Zelus banksi Zhang & Hart

Zhang, Guanyang, Hart, Elwood R & Weirauch, Christiane, 2016, A taxonomic monograph of the assassin bug genus Zelus Fabricius (Hemiptera: Reduviidae): 71 species based on 10,000 specimens, Biodiversity Data Journal 4, pp. 8150-8150 : 8150

Zelus banksi Zhang & Hart sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00057804 ; recordedBy: N. Banks; sex: Adult Male; Taxon: scientificName: Zelusbanksi; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang & Hart, 2016; Location: country: PANAMA; stateProvince: Canal Zone; county: none; locality: Barro Colorado ; decimalLatitude: 9.16666; decimalLongitude: -79.83333; georeferenceSources: Google Earth; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: 1924-06-25; Record Level: institutionCode: AMNH Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00071253 ; recordedBy: Richter; sex: Adult Male; Taxon: scientificName: Zelusbanksi; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang & Hart, 2016; Location: country: COLOMBIA; stateProvince: Meta; county: none; locality: Rio Guayuriba ; verbatimElevation: 400 m; decimalLatitude: 4.01978; decimalLongitude: -73.60807; georeferenceSources: Google Earth; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: 1947-09-06; Record Level: institutionCode: TAMU Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00009559 ; occurrenceRemarks: Drake Collection; recordedBy: F. J. Otoya; sex: Adult Male; Taxon: scientificName: Zelusbanksi; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang & Hart, 2016; Location: country: COLOMBIA; stateProvince: Valle del Cauca; county: none; locality: Palmira ; decimalLatitude: 3.5364; decimalLongitude: -76.3036; georeferenceSources: Gazetteer; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: 1939-08-25; Record Level: institutionCode: USNM Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00029366 ; occurrenceRemarks: Genitalia dissected.; recordedBy: Pablo Schild; sex: Adult Male; Taxon: scientificName: Zelusbanksi; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang & Hart, 2016; Location: country: COSTA RICA; stateProvince: Alajuela; county: none; locality: Higuito, San Mateo ; verbatimElevation: 254 m; decimalLatitude: 9.95; decimalLongitude: -84.55; georeferenceSources: Gazetteer; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: no date provided; Record Level: institutionCode: USNM Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00014431 ; recordedBy: F. Quesada; sex: Adult Male; Taxon: scientificName: Zelusbanksi; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang & Hart, 2016; Location: country: COSTA RICA; stateProvince: Puntarenas; county: none; locality: Rancho Quemado, Peninsula de Osa ; verbatimElevation: 200 m; decimalLatitude: 8.67776; decimalLongitude: -83.56478; georeferenceSources: Label; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: 1991-11-01; Record Level: institutionCode: INBIO Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00015110 ; recordedBy: N. Banks; sex: Adult Male; Taxon: scientificName: Zelusbanksi; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang & Hart, 2016; Location: country: PANAMA; stateProvince: Canal Zone; county: none; locality: Barro Colorado Island ; decimalLatitude: 9.15562; decimalLongitude: -79.84895; georeferenceSources: Google Earth; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: 1924-06-26; Record Level: institutionCode: AMNH

Description

Figs 42, 43, 44

Male: (Fig. 42) Medium-sized, total length 10.81-12.62 mm (mean 12.00 mm, Suppl. material 2); slender. COLORATION: Head uniformly brown; postocular lobe with very faint longitudinal medial stripe. Anterior pronotal lobe and hemelytron brown; posterior lobe yellowish-brown. Remainder of body surface mostly yellowish-brown, parts of pleura darker. Femora with two or three yellowish bands; tibiae with single band. VESTITURE: Sparsely setose. Short, recumbent setae on entire surface; very short, erect, spine-like setae on dorsum, denser on anterior lobe; few moderately long, erect, fine setae on ventral surface. Pronotum with sparse, recumbent setae and short, erect setae over dorsal surface; denser, long recumbent setae on lateral surface and pleura, intermixed with semierect or erect setae; scutellum with sparse, semi-erect and recumbent setae. Legs with sparse setation on femora and moderately dense setation on tibiae. Corium and clavus with mix of sparse, short, recumbent and erect setae. Abdomen with moderately dense, short recumbent setae, intermixed with sparse, short to long, erect setae. Apical half of dorsal surface of paramere with moderately dense, medium-length, semi-erect setae. STRUCTURE: Head: Cylindrical, L/W = 2.25. Postocular lobe long; in dorsal view distinctly narrowing through anterior 2/3, posterior 1/3 constant, tube-like. Eye prominent; lateral margin much wider than postocular lobe; dorsal margin attaining postocular transverse groove, ventral margin removed from ventral surface of head. Labium: I: II: III = 1: 2.1: 0.5. Basiflagellomere diameter larger than that of pedicel. Thorax: Anterolateral angle bearing small projection; medial longitudinal sulcus evident throughout, deepening posteriorly. Posterior pronotal lobe with rugulose surface; disc distinctly elevated above humeral angle; humeral angle armed, with dentate or spinous process. Scutellum short; apex angulate, slightly projected upward in some specimens. Legs: Slender. Hemelytron: Slightly surpassing apex of abdomen, not more than length of abdominal segment seven; quadrate cell small; Cu and M of cubital cell subparallel. GENITALIA: (Fig. 43) Pygophore: Elongate ovoid; not expanded laterally in dorsal view. Medial process cylindrical; slender; moderately long, nearly as long as paramere; laterally compressed towards apex; anterior surface towards apex ridged; minute spicules on posterior surface; semi-erect; very slightly curved at middle; apex in posterior view acute, with small hooklike projection. Paramere: Cylindrical; long, achieving apex of medial process; directed posteriad, slightly curved towards medial process; basally slightly narrower; nearly straight; apical part slightly enlarged, obliquely truncate. Phallus: Dorsal phallothecal sclerite somewhat ovoid; sclerotization reduced (yet not absent) on dorsal surface close to posterior margin of foramen; apical portion of phallothecal sclerite gradually tapering, distinctly keeled medially, laterally indistinctly angulate; apex acute; posterior margin of foramen broadly concave. Struts attached to dorsal phallothecal sclerite; apically separate, connected by bridge; basally separate throughout. Basal plate arm robust; basally fused; in lateral view mid-portion curved; bridge extremely short; extension of basal plate expanded laterally onto arm, covering more than 1/2 of arm, curved.

Female: Unknown.

Diagnosis

Recognized by the following combination of characters: the posterior pronotal lobe usually orangish-brown; the rather long paramere, apex obliquely truncate; and the medial process nearly straight, curvature small. Among the males of the Zelus panamensis species group (Fig. 12), Z. banksi has the longest paramere, which is longer than the medial process.

Etymology

Named after N. Banks, the collector of the type specimen.

Distribution

Southern Central America and northern South America (Fig. 44). Countries with specimen records: Colombia, Costa Rica and Panama