Psallops namibiensis Taszakowski, Kim & Gierlasiński, 2025

Taszakowski, Artur, Kim, Junggon, Kaszyca-Taszakowska, Natalia, Gierlasiński, Grzegorz & Jung, Sunghoon, 2025, Taxonomic review of the genus Psallops Usinger, 1946 (Hemiptera: Miridae) from the Afrotropical Region, with descriptions of two new species and a discussion on the internal revision of Psallops, Zootaxa 5646 (4), pp. 545-561 : 552-558

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5646.4.4
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BA39516C-A2C0-4426-BDB3-D52F9EE919EC
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03CF977C-451B-FD04-FF42-88171D0B0107
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Psallops namibiensis Taszakowski, Kim & Gierlasiński
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Psallops namibiensis Taszakowski, Kim & Gierlasiński sp. nov.

( Fig. 5 View FIGURE 5 , 6 View FIGURE 6 )

Diagnosis. Recognized from other congeners by the following combination of characters: dorsum simple in overall coloration and mostly brownish with pale marking; interocular distance narrow, 0.4x as wide as compound eye width; scutellum entirely reddish brown; corium mostly fuscous with pale marking posteriorly; embolium mostly fuscous, same to corium in color; hind legs mostly dark brown ( Fig. 5A–D View FIGURE 5 ); endosoma simply membranous with three sclerotized appendages, one long spicule and two sclerites, spicule and sclerites similar in length ( Fig. 5F View FIGURE 5 ).

Description. MALE: Body elongate oval, length 2.3–2.4 ( Fig. 5A–C View FIGURE 5 ). Coloration: partly fuscous and dark brown ( Fig. 5A–D View FIGURE 5 ). Head: entirely dark brown; vertex and frons entirely dark brown; clypeus reddish brown, paler than frons ( Fig. 5D View FIGURE 5 ); antenna mostly dark brown; scape entirely dark brown; pedicel and flagellum brown, paler than first segment, bases of pedicel, basi- and distiflagellum darker. Thorax: pronotum entirely dark brown, same color to head; mesoscutum and scutellum entirely reddish brown; hemelytra fuscous and partly dark brown, with pale marking posteriorly; clavus entirely fuscous; corium mostly fuscous with pale marking posteriorly, pale marking tinged with red along anterior, posterior and lateral margins; embolium mostly fuscous, slightly tinged with red anteriorly and posteriorly; cuneus mostly brown, anterior area slightly tinged with red; vein dark grey, membrane greyish; legs mostly dark brown; coxa pale brown, femur dark brown with pale marking apically; tibia mostly dark brown, base tinged with red, being paler toward to apex; tarsus entirely pale brown. Abdomen: entirely dark brown. Surface and vestiture: body glossy, impunctate, covered with dark, long, erected setae ( Figs 5A–D View FIGURE 5 , 6 A–C, G, K View FIGURE 6 ); head rugose; covered with setae; pronotum and scutellum semi-glossy, densely covered with dark setae and tiny, dense microtrichia ( Fig. 6K View FIGURE 6 ); hemelytra glossy, densely covered with dark setae and tiny, dense microtrichia. Structure: body elongate, length 3.04. Head: hypognathous; vertex flat ( Fig. 6A View FIGURE 6 ); interocular distance narrow, 0.4x as wide as compound eye width ( Figs 5D View FIGURE 5 , 6A, B View FIGURE 6 ); compound eye height equal to head height, compound eyes almost touching each other at vertex of head ( Fig. 6E View FIGURE 6 ); antennal socket originating from sub-basal part of compound eye connecting base of maxillary plate, 1/5 basal part of eye height ( Fig. 6C–E View FIGURE 6 ); total antennal length shorter than body length; scape thinner than pedicel, longer than interocular distance; pedicel cylindrical; basiflagellomere longer than scape, longer than distiflagellomere; proportion of scape to distiflagellomere 0.17:0.49:0.32:0.29; labium long, apex reaching fourth abdominal segment; first and second labial segment subdivided subapically ( Fig. 6C, D View FIGURE 6 ). Thorax: pronotum wide ( Fig. 6G View FIGURE 6 ), longitudinal length shorter than 1/2 basal maximal width, posterior margin slightly concave; calli weakly swollen ( Figs 5A, C View FIGURE 5 , 6A, G View FIGURE 6 ); scutellum large, anterior width longer than 1/2 basal pronotal width, longitudinal length slightly longer than commissure; metathoracic scent gland evaporative area triangular with anterior angle rounded, peritreme flattened with distinct microtrichia, directed upward and posteriorly ( Fig. 6H View FIGURE 6 ); lateral margin of each hemelytron almost straight; outer cuneal margin subequal to anterior margin, longer than 1/3 embolial margin length; tarsi two-segmented; claw with apical tooth ( Fig. 6I, J View FIGURE 6 ). Abdomen: not reaching to apex of cuneus. Genitalia: pygophore asymmetrical, left side slightly sinuate ( Fig. 5E View FIGURE 5 ); right paramere small, apical process slightly tapered ( Fig. 5G View FIGURE 5 ); left paramere vertically curved, apical process length subequal to sensory lobe length, apex tapered, sensory lobe enlarged, longer than apical process diameter ( Fig. 5H View FIGURE 5 ); endosoma simple and membranous with sclerotized appendages: one long spicule and two sclerites, spicule long and thin, one sclerite long and broaden apically, one bifurcate, three spicule and sclerites similar in length ( Fig. 5F View FIGURE 5 ).

FEMALE: Unknown.

Measurements. Male (n=4)

Body. Length, clypeus–apex of membrane: 2.27–2.37; maximal width: 0.92. Head. Length: 0.18–0.19; width, including compound eyes: 0.56–0.59; compound eye dorsal width: 0.24; interocular distance (vertex width): 0.09– 0.11. Antenna. Scape length: 0.17; pedicel length: 0.48–0.53; basiflagellomere length: 0.32–0.33; distiflagellomere length: 0.29; total length: 1.26–1.32. Labium. Segments I–IV length: 0.24:0.36:0.21:0.28; total length: 1.10.

Pronotum. Mesal length: 0.33–0.34; posterior maximal width (straight): 0.79–0.81. Scutellum. Anterior width: 0.33–0.35; mesal length (including mesoscutum): 0.37–0.38. Metatarsus. Total length: 0.27–0.28; length of tarsomeres I–III: 0.10:0.22–0.25; Hemelytron. Length: 1.86–1.90; commissure length: 0.32–0.36; outer embolial margin length (straight): 0.99–1.06; outer cuneal margin length (straight): 0.43–0.45.

Material examined. Holotype: ♂, ‘ NAMIBIA, Ovamboland \ 17°40'35,6''S 15°17'33.6''E \ Ogongo Campus \ 13.02.2012 1100 m at light \ savanna & wild garden \ leg. R. Dobosz & G. Kopij’; USMB: 6011/ 17669, MB0408074 ( Figs 4 View FIGURE 4 ‘B’, 7A, B) GoogleMaps . Paratypes: 2♂♂, same data as holotype; USMB: 6011/ 17763, MB0408264; 6011/ 17635, MB0408020; ( Figs 4 View FIGURE 4 ‘B’, 7A, B) GoogleMaps ; ♂, ‘ NAMIBIA, Ovamboland \ 17°40'35,6''S 15°17'33.6''E \ Ogongo Campus \ 8.02.2012 1100 m \ at light, env. of home \ leg. R. Dobosz & G. Kopij’; USMB: 6011/ 23452, MB0408110 ( Figs 4 View FIGURE 4 ’B’, 7A, B) GoogleMaps ; ♂, ‘ NAMIBIA Oshikoto Region \ 18°46’54,2’’S 17°03’33,9’’E \ Onguma Lodge \ 05.12.2014 1095 m, at light \ env. of Etosha N.P. (E) \ leg. R. Dobosz & D. Chłond’ DZUS: HE44-1597 - 1-001 ( Fig. 4 View FIGURE 4 ‘C’) GoogleMaps ; 4♂♂, ‘ Namibia, Kavango Region \ 18°02’0,7.5’’ S; 20°51’39.5’’ E \ Shamvura Lodge Okavango \ 02.12.2014 1080m at light \ 80km W of Divundu \ Leg. R.Dobosz & D. Chłond’; USMB: \\ 5977/ 34350, MB0408174 ( Figs 4 View FIGURE 4 ‘D’, 7C) ; 3♂♂, ‘ Namibia, Kavango Region \ 18°07’22,4’’S 21°34’54.6’’E \ Popa Falls Lodge \ 30.11.2014 1017 m, at light \ Okavango, 5 km S Divundu \ leg. R. Dobosz & D. Chłond’; USMB, (alcohol sample) ( Figs 4 View FIGURE 4 ‘E’, 7D) GoogleMaps ; 2♂♂, ‘ Botswana Shamvura \ Camp, by Okavango \ S 18°02.124’ \ E 020°51.656’ \ Leg. D.Chłond’; DZUS: HE44-1597 - 1-002 ; HE44-1597-1-003 ( Figs 4 View FIGURE 4 ’D’, 7C) ; ♂, ‘ BOTSWANA Dyst. North W \ 18°44’47,0’’S 22°11’50,9’’E \ Swamp Stop Camp \ Okavango riv., Sepupa env. \ 01.12.2004 980 m at light \ leg. R. Dobosz & D. Chłond’; USMB (alcohol sample) ( Fig. 4 View FIGURE 4 ‘F’) GoogleMaps .

Biology. Unknown. All specimens were attracted to a light trap ( Fig. 7B View FIGURE 7 ).

Distribution. North Namibia and North-East Botswana ( Fig. 4 View FIGURE 4 )

Etymology. Named after the type locality, Namibia.

Remarks. This new species is easily distinguished from congeners by the mostly uniform color tone and dark brownish dorsum with pale marking posteriorly. Psallops species from Micronesia ( Carvalho 1956), Japan ( Yasunaga 1999), Taiwan ( Lin 2006), Thailand ( Yasunaga et al. 2010), and Australia ( Namyatova & Cassis 2019a) exhibit a dorsum with coarsely mottled patterns, and/or with distinct pale spots, which can be differed from Psallops namibiensis sp. nov. This new species is similar to Psallops coloratus Herczek et al., 2017 from the Malay Peninsula, but it can be distinguished by the entirely reddish brown scutellum (vs. scutellum with pale marking tinged with red); the mostly dark brown cuneus (vs. apical part of cuneus pale); and the thin sensory lobe of the left paramere (vs. thick sensory lobe). Psallops namibiensis sp. nov. resembles P. vietnamensis Kim et al., 2025 from Vietnam, but it can be separated by the continuously dark embolium and corium (vs. the reddish brown embolium posteriorly and the pale brown corium); the corium with a pale marking posteriorly (vs. the corium with indistinct and diffuse pale marking near cuneal fracture); the mostly dark brown cuneus (vs. mostly reddish brown cuneus); and the shorter apical process than the sensory lobe of left paramere (vs. the longer apical process than the sensory lobe of left paramere). This new species is most similar to the species described from Africa listed below, but it can be distinguished by the diagnoses, the key and the ratios in Table 1. The proportions of the male body parts documented in Table 1, where chosen and modified because they were found to be significant for separating species in other mirid genera, in particular the groups characterized by relatively large compound eyes (e.g., Herczek & Popov 2014a; b).

Psallops niedzwiedzkii Herczek & Popov in Herczek et al. 2016b

( Fig. 1C, D View FIGURE 1 )

Psallops niedzwiedzkii Herczek & Popov in Herczek et al. 2016b: 163 View Cited Treatment , figs 1–7 (new species), 167 (map of distribution), 168 (key); Kim et al. 2025: 197 (list).

Diagnosis. Separated by the following combination of characters: dorsum generally reddish brown; interocular distance short, subequal to 1/2 single compound eye width; clypeus and maxillary plate paler; hemelytra partly brown and reddish brown, somewhat sub-hyaline; corium mostly brown, outer area near embolium tinged with red; clavus mostly brown, inner part reddish brown; embolium darker, being more reddish toward posterior part; cuneus mostly reddish brown, inner part tinged with red; fore and mid tibiae pale brown; hind tibia partly pale brown and reddish brown, 1/2 basal part reddish brown, with one row of brownish spines on external surface; length of spines longer than diameter of tibia; tarsi pale brown, two-segmented; left paramere with broad sensory lobe, somewhat protuberant; endosoma with two types of sclerotized appendages, one bunch of short and dense spicules and one bunch of eight sublinear spicules with different lengths (updated from Herczek et al. 2016b).

Description. See Herczek et al. (2016b) for the original description.

Material examined. Holotype: ♂, ‘X. 65, Forest , Ghana, 2°28'W, 5°25'N, L. R. Cole. D. Leston coll. BM. 1976- 509’ ( ZMUC). GoogleMaps

Distribution. Ghana (central).