Melaleucoides brevifoliae, Schuh & C. Weirauch, 2010

Schuh, R. T. & C. Weirauch, 2010, Myrtaceae-Feeding Phylinae (Hemiptera: Miridae) From Australia: Description And Analysis Of Phylogenetic And Host Relationships For A Monophyletic Assemblage Of Three New Genera, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2010 (344), pp. 3-94 : 38-39

Melaleucoides brevifoliae , new species Figure 16, map 3, plate 2

DIAGNOSIS: Recognized by the presence of numerous tiny dark spots on the weakly greenish dorsum (pl. 2), and the structure of the male genitalia, the left paramere with a somewhat elongate apex positioned asymmetrically on the anterior side of the structure; endosoma unknown. Most easily confused with M. beaufortiae , M. leuropomae , and M. micranthae , but the spots in those species always larger and the apical medial process much longer in M. beaufortiae and placed medially in all three species (figs. 15, 21, 22, respectively).

DESCRIPTION: Male: Body weakly to distinctly ovoid; mean total length 3.41, mean width pronotum 1.10. COLORATION (pl. 2): Head: Pale or pale with some small dark dots; scapus and pedicellus unicolorous pale; labium generally infuscate, heavily so apically. Thorax: Pronotum pale with tiny brown spots; scutellum pale with brown spots, apex dark; hemelytron unicolorous pale with small brown spots; markings on cuneus present as small dark dots; membrane veins white or pale; hind femur with many brown or black spots; hind tibial spines black with conspicuous dark spots at bases. Abdomen: Venter unicolorous pale or mostly so. SURFACE AND VESTITURE: Dorsum with suberect or reclining black setae and some sericeous or woolly setae. STRUC- TURE: Head: Somewhat projecting; interocular space moderate; eyes leaving gena moderately exposed in lateral view. Antenna: Segment 2 weakly tapering, more slender at base; antennal fossa with ventral margin at ventral margin of eye. Labium: Just reaching onto abdomen. Thorax: Pretarsus: Pulvilli present, flaplike, covering about one third of ventral claw surface. GENITALIA (fig. 16): Endosoma: All available specimens teneral and therefore not observed. Phallotheca: Nearly erect; dorsal surface with a curving, posteriorly directed, platelike projection; apex simple. Left Paramere: Shaft at right angles to body; body broad basally, apex medially drawn into a blunt fingerlike process; anterior process triangular in lateral view; posterior process in the form of a long, straight, fingerlike projection; base of posterior process without conspicuous shoulder. Right Paramere: Body short and broad, lanceolate; apex short, clawlike, decurved.

Female: Slightly more ovoid than male; mean total length 3.70, mean width prono- tum 1.36. COLORATION (pl. 2): As in male. GENITALIA: Not examined.

ETYMOLOGY: Named for the host species, Melaleuca brevifolia (Myrtaceae) .

HOSTS: Melaleuca brevifolia Turcz. (Myrtaceae) .

DISTRIBUTION (map 3): Recorded from one locality on the eastern border of southern South Australia. Melaleucoides brevifoliae is one of only two species in the Melaleucoides genus group that is known to occur outside Western Australia.

DISCUSSION: All available male specimens for this species were apparently partially teneral, because after several dissections we were unable to find a specimen in which the endosoma was suitably sclerotized for observation and illustration.

HOLOTYPE: AUSTRALIA: South Australia: Scorpion Springs Cons. Park, 35.60421uS 140.8646uE, 125 m, 10 Nov 1998, Schuh, Cassis, Silveira, Melaleuca brevifolia Turcz. (Myrtaceae) , det. Det: Royal Bot. Gard. NSW NSW427362, 1 - (00130421) ( SAMA).

PARATYPES: AUSTRALIA: South Australia: Scorpion Springs Cons. Park, 35.60421uS 140.8646uE, 125 m, 10 Nov 1998, Schuh, Cassis, Silveira, Melaleuca brevifolia Turcz. (Myrtaceae) , det. Det: Royal Bot. Gard. NSW NSW427362, 9 - (00087236, 00371099– 00371102, 00371121–00371124), 6 U (00371118– 00371120, 00371130–00371132) ( AM), 12 - (00087506, 00130422–00130432), 9 U (00087- 237, 00130433–00130440) ( AMNH), 1 - (00371103), 1 U (00371117) ( SAMA).

OTHER SPECIMENS EXAMINED: AUSTRA- LIA: South Australia: Scorpion Springs Cons. Park, 35.60421uS 140.8646uE, 125 m, 10 Nov 1998, Schuh, Cassis, Silveira, Melaleuca brevifolia Turcz. (Myrtaceae) , det. Det: Royal Bot. Gard. NSW NSW427362, 18 nymphs (00371104–00371116, 00371125–00371129) (AM).