Paramecocephala foveata Benvegnú, 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 : 2736-2737

Paramecocephala foveata Benvegnú, 1968

( Figures 11d , 12d , 13g , 18 , 19 , 28c , 29 ; Table 2)

Paramecocephala foveata Benvegnú, 1968 , 87–96, figs 1, 4, 9, 12, 13, 18, 19; Frey-da-Silva et al. 2002a: 220–221, figs 1, 6, 54; Ruschel et al. 2013: 555, fig. 2f; Barros et al. 2020b: 323, 351, 354, figs 18C, 21E, 18K, tables 1 2.

Type material examined. BRAZIL: MINAS GERAIS: Holotype, m*, Belo Horizonte, 4 November 1965, R. Hilbert leg. ( MCNZ –3301) <illustrated specimen> .

Other material examined. BRAZIL: MATO GROSSO: f*, Chapada dos Guimarães , 2 February 1961, J. and B. Bechyné leg. ( MPEG) <illustrated specimen> .

Diagnosis. Body colour pale brown to yellowish brown. Apex of mandibular plates sinuous. Clypeus wider apically ( Figure 11d ). Anterolateral margins of pronotum straight; outline smooth, not punctate, and pale yellow ( Figure 11d ). Each peritreme of ESES reaching about half the distance to lateral margin of evaporatorium, median furrow of each peritreme long, reaching more than half of peritreme; metapleural evaporatorium reaching half of wider of segment; outer margins concave; evaporatorium on mesopleuron not reaching the posterolateral angles and outer margin; gyrification of evaporatorium with low wrinkles ( Figure 13g ). Foveae larger than the diameter of a compound eye ( Figures 18a , 19a ). Legs not concolourous with body ventral colour. Hemelytra not surpassing apex of body ( Figure 19b ). Trichobothria lateral to the imaginary longitudinal line tangent to the spiracles ( Figure 19a ).

Male genitalia. Pygophore sub-quadrangular, posterolateral angles rounded. Genital cup broad, occupying more than half the length of pygophore. Median region of dorsal rim entire, and extension of dorsal rim obsolete. Area between layers of ventral rim excavated. Superior layer of ventral rim not covering parameres, with two pairs of processes. Inferior layer of ventral rim without processes. Phallus ( Figure 18g ): Dorsal connectives shorter, not reaching the distal half of phallotheca. Processus capitati long, surpassing the phallotheca distal margin. Phallotheca long. Conjunctiva with a pair of processes, each acute apically, and two pairs of lobes: median and ventral lobes, membranous.

Female genitalia. Posterior margins of valvifers 8 sinuous. Laterotergites 8 with posterior margins obtusely projected. Anterior margins of valvifers 9 concave and posterior margins straight ( Figure 19d–e ). Laterotergites 9 surpassing the abdominal tergite 8. Diameter of proximal ductus receptaculi equal to diameter of the inner wall of vesicular area. Annular flanges convergent related to each other. Anterior annular flange larger in relation to pars intermedialis. Capsula seminalis smaller than the pars intermedialis ( Figure 28c ).

Measurements. See Table 2.

Distribution. Brazil (Mato Grosso, and Minas Gerais) ( Figure 29 ).

Remarks. Paramecocephala foveata differs from its congeners mainly by foveae larger than the diameter of a compound eye, conjunctiva with two pairs of lobes, and posterior annular flange thinner in relation to capsula seminalis .

Comments. The female specimen from Mato Grosso, Brazil, was mistakenly considered a paratype of P. foveata by Frey-da-Silva et al. (2002a, p. 221), overlooking Benvegnú̍s original description (1968) where the species was based on a single male specimen.

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 18. Paramecocephala foveata Benvegnú, 1968. Holotype. (a–c) Habitus in dorsal, ventral and lateral view; (d) abdomen in ventral view; (e) prepared plate of the holotype; (f) detail of segment X; (g) phallus in dorsal view; (h) detail of vesica. Abbreviations: dpph – dorsal process of phallotheca; pcj – process of conjunctiva; pdpph – posterodorsal projection of phallotheca; plpph – posterolateral projection of phallotheca. Scale bars: a–d = 2.0 mm.

Figure 19. Paramecocephala foveata Benvegnú, 1968. (a–c) Habitus in dorsal, ventral and lateral view; (d–e) genital plates in posteroventral and lateral view. Scale bars: a–c = 2.0 mm; d–e = 0.5 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.