Saldula orthochila ( Fieber, 1859 )

Li, Zihe, Li, Hongjiao, Bu, Wenjun & Ye, Zhen, 2025, Taxonomic review of Saldula (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Saldidae) from China, Zootaxa 5666 (4), pp. 451-488 : 468-469

Saldula orthochila ( Fieber, 1859)

( Fig. 11 )

Salda orthochila Fieber, 1859: 234 . Acanthia orthochila Reuter, 1891: 152 . Saldula orthochila : Ekblom (1930: 942); Kiritshenko, 1951: 95; Cobben, 1960: 244; Chen & Zheng, 1987: 395; Péricart, 1990: 148; Chen & Lindskog, 1994: 408; Lindskog, 1995: 130; Vinokurov et al., 2012: 59; Vinokurov, 2015: 581; Vinokurov & Kment, 2015: 377; Vinokurov et al., 2018: 135.

Chinese common name. Hẖãø.

Material examined. CHINA: Xinjiang: 1 female, Ili Prefecture, Sailimuhu Lake, 30 July 2002, Yun Lü leg. (NKUM); 1 female, Kashi Prefecture, Aketao county, 3600 m, 19 July 2002 (NKUM); 1 male, Kashi Prefecture, Kalakulihu Lake, 3600 m, 19 August 2002, Qiang Xie leg, (NKUM).

Diagnosis. Body ovate, dorsum mainly black, relatively flattened ( Fig. 11a ). Head short and wide, antennomeres II–IV black, with dense, long, erect hairs; mandibular plates black, transverse swelling, maxillary plates and anteclypeus yellowish, labrum yellowish with dark margins, labiomeres III+IV mainly black to blackish-brown, preocellar spots slightly elongate, cuneiform, attached to inner margin of compound eyes. Pronotum short and wide, lateral margin nearly straight; hemelytra mainly black, with scattered pale spots, membrane mainly pale, with dark-brown veins ( Fig. 11b ); femora mainly black with yellowish apex, tibiae yellowish with infuscate apex, basal part with a dark spot on dorsal side, tarsomere III of each leg infuscate. Male paramere with sparse, long hairs on dorsal side, processus sensualis with a small tuft of short hairs ( Fig. 11c–e ); parandria with rounded apex, inner half with weaker sclerotization, distance between inner margins gradually narrowed towards basal part ( Fig. 11f ); median endosomal sclerite relatively slender, lateral margin undulating. Female subgenital plate sub-triangular, lateral margin convex, completely black.

Comparative notes. For comparative notes between S. orthochila and S. burmanica ( Lindskog 1975) , see under S. burmanica . This species does not fit into Saldula (s.str.) as defined by Lindskog and Polhemus (1992) for lack of the synapomorphic characters of Saldula (s.str.) (i.e., eye spot on median cell of endocorium and laminar projection on the male median endosomal sclerite), as further elucidated by Lindskog (1995), highlighting the complexity of taxonomic classifications within this genus.

Habitats. Recorded occurrences in China have been primarily associated with highland lake environments.

Distribution in China. The populations of S. orthochila within China are predominantly confined to the western mountainous regions, including Xinjiang (Vinokuorv et al. 2012, Vinokurov 2015, Vinokurov et al. 2018), Sichuan ( Chen & Lindskog 1994, Vinokurov et al. 2018), and Xizang ( Cobben 1985).

General distribution. Widely distributed across Eurasia ( Schuh et al. 1987, Lindskog 1995, Larivière & Larochelle 2018, Vinokurov et al. 2018).

Figures

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.