Ocyochterus gilloglyi, Polhemus, 2021

Polhemus, Dan A., 2021, Two new species of Ocyochterus (Heteroptera: Ochteridae) from Ecuador and Panama, Zootaxa 4958 (1), pp. 34-44 : 40-44

Ocyochterus gilloglyi sp. n.

( Figs. 3 , 6 , 15–21 )

Holotype. Male. PANAMA, Panama Prov.: 1 male, Cerro Trinidad , 600 m. [vic. 8°44’29”N, 79°57’45”W], 31 July 1994, on moist vertical rock face – short moss, A. Gillogly ( USNM).

Etymology: The name “ gilloglyi ” is a patronym honoring entomologist Alan Gillogly, currently curator of entomology at The College of Idaho and a specialist on Passalidae , in honor of his notable collections of aquatic Heteroptera in Panama, including this new species.

Description. Male. General form broadly ovate ( Fig. 3 ), body length 6.00 mm, maximum width (across bases of hemelytra) 3.50 mm.

Colour. General coloration very dark blackish-brown, complexly marked with small, scattered patches and flecks of pale pruinose blue ( Fig. 3 ); head with eyes black, portion of head posterior to ocelli and bordering inner margins of eyes dull dark blackish-grey with small dark brown patches at extreme posterolateral angles; vertex metallic black, frons metallic blue, lower margin of frons dark yellow, this coloration extending broadly backward laterally along inner margins of eyes for half their length ( Fig. 6 ); clypeus, labrum and rostrum medium brown. Pronotum matte dark blackish-brown centrally, trending to orange-brown laterally, lateral flanges broadly orangebrown, posterolateral angles behind flanges dark yellow, central portion of posterior margin medium brown; surface bearing scattered, shallow, weakly bluish pruinose punctillae; calli also weakly suffused with pale bluish pruinosity. Scutellum matte black, lacking pruinose patches, bearing scattered, shallow, weakly bluish pruinose punctillae. Hemelytra matte dark blackish-brown, embolar margins broadly orange-brown with 3 evenly spaced dark yellow to orange patches along their length, one each at anterior terminus, centrally, and near posterior terminus ( Fig. 3 ); surface bearing scattered, shallow, weakly bluish pruinose punctillae; very small dark orange patch present on inner corium adjacent to inner embolar angle; large, irregular bluish pruinose patches present on clavus, inner corium adjacent to claval suture, inner embolar margin, and posterior corium near base of membrane ( Fig. 3 ); wing membrane including veins matte dark brownish-black, irregularly marked with scattered pruinose blue patches, veins narrowly and contrastingly marked with pruinose pale blue. Thoracic venter dull blackish-brown, legs medium brown; ventral surfaces of lateral pronotal flanges and hemelytra dull dark orange; abdominal venter medium brown centrally.

Structural characters. Head length (along midline as measured from directly above)/width (across eyes) = 0.50/1.90, angled downward at greater than 45° when viewed laterally; frons and clypeus with shallow transverse striations, lacking longitudinal medial carina or channels along inner margins of eyes ( Fig. 6 ); eyes large, protruding, projecting very slightly posterolaterally beyond posterior margin of vertex, upper margins not rising above level of vertex when viewed anteriorly; antennae with segments I and II short, globose, segments III and IV slender, filiform, lengths of segments I–IV = 0.15, 0.10, 0.45, 0.35; rostrum long, length = 3.25, exceeding hind coxae and extending to posterior margin of fourth visible abdominal sternite.

Pronotum length (midline)/width = 1.00/3.40, anterior lobe lacking lateral tubercles; anterior collar not evident; anterolateral margins explanate, weakly demarcated from disk, lateral margins forming obtuse angles; calli not tumescent, barely evident; posterior pronotal margin multisinuate, posteriorly concave centrally above base of scutellum . Scutellum triangular, length/width = 1.40/1.80, posterior apex forming small, acute point; mesoscutum hidden beneath posterior margin of pronotum. Hemelytra long, attaining tip of abdomen, with corium, clavus and embolium well defined, anterolateral embolar margin well-produced, flattened, explanate; length of clavus along outside margin 2.50; membrane fully developed, venation obvious, with 10 closed cells visible. Ventral surface of thorax smooth and dull; abdominal venter densely covered with very short, fine, appressed silvery setae, this setal covering interrupted by ovate glabrous patches surrounding spiracles laterally on paratergites.

Legs with all coxae and bases of trochanters bearing short, fine, recumbent pale setae; femora glabrous; tibiae bearing scattered sharp golden spines, lengths of these spines subequal to width of tibia; middle and hind femora slightly bowed downward in middle when viewed laterally; tarsi with short, sharp golden spines ventrally; claws large, golden-brown, gently curving, arolia moderately long, hair-like, extending approximately one-half length of claws. Lengths of leg segments as follows: fore femur/tibia/tarsal 1/tarsal 2 = 1.50/1.50/0.10/0.25; middle femur/ tibia/tarsal 1/tarsal 2 = 1.60/1.50/0.10/0.40; hind femur/tibia/tarsal 1/tarsal 2/tarsal 3 = 1.75/2.75/0.10/0.30/ 0.35.

Genital segment well retracted into abdomen. Pygophore with caudal tip blunt, angular, bearing rounded setiferious lateral tumescence on left side ( Figs. 15, 19 ). Proctiger roughly triangular, apex blunt ( Fig. 16 ). Right paramere slender and very elongate, bearing a small blunt basal lobe above a U-shaped bend, followed by a long distal arm, this arm lacking a transverse ridge near midpoint, distal section slightly angled, apex weakly expanded, spoon-shaped ( Fig. 18 ). Left paramere vestigial, very small, L-shaped ( Fig. 20 ). Aedeagus with shape as in Fig. 17 , consisting of cruciform phallobase bearing acuminate lateral projections; distal portion of aedeagus forming elongate flagellum, this flagellum articulated at basal point of connection to phallobase, and again at a transverse joint distal to midpoint, extreme distal section very slender and whip-like, enclosed in a slender, closely appressed phallotheca ( Fig. 17 ).

Female. Unknown.

Comparative notes. This is the smallest species of Ocyochterus so far known, with a male body length of 6.00 mm. The color pattern is distinctive, with numerous irregular pruinose blue flecks and patches on a dark brown to reddish-brown background, with contrasting yellow markings present posterolaterally and medially on pronotum, and the veins of the dark forewing membrane clearly delineated in pale blue ( Fig. 3 ). The dark metallic blue coloration on the frons ( Fig. 6 ) is also distinctive among currently described Ocyochterus species.

The male genitalia are similar in general form to the other members of the genus, but the distal arm of the male right paramere lacks a transverse ridge and has the extreme distal section angled and slightly expanded apically ( Fig. 18 ); the male right paramere is L-shaped ( Fig. 20 ), rather than roughly T-shaped as in O. graziae and O. irmae ; the proctiger is shorter and more conical ( Fig. 16 ), and the aedeagus has the section beyond the second joint somewhat shortened and subequal in length to the slender distal whip-like section ( Fig. 17 ). Although the genitalic character states for O. victor are currently unknown, it appears that morphological differentiation has been relatively conservative within the male genitalia of Ocyochterus , based on the three species now illustrated, in sharp contrast to the situation in Ochterus .

The discovery of O. gilloglyi in Panama, to the west of the Panama Canal, is a notable range extension for the genus, and adds Ocyochterus to the known aquatic Heteroptera fauna of Mesoamerica. All other Ocyochterus species collected to date are confined to the northern Andes. In some respects, particularly the ovate body form and narrower frons, O. gilloglyi resembles species of Ochterus , but the morphology of the male genitalia, particularly the very elongate right paramere and slender, curving distal flagellum of the aedeagus clearly place this species in Ocyochterus , and are unlike those of any Ochterus species currently known from Mesoamerica (D. Polhemus & J. Polhemus 2016).

Figures

FIGURES 1–4. Ocyochterus species, photographs of dorsal habitus showing body shape and color patterning. 1. O. victor Bolívar, female, specimen from Ecuador, Pichincha, near Chiriboga. 2. O. graziae n. sp., male paratype specimen from Ecuador, Tungarahua, 14 km. E. of Banos. 3. O. gilloglyi n. sp., male holotype specimen from Panama, Cerro Trinidad. 4. O. irmae D. Polhemus & J. Polhemus, male paratype specimen from Colombia, Valle de Cauca, Farallones de Cali.

FIGURES 5–8. Ocyochterus species, photographs of anterior head showing coloration and cuticular sculpture of eyes, frons and clypeus. 5. O. graziae n. sp., male paratype specimen from Ecuador, Tungarahua, 14 km. E. of Banos. 6. O. gilloglyi n. sp., male holotype specimen from Panama, Cerro Trinidad. 7. O. victor Bolívar, female, specimen from Ecuador, Pichincha, near Chiriboga. 8. O. irmae D. Polhemus & J. Polhemus, male paratype specimen from Colombia, Valle de Cauca, Farallones de Cali.

FIGURES 15–20. Ocyochterus gilloglyi n. sp., male genitalic structures; holotype specimen from Panama, Cerro Trinidad. 15. Male genital capsule in right lateral view. 16. Proctiger. 17. Aedeagus. 18. Right paramere. 19. Posteror margin of pygophore. 20. Left paramere.

FIGURE 21. Distribution of Ocyochterus species in northwestern South America and adjacent southern Mesoamerica.