Pygoplatys (s. str.) jordii, Magnien, 2011

Magnien, Ph., 2011, Description of two new species of Pygoplatys Dallas, 1851, with a key to the species of the genus (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Tessaratomidae), Heteropterus Revista de Entomología 11, No. 2, pp. 287-297 : 288-290

Pygoplatys (s. str.) jordii n. sp.

Type material: 1 ♂ and 1 ♀:

HOLOTYPE: ♂, « Borneo sept / Kina balou / coll. Whitehead 1889 / n° 932» ( MNHN) .

PARATYPE: 1 ♀, same data ( MNHN) .

Description:

Habitus: Figs. 1 a-b (♂ and ♀).

General hue ochraceous, darker and reddish on the head and humeral processi, antennae light brown; anterior margin of pronotum flavescent; scutellum: same hue as pronotal disc, apex with a dark spot; anterior part of hemelytron of the same hue, reddish on the major part of the disc; laterotergites: light ochraceous on the exterior margin, somewhat reddish on the internal part; venter: light yellow, shiny, with a central rose stripe on the abdomen, abdomen margins rose, spiracles concolorous; coxae and legs light red for the major part.

Head: coarsely punctate, juga slightly concave, rounded at the apex, clypeus shorter than and completely enclosed by juga; 1 st segment of antennae reaching apex of juga; 2 nd and 3 rd segments cylindrical and subequal in length; last segment fusiform and longer than the two preceding segments by about 40%; pilosity of antennae very short; rostrum short, surpassing anterior coxae by the length of its 4 th segment.

Pronotum: disc with coarse, irregular and sparse punctation, humeral processi extending well beyond the margins of abdomen, with margins subparallel, transverse in the male, projected forward and nearly reaching the base of head in the female, truncated at almost right angle; pronotal width including humeral processi equaling 78% (resp. 73%) of habitus length in the male (resp. female); calli smooth, moderately marked; posterior part of lateral margins thinly wrinkled; punctation coarse and irregular on disc; sternal processus long, its blunt apex reaching the anterior margin of fore coxae; distal end of femora with a spine on either side of tibia insertion; 1 st segment of tarsi only slightly inflated, with brush of adhesive hairs on the ventral surface, 2 nd and 3 rd segments cylindroconical, the 2 nd shorter.

Scutellum: triangular, with apex lanceolate and grooved, punctation as pronotum.

Hemelytron: punctation thin and regular, light-tawny veins dictinct, contrasting with background; membrane with four basal cells, veins strong, subparallel.

Apex of abdomen of the male rounded; posterior margin of pygophore in line with posterior margins of 7 th segment. Apex of female abdomen ( Fig. 2e) showing the usual ten teeth disposition of the genus, 7 th laterotergite protruding backwards, teeth of 8 th laterotergite small, teeth of 9 th laterotergite strong and widely surpassing the apex of 7 th segment.

G e n i t a l i a ( Fig. 2):

Male: Pygophore ( Fig. 2a) widening posteriorly, posterior margin polygonal, with relatively deep medial V-shaped indentation; opening with a tooth on each side, above sensorial lobe of paramere. Paramere ( Figs. 2 c-d) T-shaped, apex of apophysis curved inwards and strongly sclerotized, claw-like, sensorial lobe with very long setae, much longer than the maximum width of the paramere. Phallosoma ( Fig. 2b) of the usual type in the genus, fitted with two sclerotized plates, conjunctiva bearing two pairs of processi, one sclerotized in antero-ventral position, long, two-toothed, and the other membranous in postero-dorsal position, relatively thin and small; vesica very long, ejaculatory reservoir curved at base, S-shaped and thickened in middle, and strongly tapering at apex, fitted with a small sclerotized rod under the ductus posteriad the S.

Female: External genitalia as in Fig. 2e. Ring sclerites indistinct or absent. Spermatheca ( Fig. 2f): apical receptacle ovoid connected to the intermediate part (pumping region) by a long, distinctly curved tubular neck; intermediate part with proximal and distal flanges, distal conical; spermathecal duct bipartite: the proximal part wide, folded on the anterior third, the distal part long and thin, about 50% longer than the proximal, gradually widening proximally.

Measur ements: ♂ (♀): Length: 17.30 mm (20.95 mm). Width including humeral processi: 12.67 mm (14.30 mm). Length of antennae: 7.48 mm (9.29 mm).

Etymology:

It is a great pleasure to dedicate this species to my friend and colleague Jordi Ribes, for his 80 th birthday, in recognition for all the work he has done to support the knowledge about Heteroptera.

Distribution:

Malaysia, Sabah province (Borneo).

Biology:

Host plant unknown.

Discussion:

Pygoplatys jordii n. sp. belongs to the nominal subgenus and is part of a group of species characterized by well developed humeral processi, bluntly truncate. This group includes P. validus Dallas , P. merinjakensis Distant , P. tenangau Magnien et al. ( Magnien et al., 2008) and P. kerzhneri Magnien ( Magnien, 2008). The second one, known only from the type female, is a curious and very stout species, which cannot be mistaken with any other species.

Pygoplatys jordii n. sp. is the smallest species in the group, the smallest male specimen known in the other species being at least 19 mm. The shape of humeral processi is very different from the rest of the group, the ratio processus width versus diatone equal to about 2/3 for P. jordii n. sp. whereas it is about 1 for the other species. Furthermore, among the species for which the two genders are known, it is the only one to show such a sexual dimorphism in the shape of the humeral processi. The light hue of the pronotal margin of the scutellum, in clear contrast with the disc, is a unique feature in the group. The relative length of antennae, 0.43-0.44, is also larger in P. jordii n. sp. than in P. tenangau (0.38) and P. kerzhneri (0.37), and about the same as in P. validus . Regarding the female, the shape of the abdomen apex is distinctive. The male genitalia also present some dictinctive characters, the most conspicuous being the shape of the stylet of the ventral processus, very long and two-toothed, whereas it is rather short and with only one terminal tooth in the other species of the group, and the presence of the sclerotized rod in the middle part of the ejaculatory reservoir, which is not present in the other species of the group. Regarding female genitalia, apart from the distinct scheme drawn by the three last laterotergites ( Fig. 2e), the most noticeable difference lies in the relative length of the folded part of posterior ductus. It is only 40% longer than wide for P. jordii n. sp., whereas it is about four times longer than wide for P. tenangau and P. validus .