Quasitagalis, Gil-Santana & Oliveira & Zampaulo, 2020

Gil-Santana, Helcio R., Oliveira, Jader & Zampaulo, Robson de A., 2020, Quasitagalis afonsoi, a new genus and a new species of Saicinae (Hemiptera, Reduviidae) inhabiting a cave in Brazil, with an updated key to the genera of Saicinae of the New World, ZooKeys 966, pp. 9-39 : 9

Quasitagalis gen. nov.

Type species.

Quasitagalis afonsoi sp. nov., by present designation.

Diagnosis.

Quasitagalis gen. nov. can be separated from other genera of Saicinae of the New World by the combination of the characters presented in the key below; among them, Quasitagalis gen. nov. seems to be closer to Tagalis . However, these two genera can be promptly separated by the following set of characters: ventral portion of the head (gula) with a distal pair of strong setigerous spines, posterior to the eyes, in both genera, while only in Quasitagalis gen. nov., another pair is present below (between) the eyes; scutellum tapering into an erect spine in Tagalis and slightly elevated, subtriangular, without a spine in Quasitagalis gen. nov.; and inner surface of fore tibia with three or four ( T. femorata Melo, 2008) very strong setigerous spines implanted close to dorsal surface ( Tagalis ) or with a simple (male) or double (female) longitudinal median row of numerous shorter spines ( Quasitagalis ).

Description.

Adults. Head: transversal sulcus deep, reaching eyes at hind margin; postocular portion subglobose, faintly depressed at median portion. Eyes globose in dorsal view, suboval in lateral view; strong setigerous spines anteroventrally and posteroventrally from eyes, the former somewhat smaller than the latter and ventrally, on gula, two pairs of similar setigerous spines: one pair below (between) the eyes and other pair, posterior to the eyes, somewhat closer to the neck than to the eyes. Antennal segments slender; segment I longest, clothed with long fine (ciliated) setae in males; segment II and III longer than half or half as long as the first segment; segment IV approximately one third as long as the first segment. Labium: segment II slender, elongate, curved, almost reaching posterior margin of eyes, with a pair of stout spines slightly basal to midpoint; segment III swollen mainly in the first third, where another pair of stout spines are located; segment IV slender, tapering. Thorax: prothorax divided by a transverse deep furrow between fore and hind lobes of pronotum, interrupted at median portion, above which there is a deep small excavation; anterolateral angles prominent as rounded tubercles; fore lobe subquadrate with pairs of lateral somewhat acute dorsal swellings or humps anteriorly and posteriorly, the latter more prominent; a longitudinal shallow and narrow median furrow, slightly larger at midportion, its posterior portion ending at the median deep excavation mentioned above; disc of fore lobe finely rugose; hind lobe trapezoidal, becoming larger to the posterior margin; integument more coarsely rugose on disc, which is slightly depressed; humeral angles rounded. Lateral shallow ridge reaching from tubercles of anterolateral angles towards posterior swellings of fore lobe, prominent at anterior half and shallower posteriorly. Scutellum base broad, apex slightly elevated, subtriangular, spineless. Metanotum with a short erect tubercle followed by a short obliquely erect spine larger at base and blunt at apex. Proepisternal processes projected with a pair of strong setigerous spines, anterodorsal spine moderately curved, posteroventral almost straight. Supracoxal lobes of propleura prominent. Prosternum larger on anterior margin; stridulitrum long, narrow. Mesosternum larger than prosternum and metasternum; meso and metasternum with a longitudinal, thin, shallow median keel. Fore legs stouter and shorter than others; fore coxa elongated, cylindrical, with a long spine on basal third of anterior surface, and three or five spines on inner face; mid and hind coxae ovoid; trochanters triangular, tapering; fore trochanter with four spines on inner side, three of which closer to each other at approximately basal half and the fourth spine variably set more or less apart and more ventrally at the apical half of the segment; fore femur stout, slightly curved in lateral view, armed ventrally with a few short spines and a variable number of few longer ones intermixed, a small subapical ventral protuberance with two or three small spines; a row of short spines on upper margin of inner surface; between the latter and the ventral line of spines, in the females, a row of somewhat more numerous, setigerous spines; fore tibia slightly curved in lateral view, apically expanded, with a single (male) or double (female) longitudinal median row of numerous spines running on approximately 1/2 (male) or 2/3 (female) of the median portion of inner surface. Middle and hind legs long and slender. Tarsi with three segments; first the longest; claws simple; scopula present on ventral portion of apex of third tarsomere of all legs. Forewings with two closed cells; distal cell much larger than basal one. Abdomen elongated, cylindrical in the male and ovoid in the female. In male, pygophore with a medial distal process; parameres symmetrical, short, apex rounded with an apical elongate acute spine acute at its centre.

Distribution.

Brazil, State of Tocantins.

Etymology.

The name of the new genus was composed by the Latin word quasi, meaning almost, nearly, like, and Tagalis , in reference to its apparent proximity to the latter genus. The gender is feminine.