Paramecocephala fusca (Haglund, 1968)

de Barros, Lurdiana Dayse, Barão, Kim Ribeiro & Grazia, Jocelia, 2022, Taxonomic updates on the Mecocephala group (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae): redescription of Mecocephala Dallas and Paramecocephala Benvegnú, Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 55 (43 - 44), pp. 2691-2747 : 2737-2738

Paramecocephala fusca (Haglund, 1968)

( Figures 11e , 12e , 13h – 11j , 20 , 27g – 11i , 28d , 29 ; Table 2)

Tibraca fusca Haglund, 1968: 151 ; Stål 1872: 30; Lethierry and Severin 1893: 132; Kirkaldy 1909: 72; Barber 1941: 110; Costa Lima 1947: 313.

Mecocephala fusca Fernandes and Grazia 1998: 1058 .

Paramecocephala fusca Schwertner et al. 2002: 183 ; Frey-da-Silva et al. 2002a: 221–223, figs 1, 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 55, 61; Barão et al. 2017: table 1; Silva et al. 2018: 432; Barros et al. 2020b: 330, 351, figs 18P, 19B, I, M–O, tables 1, 2.

Material examined. SURINAME: f*, P.H.v. Doesburg Jr. leg. ( RMNH) . ECUADOR: NAPO: f*, Lago Agrio (18 Km), 30 August 1975, A. Langley leg. // Ecuador – Peace Corps – Smithsonian Institution Aquatic Insect Survey ( USNM) ; [ORELLANA], f*, El Coca , April 1985, G. Onore leg. // ex. oil palm with marchitez descase ( UFRG) . BRAZIL: AMAZONAS: f*, Benjamin Constant , November 1962, A. Silva leg. ( MZUSP), <illustrated specimen> . PARÁ: f*, Belém , January 1997 // FCAP–3.793 ( UFRG) .

Diagnosis. Body colour pale brown to yellowish dark brown. Apex of mandibular plates sinuous, lateral margins levelled in relation to mesial margins. Clypeus apically wider ( Figure 11e ). Anterolateral margins of pronotum concave; outline crenulate, not punctate and pale yellow ( Figure 11e ). Each peritreme of ESES reaching about 1/3 of the distance to lateral margin of evaporatorium, median furrow of the each peritreme short, reaching less than half of peritreme; outer margins of metapleural evaporatorium straight; evaporatorium on mesopleuron reaching the posterolateral angles and outer margin ( Figure 13h–j ). Foveae equal to the diameter of a compound eye ( Figure 20a ). Legs concolourous with body ventral colour. Hemelytra surpassing apex of body ( Figure 20b ). Trichobothria separated by the imaginary longitudinal line tangent to the spiracles ( Figure 20a ).

Male genitalia. Pygophore trapezoidal, posterolateral angles rounded ( Figure 20d–f ). Genital cup narrow, occupying less than half the length of pygophore. Superior processes of dorsal rim present; median region of dorsal rim entire, and extension of dorsal rim obsolete ( Figure 20d ). Area between layers of ventral rim excavated. Superior layer of ventral rim not covering parameres, without processes ( Figure 20e ). Inferior layer of ventral rim with a pair of processes ( Figure 20f ). Phallus ( Figure 27g –i ): Dorsal connectives shorter, not reaching the distal half of phallotheca. Processus capitati long, surpassing the phallotheca distal margin. Phallotheca short. Conjunctiva with two pairs of processes, each acute apically, and three pairs of membranous lobes.

Female genitalia. Posterior margins of valvifers 8 straight. Posterior margins of laterotergites 8 obtusely projected, and with a process on each anterior angle. Anterior margins of valvifers 9 straight and posterior margins convex ( Figures 20g , 28d ). Laterotergites 9 not surpassing the abdominal tergite 8. Diameter of proximal ductus receptaculi larger in relation to diameter of the inner wall of vesicular area. Annular flanges parallel to each other. Posterior annular flange thinner in relation to capsula seminalis . Capsula seminalis equal to the pars intermedialis ( Figure 28d ).

Measurements. See Table 2.

Distribution. Suriname, Ecuador (Napo, and Coca) and Brazil (Pará, and Amazonas) ( Figure 29 ).

Figures

Figure 11. Head and pronotum of Paramecocephala in dorsal view. (a) Paramecocephala australis; (b) Paramecocephala bachmanni; (c) Paramecocephala bergrothi; (d) Paramecocephala foveata; (e) Paramecocephala fusca; (f) Paramecocephala guianensis; (g) Paramecocephala subsolana; (h) Paramecocephala uruguayensis; (i) Paramecocephala helenae sp. nov. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

Figure 12. Head and prothorax of Paramecocephala in lateral view. (a) Paramecocephala australis; (b) Paramecocephala bachmanni; (c) Paramecocephala bergrothi; (d) Paramecocephala foveata; (e) Paramecocephala fusca; (f) Paramecocephala guianensis; (g) Paramecocephala subsolana; (h) Paramecocephala uruguayensis; (i) Paramecocephala helenae sp. nov. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

Figure 13. Thoracic external scent efferent system (ESES) of metasternal glands of Paramecocephala. (a–d) Paramecocephala australis; (e) Paramecocephala bachmanni; (f) Paramecocephala bergrothi; (g) Paramecocephala foveata; (h–j) Paramecocephala fusca; (k) Paramecocephala guianensis; (l) Paramecocephala subsolana; (m) Paramecocephala uruguayensis; (n) Paramecocephala helenae sp. nov. (a, e–g, k–n) meso- and metapleural in ventral view; (b–d, h–j) scanning electron microscopy images of characters of ESES of metasternal glands. Abbreviations: cx2 – mesocoxae; cx3 – metacoxae; ev – evaporatorium; ms – mesopleuron; mt – metapleuron; mts – metathoracic spiracle; o – ostiole; om – outer margin; pod – periostiolar depression. Scale bars: a, e–g, k–n = 0.5 mm; b, h = 500 µm; c–d, i–j = 200 µm.

Figure 20. Paramecocephala fusca (Haglund, 1968). (a–c) Habitus in dorsal, ventral and lateral view; (d–f) pygophore in dorsal, posterior and ventral view; (g–h) genital plates in posteroventral and lateral view. Abbreviations: alvr – area between layers of ventral rim; ilvr – inferior layer of ventral rim of pygophore; par – paramere; pilvr – process of inferior layer of ventral rim; slvr – superior layer of ventral rim of pygophore. Scale bars: a–c = 2.0 mm; d–f = 1.0 mm; g–h = 0.5 mm.

Figure 27. Phallus of Paramecocephala species in dorsal (left column), lateral (center column) and ventral (right column) view. Conjunctiva with two pairs of processes. (a–f) Paramecocephala bergrothi: (a–c) reddish variation; (d–f) melanic variation; (g–i) Paramecocephala fusca; (j–l) Paramecocephala uruguayensis. Abbreviations: aa – articulatory apparatus; cj – conjunctiva; dc – dorsal connective; dpph – dorsal process of phallotheca; dsd – ductus seminis distalis; mlcj – median lobe of conjunctiva; pcj – process of conjunctiva; pdpph – posterodorsal projection of phallotheca; ph – phallotheca; plpph – posterolateral projection of phallotheca; pve – process of vesica; vbpph – ventrobasal projection of phallotheca; vlcj – ventral lobe of conjunctiva. Scale bars = 1.0 mm.

Figure 28. Female receptaculum seminis and aussenwand of Paramecocephala species. (a) Paramecocephala australis; (b) Paramecocephala bergrothi; (c) Paramecocephala foveata; (d) Paramecocephala fusca; (e) Paramecocephala subsolana; (f) Paramecocephala uruguayensis. Abbreviations: aaf – anterior annular flanges; cs – capsula seminalis; ddr – distal ductus receptaculi; paf – posterior annular flange; pdr – proximal ductus receptaculi; pi – pars intermedialis; rs – ring sclerites; tvi – thickening of vaginal intima; va – vesicular area. Scale bars = 1.0 mm.

Figure 29. Map showing the geographical distribution of Mecocephala and Paramecocephala species. Yellow star = new record of P. subsolana.