1964 and M. dentifera Nieser, 2002a ,

but its apical lobe is broader. In addition, M. johorensis and M. dentifera are smaller (length 1.8 or less), and have the right paramere either with a narrow parallel shaft ( M. dentifera ) or basally broader and tapering towards apex ( M. johorensis ). This new species does not run well in the key to SE Asian species by Nieser (2000). In view of the apical lobe of the left paramere one could end in couplet 14: M. johorensis (see above), or in couplet 18: M. ludibunda Breddin, 1905 and M. malayana Leong, 1966 , which have the shafts of both parameres narrowly parallel-sided and hemielytra with distinct, reticulate or longitudinally striped patterns.

Figures

Figs. 22-24. Micronecta lobata, new species, holotype, male; 22) right paramere; 23) right paramere, medial view; 24) left paramere. Scale: 0.1 mm.

Figs. 25-31. Micronecta lobata, new species, holotype, male; 25) foreleg; 26) apex of pala, scale: 0.05 mm; 27) right part of tergite VI; 28) strigil, scale: 0.05 mm; 29) prestrigilar lobe; 30) free lobe of left part of tergite VIII; 31) mediocaudal lobe of sternite VII. Figs. 25, 27, 29- 31, scale: 0.1 mm.