Axiagastus luteipes Salini & Roca-Cusachs, 2025

Kment, Petr, Lemaître, Valérie A., Webb, Michael D. & Roca-Cusachs, Marcos, 2025, Revision of the Austro-Oriental shield-bug genus Axiagastus (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), with the description of five new species, and taxonomic notes on related genera, Zootaxa 5603 (1), pp. 1-82 : 44-46

Axiagastus luteipes Salini & Roca-Cusachs sp. nov.

http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:D116495A-1BC8-487A-B300-599486FC60B9

( Figs 117–133)

Type locality. NW Myanmar, Chin State, Chin Hills , 400–500 m a.s.l., NW of Falam.

Type material. Holotype: ♂ ( Figs 117‒133), “NW MYANMAR, Chin State / CHIN HILLS, alt. 400–500 m / NW of FALAM / 5.vi.2016, local collector lgt. [p] // dissected and illustrated by Salini. S. [p] // Roca-Cusachs Personal Collection [p] // HOLOTYPUS / AXIAGASTUS LUTEIPES / Salini & Roca-Cusachs sp. nov. // det. Salini, S., 2024 [p, red label]” ( NIM). The holotype is pinned through the scutellum, the dissected male genitalia are placed in a glass microvial with glycerol attached to the same pin; antennomeres III and IV of both antennae and one paramere lost.

Description. Colour, integument and vestiture ( Figs 117–120, 122). Dorsum of head, pronotum and scutellum bright yellow; coria appear black due to presence of dense, coarse punctures; coarse, black punctures scattered over disc of pronotum and scutellum (except impunctate scutellar apex), punctures outlining cicatrices on anterior disc of pronotum; disc of head with punctures fine, black, arranged in longitudinal rows; lateral margins of head black; antennae impunctate, with each scape (I) pale yellow, basi- (IIa) and distipedicellite (IIb) black (basi- and distiflagellum (III–IV) missing); pronotum with anterolateral margins including humeri black, disc posterior to imaginary transverse line across humeri, dividing pronotal disc into anterior and posterior parts, black (appears as thick, black transverse band on basal pronotal disc), prefrenal disc of scutellum with moderately large, transverse, oval, undivided black spot; another, thick, transverse inverted U-shaped spot just before scutellar apex, black; scutellar apex appears as yellowish, more or less round spot, narrowly truncate anteriorly, devoid of punctures; thick, coarse, dense punctures on coria except costal margins and major veins of hemelytra; membranes smoky brown; connexiva bright yellow with extreme lateral margins of abdomen, including denticle at posterolateral angle of each abdominal ventrite, black; anterior and posterior fourths of each connexival segment black with black punctures, middle half of each connexival segment bright yellow, with coarse, brown punctures. Ventral surface of body including legs and labium luteous, scattered with black punctures; punctures arranged in a similar pattern as that of previous species; punctures large, scattered on legs; apices of buccular denticles, labium, and tarsal claws, a single spot at apex of each ostiolar peritreme, small round spot laterad to muscle scars on each ventrite from III–VII, moderately large spot mesad to each spiracle coalescing with spiracular outline, anterior and posterolateral angles of ventrites III–VII, black; ventrites with intersegmental sutures reinforced with brown transverse stripes.

Structure. Labium surpassing posterior margin of ventrite III. Other characters as in generic redescription.

Male genitalia ( Figs 121, 123–133). Genital capsule ( Figs 123–126) subquadrate, dorsal rim more deeply incised than ventral rim, lateral wall of dorsal rim slightly concave, ending in moderately angular projection contiguous with moderately deep, transverse emargination (te) at middle of dorsal rim, dorsal sinus of posterior aperture broadly U-shaped (ds), ventral margin of posterior aperture semiovate, posterolateral lobes narrowly rounded in lateral view, ventral rim broadly V-shaped at middle, infoldings of ventral rim deeply impressed on either side of well-developed distension (dn) at middle, distension (dn) emarginate at middle, visible as tongue-like structure on ventral side of genital capsule, and as globose structure in lateral view, infoldings of ventral rim laterally (inner to posterolateral lobes) with a narrow sclerotized, black, more or less blunt denticle (dt). Paramere ( Figs 127–129) simple, crown with an upright finger-like process forming an acute angle with a laminate disc, dorsal margin (dm) convex, abruptly narrowed towards apex, apex appearing acute in lateral view ( Fig. 127); numerous fine, elongate setae along periphery of laminate disc (ld); stem moderately elongate, apodeme disc-like. Phallus ( Figs 131–133). Articulatory apparatus as in Fig. 130; phallotheca, conjunctival process and aedeagus as in A. chandrashekarai Salini, Kment & Roca-Cusachs sp. nov.; a pair of elongate processes of aedeagus as in Fig. 133.

Female genitalia. Unknown.

Differential diagnosis. Compared to other congeners, this species has a moderately large body size and a shinier luteous body colour with the dorsal surface with shiny black markings on a luteous background. It is very distinct in the shape of the median distension of the male genital capsule, which is emarginate at middle and is visible as a tongue-like structure on the ventral side of the genital capsule, and as a globose structure in lateral view.

In colouration, this species resembles a dark specimen of A. yeshwanthi sp. nov. ( Fig. 234), but they differ in the shape of the whitish spot on the apex of the scutellum, which is shorter and anteriorly trilobate in A. yeshwanthi .

Etymology. The species-group name is a Latin word combining the adjective luteus (- a, - um), meaning “yellow”, and the noun pes, meaning “foot”; noun in apposition. The name refers to the yellowish colouration of the species, including its legs.

Distribution. Known only from NW Myanmar (this paper).