Phatnoma madagascariensis, Guilbert & Heiss, 2016

Guilbert, Eric & Heiss, Ernst, 2016, First fossil records of Tingidae from Madagascan Copal with description of two new species (Hemiptera, Heteroptera), Linzer biologische Beiträge 48 (2), pp. 1081-1090 : 1082-1084

Phatnoma madagascariensis nov.sp. ( Figs 1, 2 )

M a t e r i a l e x a m i n e d: Holotype male in a honey-coloured block of Copal, antennae and legs bent ventrally, dorsal and ventral side visible.

D e s c r i p t i o n: Body length, 3.00 mm; width, 1.55 mm; colouration uniformly yellowish, with some secondary transversal veinlets darker (brownish) on the costal area, antennal segment IV brown.

H e a d: Oblong, armed with seven spiny tubercles, an occipital pair, a frontal pair, a jugal pair and a median clypeal tubercle; the occipital tubercles the longest, the clypeal ones longer than the frontal and the jugal pairs; antenniferous lobes short and spiny; sulcus straight and narrow; bucculae long, extending in front of clypeus, apex straight and not contiguous; rostrum long, reaching the fourth visible abdominal segment; antennae long and slender, length of antennal segments: I and II much shorter than III and IV but not measurable; III 1.0 mm; IV 0.2 mm.

P r o n o t u m Wider than long, length 0.58 mm; width 1.1 mm; tricarinate, carinae with one row of areolae, the median carina slightly higher than the lateral ones; paranota wide and expanded anterolaterally, widening in front, with five areolae at its widest part, with two anterolateral angles projecting like a spiniform process and directed forward; the posterior pronotal process reduced to a row of areolae; rostral groove wider on meso- and metasternum than bucculae, their lateral laminae straight, with one row of areolae. Scutellum reduced to a tubercle.

H e m e l y t r a: Length 1.92 mm; width 1.55 mm; lateral margin rounded, surface divided into the usual areas, all areolae round and of the same size; R+M and Cu veins raised with one row of areolae, these are larger than those of the hemelytral areas; costal area almost of the same width along its whole length, with four to five small round areolae, six at the base and about four at the apex; subcostal area wider than costal area with six areolae wide at its widest part, with three or four secondary transversal veins, dividing the area into four to five subareas; discoidal area longer than half the length of hemeytra with five areolae at its widest part, with at least two secondary transversal veins dividing the area; sutural area enlarging backward with nine areolae at the apex.

E t y m o l o g y: Named after the country of its origin.

D i s c u s s i o n: The general habitus of his new species is very similar to Phatnoma hova SCHOUTEDEN 1957 , which is the only known species of Phatnoma from Madagascar. However, it shows a different combination of areolae on the hemelytra and paranota. There are four rows of areolae at the apex of the costal area and six at the base, while P. hova has three rows of areolae at the apex and seven at the base. The subcostal area of P. madagascariensis nov.sp. is six areolae wide, while there are seven in P. hova . The discoidal area is five areolae wide and shows six areolae in P. hova . The width of paranota of this new species ranges from three to five areolae, while there are four areolae in P. hova . In addition, the areolae of madagascariensis nov.sp. are generally larger than those of P. hova .

Figures

Figs 1-6: Tingidae in Madagascan Copal: (1) Phatnoma madadascariensis nov.sp., holotype male, dorsal view; (2) ditto, ventral view; (3) Cysteochila impressa, male dorsal view; (4) Cysteochila copal nov.sp., holotype female, dorsal view; (5) ditto, ventral view; (6) Cysteochila impressa, male, ventral view. Scales 1 mm.