Mixotrephes (Pictotrephes) pictus, Papáček & Zettel, 2011

Papáček, Miroslav & Zettel, Herbert, 2011, A new subgenus and species of Mixotrephes (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Helotrephidae) from Laos and notes on Mixotrephes punctatus, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 51 (2), pp. 397-406 : 402-404

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.5328257

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5390033

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/F74CBC70-FFA3-2F3C-9D6A-FDFAFBB1F1FC

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Mixotrephes (Pictotrephes) pictus
status

sp. nov.

Mixotrephes (Pictotrephes) pictus View in CoL sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–6 View Figs , 9, 11–16 View Figs )

Type material. HOLOTYPE: J (brachypterous, based on structures of forewing), ‘ LAOS, CHAMPASAK prov. / Bolavens Plateau / ca. 1 km S Ban Lak 40 [vill.] / TAD YUEANG waterfall, 900-970 m / 15°10.8’N, 106°08.3’E / Jiří Hájek leg. 28.iv.2010 ’ ( NMPC) GoogleMaps . PARATYPES: 4 ♀♀ (brachypterous, based on structures of forewing), same labels as holotype (3 ♀♀ in NMPC, 1 ♀ in NHMW).

Description. Size: Body length of male 1.30 mm, of females 1.26–1.38 mm. Maximum body width (= pronotum width) of male 0.89 mm, of females 0.88–0.94 mm. Eye index (= minimum eye distance: maximum eye width) of male 2.8, of females 2.7–2.9.

Colour ( Figs. 1–6 View Figs ): Dorsum chiefly blackish. Male ( Figs. 1–3 View Figs ) cephalonotum with pair of yellow spots near posterolateral margin and with narrow yellow lateral margins; distal margin on hemielytron yellowish, almost transparent. Female (e.g., Figs. 4–6 View Figs ) cephalonotum, mesoscutellum and hemielytra with several yellow marks of varying shape and extension. Venter of head and thorax mostly yellowish brown, of abdomen dark brown. Legs dark yellow.

Structural characteristics of brachypterous morph: Head part of cephalonotum with sparse, small punctures, shiny, only at sides weakly tuberculate. Pronotal part of cephalonotum and mesoscutellum tuberculate, each tubercle sloping posteriorly, i.e. posterior slope steeper. Hemielytron with very large, deep punctures; most anterior part with a few small, intermittent tubercles. Mesoscutellum ( Fig. 9 View Figs ) wide with conspicuously convex lateral margins. Rostrum short, almost reaching level of posteroventral corner of prosternal carina; segment 4 ca. 1.5 times as long as segment 3. Forewing without claval and embolar sutures. Hindwings micropterous (examined only in one species). Midventral carinae weakly modified: Prosternal carina with almost rectangular posteroventral corner; mesosternal carina short and acute; metasternal carina with straight ventral outline, posteroventral corner weakly elevated; carinae of abdominal sterna 2–3 pointed, of abdominal sterna 4–6 present as low tubercles, on sternum 6 only in anterior part (in male less distinct than in female).

Terminalia of male ( Figs. 11–14 View Figs ): Abdominal sternum 8 ( Fig. 14 View Figs ) slightly asymmetrical, round, longer than wide, processing more caudally on the right side. Pygophore with low, rounded process.Aedeagus simple, phallosoma ( Fig. 11 View Figs ) straight, pin-shaped, slightly flattened, with tapered, bluntly rounded, unmodified apex; somewhat longer than both parameres. Left paramere ( Fig. 12 View Figs ) slightly longer that right one; basally robust with wide, round posterior lamella, distally hook-shaped with very conspicuous dense and long setae. Right paramere ( Fig. 13 View Figs ) nearly upright, apically antero-posteriorly flattened, spoon shaped; only with few minute setae on posterior surface.

Terminalia of female ( Figs. 15, 16 View Figs ): Subgenital plate (= abdominal sternum 7; Fig. 15 View Figs ) unmodified, with broad posterior lobe and only slightly concave lateral margins (this concavity only discernable under high magnification). Proximal part of this plate brown, middle and posterior area dark brown, posteromedial lobe with beige-brown, round spot at hind margin. First valvulae ( Fig. 16 View Figs ) of the Mixotrephes type, with cluster of robust, peg-shaped, both short and long, thick setae (macrotrichia) on apical lobe, and with numerous microtrichia scattered on well pigmented area proximally to this cluster (microtricha and differences in macrotrichia are visible only under high magnification of about 400× on microslide).

Comparative notes. Mixotrephes (Pictotrephes) pictus sp. nov. differs from all congeners by coarse sculpture of cephalonotum, mesoscutellum and hemielytra, wide mesoscutellum, ventral medial carina on abdominal sternum 6 that is absent in other Mixotrephes species , unmodified aedeagus, hook-shaped, densely hirsute apex of the left paramere, and unmodified subgenital plate of female (for comparison with characters of congeners see Tab. 1).

Etymology. The specific epithet pictus means painted and refers to the spotted pattern of the female’s hemielytra; adjective.

Habitat ( Figs 7, 8 View Figs ).This species was sampled in minute puddles on rock surface in the ‘spray zone’ of a waterfall. Small water beetles Microdytes sp. (Dytiscidae) and Laccobius (Glyptolaccobius) sp. ( Hydrophilidae ) (Jiří Hájek, pers. comm.) were also present in the collected samples. It is assumed that this species is part of a complex zoocoenose inhabiting petrolimnic to hygropetric zones of banks along fast streams with rapids and waterfalls.

Distribution. Only known from the type locality in the Bolaven Plateau, southern Laos.

NMPC

National Museum Prague

NHMW

Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hemiptera

Family

Helotrephidae

Genus

Mixotrephes

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