Saldula, Van Duzee, 1914

Li, Zihe, Li, Hongjiao, Bu, Wenjun & Ye, Zhen, 2025, Taxonomic review of Saldula (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Saldidae) from China, Zootaxa 5666 (4), pp. 451-488 : 454-455

Key to the species of Saldula from China

1 Dorsum with extremely long hairs, exceeding lateral margin of pronotum and hemelytra from dorsal view ( Fig. 6 )..................................................................................... S. lindskogi Vinokurov, 2004

– Drosum only with short, recumbent setae. If with long, erect setae, not exceeding lateral margin of pronotum or hemelytra from dorsal view........................................................................................... 2

2 Antennomere II with long erect hairs...................................................................... 3

– Antennomere II with only short recumbent hairs............................................................. 6

3 Pale type predominant, hemelytra with brown-testaceous markings, pigmentation with vague margins ( Fig. 32 ).......................................................................................... S. sibiricola Cobben, 1985

– Dark type predominant, hemelytra with contrasting black-white markings, pigmentation with clear margins.............. 4

4 Apical part of exocorium with a large, pale spot ( Fig. 9 ).................................. S. nobilis ( Horváth, 1883)

– Corium only with small, scattered pale spots, without large, pale spot in apical part................................. 5

5 Antennomere II mainly yellowish or yellowish-brown; pale spots on hemelytra whitish; basal spot on clavus subequal in size comparing to apical one; processus sensualis of male paramere distinctly protruding ( Fig. 4 ).. S. burmanica Lindskog, 1975

– Antennomere II mainly black; pale spots on hemelytra yellowish; basal spot on clavus smaller than apical one and sometimes even absent; processus sensualis of male paramere relatively blunt ( Fig. 11 )................. S. orthochila (Fieber, 1895)

6 Dorsal part of foretibia without dark stripe, with only a dark spot on basal part, or completely pale..................... 7

– Dorsal part of foretibia with black stripe.................................................................. 11

7 Pronotum with yellowish marking on lateral margin ( Fig. 3 )................................ S. bengali Cobben, 1986

– Pronotum completely black, without yellowish marking....................................................... 8

8 Antennomeres II–IV subequal in length; parandria with acuminate apex; body relatively small, less than 3 mm long ( Fig. 8 )............................................................................. S. niveolimbata ( Reuter, 1900)

– Antennomere II distinctly longer than III or IV; apex of parandria blunt; body relatively large, up to 3 mm ............... 9

9 Gular lobe with yellowish margin; hemelytra with distinct variation, exocorium nearly completely pale in pale individuals ( Fig. 16 ).......................................................................... S. recticollis ( Horváth, 1899)

– Gular lobe completely black; hemelytra not as described above................................................ 10

10 Hemelytra as in Fig. 18b , mainly dark, exocorium mainly dark with distinct pale costal margin; endocorium with scattered pale spots but without complete eye spot ( Fig. 18 )........................................ S. taiwanensis Cobben, 1985

– Hemelytra as in Fig. 10b–e , with distinct dark-pale markings, exocorium mainly pale; endocorium with a complete eye spot ( Fig. 10 ).................................................................... S. opacula ( Zetterstedt, 1838)

11 Dorsal side of foretibia with dark stripe interrupted at base................................................... 12

– Dorsal side of foretibia with continuous dark stripe......................................................... 15

12 Dorsum with dense, long, suberect hairs ( Fig. 14 )..................................... S. pericarti Vinokuorv, 2012

– Dorsum only with short, recumbent setae.................................................................. 13

13 Lateral margin of pronotum nearly straight; middle part of femora completely black; corium with a large C-shaped pale spot; clavus usually with an additional pale spot on basal part ( Fig. 7 )......................... S. melanoscela ( Fieber, 1859)

– Lateral margin of pronotum convex; femora mainly yellowish; hemelytra not as described above..................... 14

14 Mouthpart sclerites mainly dark-yellowish with black markings and gular lobe black; median dark spot on exocorium reach the outer margin of exocorium except in extremely pale individuals; body of paramere relatively short ( Fig. 17 )......................................................................................... S. saltatoria ( Linnaeus, 1758)

– Mouthpart sclerites including gular lobe pale-yellowish; median dark spot on exocorium not reaching the outer margin of exocorium except in extremely dark individuals; body of paramere long and slender ( Fig. 5 ).. S. fucicola (J. Salhberg, 1870)

15 Dorsal side of head and thorax with long, erect hairs; frons relatively wide ( Fig. 15 )......... S. pilosella ( Thomson, 1871)

– Dorsal side of head and thorax only with short, recumbent setae; frons relatively narrow............................ 16

16 Pronotum with yellowish lateral margin ( Fig. 19 )..................................... S. xanthochila ( Fieber, 1859)

– Pronotum entirely black, without pale lateral margin........................................................ 17

17 Mandibular plates yellowish; basal half of corium with a wide, transverse, pale stripe; dorsal side of male paramere with dense, long hairs ( Fig. 2 )....................................................... S. arenicola arenicola ( Scholtz, 1847)

– Mandibular plates black; pigmentation of hemelytra not as mentioned above; dorsal side of male paramere only with sparse, long hairs.......................................................................................... 18

18 Processus sensualis of male paramere with relatively long hairs; lateral side of processus sensualis with a tooth-like process; inner half of parandria with weaker sclerotization and form a distinct boundary with outer half ( Fig. 12 ).............................................................................................. S. pallipes ( Fabricius, 1794)

– Processus sensualis of male paramere with relatively short hairs; lateral side of processus sensualis without distinct process; parandria with nearly uniform sclerotization, without distinct boundary between inner and outer half ( Fig. 13 ).......................................................................................... S. palustris ( Douglas, 1874)

Figures

FIGURE 2. Saldula arenicola arenicola. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b–d, variation of hemelytra, scale=2.0 mm; e–g, different views of paramere, scale=0.2 mm; h, parandria, scale=0.2 mm.

FIGURE 3. Saldula bengali. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b–d, variation of hemelytra, scale=2.0 mm; e–g, different views of paramere, scale=0.2 mm; h, parandria, scale=0.2 mm.

FIGURE 4. Saldula burmanica. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b–c, variation of hemelytra, scale=2.0 mm; d–f, different views of paramere, scale=0.2 mm; g, parandria, scale=0.2 mm.

FIGURE 5. Saldula fucicola. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b, variation of hemelytra, after Vinokurov (1988); c–e, different views of paramere, scale=0.2 mm; f, parandria, scale=0.2 mm.

FIGURE 6. Saldula lindskogi. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b–e, variation of hemelytra, scale=2.0 mm; f–h, different views of paramere, scale=0.2 mm; i, parandria, scale=0.2 mm.

FIGURE 7. Saldula melanoscela. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b, hemelytra, scale=2.0 mm; c–e, different views of paramere, scale=0.2 mm; f, parandria, scale=0.2 mm.

FIGURE 8. Saldula niveolimbata. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b, lateral view of paramere, after Chen (1987); c, parandria, after Chen (1987).

FIGURE 9. Saldula nobilis. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b–e, variation of hemelytra, scale=2.0 mm; f–h, different views of paramere, scale=0.2 mm; i, parandria, scale=0.2 mm.

FIGURE 10. Saldula opacula. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b–e, variation of hemelytra, scale=2.0 mm; f–h, different views of paramere, scale=0.2 mm; i, parandria, scale=0.2 mm.

FIGURE 11. Saldula orthochila. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b, hemelytra, scale=2.0 mm; c–e, different views of paramere, scale=0.2 mm; f, parandria, scale=0.2 mm.

FIGURE 12. Saldula pallipes. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b–f, variation of hemelytra, scale=2.0 mm; g–i, different views of paramere, scale=0.2 mm; j, parandria, scale=0.2 mm.

FIGURE 13. Saldula palustris. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b–e, variation of hemelytra, scale=2.0 mm; f–h, different views of paramere, scale=0.2 mm; i, parandria, scale=0.2 mm.

FIGURE 14. Saldula pericarti. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b–d, variation of hemelytra, scale=2.0 mm; e–g, different views of paramere, scale=0.2 mm; h, parandria, scale=0.2 mm.

FIGURE 15. Saldula pilosella. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b–d, variation of hemelytra, scale=2.0 mm; e–g, different views of paramere, scale=0.2 mm; h, parandria, scale=0.2 mm.

FIGURE 16. Saldula recticollis. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b–e, variation of hemelytra, scale=2.0 mm; f–h, different views of paramere, scale=0.2 mm; i, parandria, scale=0.2 mm.

FIGURE 17. Saldula saltatoria. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b–d, variation of hemelytra, scale=2.0 mm; e–g, different views of paramere, scale=0.2 mm; h, parandria, scale=0.2 mm.

FIGURE 18. Saldula taiwanensis. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b, hemelytra, scale=2.0 mm; c–e, different views of paramere, scale=0.2 mm; f, parandria, scale=0.2 mm.

FIGURE 19. Saldula xanthochila. a, dorsal habitus, scale=2.0 mm; b–d, variation of hemelytra, scale=2.0 mm; e–g, different views of paramere, scale=0.2 mm; h, parandria, scale=0.2 mm.

FIGURE 32. Holotype of Saldula sibiricola (ZIR). a, dorsal habitus, scale=1.0 mm; b, lateral view, scale=1.0 mm; c, head in front view, scale=1,0 mm; d, labels on holotype.