Euscopus tristis, Stehlík & Jindra, 2008

Stehlík, Jaroslav L. & Jindra, Zdeněk, 2008, New taxa of the Largidae and Pyrrhocoridae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) from the Oriental Region, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 48 (2), pp. 611-648 : 646-647

Euscopus tristis sp. nov.

( Figs. 39 , 41)

Type material. HOLOTYPE: J, INDIA: KERALA: Pompa, Sabramila , 09°24.4′N, 77°03.9′E, 3.v.2005, M. Halada lgt. ( PPUA).

Description. Colouration (Fig. 41). Entire body black, only basal half of antennomere 4 white and costal margin and hypocostal lamina in anterior half orange.

Structure. Body smaller. Anterior part of head rather strongly sloping, lower margin of head distinctly rounded in lateral view; eyes small, moderately narrow in dorsal view; frons without longitudinal furrow. Antennomere 1 long. Labial segment 1 surpassing posterior head margin. Lateral pronotal margin very narrow, developed only on callar lobe, only slightly overlapping posteriorly over median furrow; consequently also pronotal epipleuron very narrow. Pronotal lobe strongly gibbous. Profemora ventrally in apical half with two remote teeth and several minute denticles. Hypocostal lamina relatively wide. Pleura I and II dorsally with round gibbous spot, even more apparent on pleuron III.

Pygophore ( Fig. 39 ). Ventral part of ventral wall rather gibbous, laterally with skewed furrow under ventral rim. Ventral rim submedially somewhat elevated, medially with wide and round incision. Ventral and lateral rim sharp, gradually merging. Lateral rim infolding regularly concave, not distinctly sloping into genital chamber. Anal tube wide, reaching nearly middle of genital chamber, its margins touching lateral rim infolding. Parameres stout, evenly curved under lateral rim infolding, in two-thirds approaching each other, in apical third tapering and vertically positioned, ending with small beak-like process directed to ventral rim and somewhat surpassing base of ventral rim incision.

Punctation. Pronotal collar, pronotal lobe, scutellum, clavus, and corium with dense and coarse concolorous punctures.

Measurements (all in mm). Male (holotype). Body length 7.40; head: width (including eyes) 1.44, interocular width 0.86; lengths of antennomeres: 1 – 1.78, 2 – 0.97, 3 – 0.70, 4 – 1.16; pronotum: length 1.78, width 2.86; scutellum: length 1.27, width 1.67; corium: length 4.21, width 1.57.

Differential diagnosis. This species belong to the group of species of Euscopus Stål, 1870 , with a black corium, which includes E. distinguendus Blöte, 1933 , E. fuscus Hsiao, 1964 , E. indecorus (Walker, 1872) , E. parviceps Breddin, 1901 , E. robustus Stehlík, 2005 , and E. stigmaticus Breddin, 1909 . Euscopus tristis sp. nov. (Fig. 41) differs from all of them especially by the lack of the median longitudinal furrow on frons (so far regarded as a diagnostic character of the genus!), nearly undeveloped different colouration of the lateral pronotal margin (in other species the lateral pronotal margin is red, orange, or yellow in contrast to the black rest of the pronotum), and completely black ventrites (in other species the ventrites are more or less red while the trichobothrial areas are velvety black).

Etymology. The species epithet is the Latin adjective tristis (= mournful), referring to the dark colouration of the species.

Distribution. South-western India, Kerala.

Figures

Figs. 35-39. Pygophore (posterior view). 35 – Armatillus sulawesiensis sp. nov.; 36 – A. orthocephaloides (Breddin, 1912); 37 – Brancucciana (Rubriascopus) orientalis sp. nov.; 38 – B. (R.) pygmaea (Distant, 1903); 39 – Euscopus tristis sp. nov.