Xiphoides Eyles and Schuh

Schwartz, Michael D., Weirauch, Christiane & Schuh, Randall T., 2018, New Genera And Species Of Myrtaceae-Feeding Phylinae From Australia, And The Description Of A New Species Of Restiophylus (Insecta: Heteroptera: Miridae) Michael D. Schwartz Christiane Weirauch, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2018 (424), pp. 1-161 : 90

Xiphoides Eyles and Schuh

Xiphoides Eyles and Schuh, 2003: 305 (new genus).

DISCUSSION: Previous to our research the species of Xiphoides were restricted to New Zealand. Character documentation for the following two new species augments the generic diagnosis of Xiphoides and expands the known distribution. Both new species have morphology that allows them to be placed in Xiphoides , including: the ovoid body with male slightly more elongate than female; pale tibial spines; vestiture of mixed white scalelike and black simple setae; coiled endosoma with two narrow confluent straps; very large vestibulum strongly extending to right side of bursa copulatrix; posterior wall without extensive structure, but microspicules present on posterolateral margin. On the other hand, their morphology varies modestly from the New Zealand species and therefore alters the diagnosis of the genus as prepared by Eyles and Schuh (2003) . Notably, the apical portion of the right paramere is moderately long, but the posterior surface lacks serration; the phallotheca is elongate and narrow, but the anterior surface lacks a narrow spine; and the endosoma lacks spines on the dorsal strap basad of secondary gonopore. Likewise, neither species runs to completion in the key of Eyles and Schuh (2003) .

The recognition of Xiphoides from Australia, more particularly Tasmania and South Australia (table 4), fills a geographic gap that bolsters the argument for transantarctic connections in the Phylinae as made by Weirauch and Schuh (2011) , in this case completing the connection between New Zealand and Australia in the genus Xiphoides .