Cantheconidea mitis ( Vollenhoven, 1868 ), 2024

Brugnera, Ricardo, Grazia, Jocelia, Maynard, Andrew & Roca-Cusachs, Marcos, 2024, Delimiting Cantheconidea Schouteden 1907, with the description of a new genus (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Asopinae), European Journal of Taxonomy 947, pp. 191-215 : 201-203

Cantheconidea mitis ( Vollenhoven, 1868) comb. nov.

Figs 5c–d, i–j , 10

Canthecona mitis Vollenhoven, 1868: 7 .

Platynopus mitis – Walker 1868: 529.

Canthecona mitis – Stål 1870: 229.

Cantheconidea mitis – Kirkaldy 1909: 13.

Eocanthecona mitis – Thomas 1994: 176.

Diagnosis

As specimens have not been examined in person, we have provided a redescription based on photographs for this species. Cantheconidea mitis comb. nov. can be differentiated from the two other species of Cantheconidea by its smaller and blunt humeri, which lack a clear secondary apex. Color in life: Fig. 5j .

Type material

Lectotype (here designated)

TIMOR • 1 ♀; “Wienec[ke] / Timor // COTYPUS // Museum Leiden / Cantheconidea / mitis Voll. / Det // RMNH.INS. / 1629595”; RMNH; RMNH 1629595 ( Fig. 5c–d ).

Paralectotypes (here designated)

TIMOR • 1 ♀; “Wieneck[e] / Timor / 12 // COTYPUS // Museum Leiden / Cantheconidea / mitis Voll. / Det // RMNH.INS. / 1629594”; RMNH; RMNH 1629594 [ Eocanthecona cf. vollenhoveni, Maynard det. 2024] ( Fig. 5a–b ). – Ambon island • 1 ♀; “ Forsten / Amboina // COTYPUS // Museum Leiden / Cantheconidea / mitis v. Voll. / Det // RMNH.INS. / 1629596”; RMNH; RMNH 1629596 [ Montrouzierellus nr. falleni, Maynard det. 2024] ( Fig. 5e–f ) .

Other material examined

NEW GUINEA • 1 ♀; “ N. Guinea / N.E. / Asiki / Feb, 1972”; QM [same species as cotype: RMNH; RMNH. INS.1629596 ] .

TIMOR • 1 ♀; “Wienecke / Timor 5 / Museum Leiden / Cantheconidea / variabilis Voll. // COTYPUS // RMNH.INS. / 1093149”; RMNH; RMNH 1093149 [cotype of C. variabilis (see revisions in progress)] • 1 ♀; “Wienecke / Timor I // Museum Leiden / Cantheconidea / variabilis Voll. // COTYPUS // RMNH.INS / 1093153”; RMNH; RMNH 1093153 [cotype of C. variabilis (see revisions in progress)] • 1 ♂; “Deyr. Timor // Museum Leiden / Cantheconidea / variabilis Voll. // COTYPUS // RMNH.INS. / 1093156”; RMNH; RMNH 1093156 [cotype of C. variabilis (see revisions in progress)] ( Fig. 5g –h ) • 1 ♀; “Deyr. Timor // Museum Leiden / Cantheconidea / variabilis Voll. // COTYPUS // RMNH.INS / 1092852”; RMNH; RMNH 1092852 [cotype of C. variabilis (see revisions in progress)] .

Records retrieved from iNaturalist

TIMOR-LESTE • Pulur Ira Spring , Lautém; 8.3739° S, 127.10° E; 3 Apr. 2020; inaturalist.org/observations/42282876 ( Fig. 5j ) .

Redescription

COLORATION. Body dorsal coloration yellow-brown with darker patches on scutellum (transverse dark band in anterior third) and sometimes in posterior third of hemelytral corium. Body ventral coloration lighter than dorsum, yellow to light brown, moderately punctate. Hemelytral membrane smoky, with hyaline spots on outer edges; when wings held together membrane appears dark with two outer hyaline spots. Midline of head, pronotum and scutellum typically with thin, yellow strip (unpunctured, often interrupted in middle of the scutellum or posterior region of pronotum).

HEAD. Mandibular plates and clypeus subequal. Green-blue iridescence on outer edges of mandibular plates, with longitudinal rows of punctures on inner edge of mandibular plates diverging into several single rows of punctures from eyes and extending posteriorly. Antennae 5-segemented, yellow to light-brown; proportion of labial segments: I <II<III <IV>V. Labium 4-segmented: I<II≈ III>IV. Labium apex reaching between meso- and metacoxae, at rest lying between elevated lateral metasternal processes ( Fig. 5i ).

THORAX. Anterolateral margins of pronotum crenulated and sinuous. Anterior angle of pronotum slightly produced. Humeri moderately laterally produced, sometimes directed slightly posteriorly, with blunt, single iridescent blue-green apex. Legs yellow to light-brown. Profemora armed with moderately long spine. Protibiae not foliate. Hind femora with posterior blue-green iridescent band which continues onto tibiae near joint.

ABDOMEN. Connexival segments with banded pattern (apical half of each segment with blue-green iridescence patch), this pattern visible ventrally as very narrow patches laterally. Abdominal segments spinose, most prominent on segment VII with blue-green iridescence on these processes dorsally and ventrally. Metathoracic scent gland peritreme curved. Basal abdominal spine on abdominal segment III short (reaches posteriorly to the metacoxae). Abdominal segment VII with central dark spot.

MEASUREMENTS. Based on photographs (n=5): head length: 1.7± 0.2 (1.5–1.9), width: 2.2± 0.1 (2.1– 2.3); anteocular length: 0.9 ±0.1 (0.8–1); pronotum length: 2.7 ±0.2 (2.6–3), width: 7.2± 0.3 (7–7.6); scutellum length: 4± 0.3 (3.8–4.4), width: 3.6± 0.2 (3.4–3.8); antennomere length: I 0.4 ±0 (0.4–0.4), II 1.1± 0.1 (1–1.2), III 1.3 ±0.2 (1.1–1.5), IV 1.6± 0.1 (1.5–1.7), V 1.5± 0 (1.5–1.5); labial segments length: I 1± 0.1 (0.9–1), II 1.3± 0.1 (1.2–1.3), III 1.2± 0.2 (0.9–1.4), IV 1.1± 0.1 (1–1.2); abdominal width: 5.5 ±0.4 (5.1–5.9); total length: 12.5 ±0.9 (11.8–13.8).

Distribution

Timor.

Remarks

There are three cotypes for Canthecona mitis which represent three species from three different asopine genera. This includes a species of Cantheconidea (RMNH.INS.1629595), Eocanthecona ( cf. vollenhoveni : RMNH.INS.1629594; Fig. 5a–b ) and Montrouzierellus (sp.1 nr. falleni: RMNH. INS.1629596; Fig. 5e–f ). The illustration and original description by Vollenhoven (1868) mostly align with the specimen of Cantheconidea (RMNH.INS.1629595; Fig. 5 c–d ). This specimen also clearly fits the current definition of Cantheconidea . In contrast, the remaining cotypes lack the diagnostic features of Cantheconidea : the Eocanthecona cotype, with a flat metasternum (rather than laterally elevated), and the Montrouzierellus cotype, with a smooth (rather than crenulate) anterolateral pronotal margin. It is worth noting that the metasternum of the Montrouzierellus cotype is obscured by the pin; however, examination of a non-type specimen from New Guinea confirms this morphological species has raised lateral metasternal margins. Additionally, Vollenhoven (1868) refers to both the Eocanthecona and Montrouzierellus cotypes by locality and coloration, as if they represent intraspecific morphological color variants: [translated into English] ‘An individual from Timor is somewhat darker in color and has shaded brown forelegs [RMNH.INS.1629594]; that of Amboina is dotted with reddish-brown and has the edge of the abdomen and the legs concolorous’ [RMNH.INS.1629596]. Together these points lend support that specimen RMNH.INS.1629595 is likely the main cotype that Vollenhoven based his description of Canthecona mitis on. We designate cotype RMNH.INS.1629595 as the lectotype of Cantheconidea mitis comb. nov. to clarify its identity. The two other cotypes (RMNH.INS.1629594, -96) are no longer considered C. mitis and are designated as paralectotypes. Four other specimens of C. mitis were identified from photographs of the C. variabilis cotypes (reviewed and identified as not belonging to E. variabilis in the present study, see Eocanthecona variabilis comb. nov. section).

Figures

Fig. 5. Cantheconidea mitis (Vollenhoven, 1868) comb. nov. a–b, e–f. Paralectotypes. c–d, i. Lectotype, ♀ (RMNH.INS.1629595). g–h, j. Non-types. a–b. Paralectotype, ♀ (RMNH.INS.1629594). e–f. Paralectotype, ♀ (RMNH.INS.1629596). g–h. Cantheconidea mitis (Vollenhoven, 1868) comb. nov. (RMNH.INS.1093156; cotype of Eocanthecona variabilis (Vollenhoven, 1868) comb. nov., ♂. j. Live specimen from Lautém (Timor-Leste). a, c, e. Dorsal view. b, d, f. Ventral view. i. Details of the metasternum. Photos: a–i = ©Charlotte Hartong and Luc Willemse (2023–2024), Naturalis Biodiversity Center; j = ©Jafet Potenzo Lopes (2020).

Fig. 10. Geographic distribution of Cantheconidea Schouteden, 1907 and Cantheconesia Brugnera & Roca-Cusachs gen. nov. The points marked for each species are for the type specimens, specimens examined in this paper, and for records retrieved from iNaturalist. The question mark (?) in Samoa indicates the absence of an exact location.