Stonedahlia Yeshwanth & Konstantinov 2021, gen. nov.
Creators: name: Yeshwanth, H. M.
name: Konstantinov, Fedor V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Miridae
Stonedahlia

description: Stonedahlia gen. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 98840AE6-FFED-494B-A796-7845DE858B32
Figs 4D–F, 23–24, 25D, 27D
Type species
Stonedahlia mishmiensis gen. et sp. nov. (by monotypy).
Diagnosis
Recognized by the following combination of characters: Total length 4.4–4.7; coloration uniformly pale yellow to pale brownish yellow, only apices of tarsi, labium, and sometimes antennal segments II–IV darkened (Fig. 4D); body long and gracile, parallel-sided, 3.7–4.0× as long as basal width of pronotum; head vertical, strongly produced ventrally but not produced anteriad of antennal fossae in dorsal view; antennal segment I subequal to head width; eyes small, not in contact with pronotum, vertex about 3× as wide as eye (Fig. 4E); pronotum heavily punctate, with wide and flat pronotal collar, weakly raised calli and distinctly expanded disc; hemelytron translucent, long, apex of abdomen not reaching or barely surpassing cuneal fracture (Fig. 4F); cuneus elongate, 2.5–3.0× as along as broad; single cell of membrane forming almost right angle and reaching apex of cuneus; legs elongate; genital capsule boatshaped, with spinelike subapical process on left side of aperture (Fig. 23); left paramere hook-shaped (Fig. 24E–F); aedeagus tubular, C-shaped, sclerotized throughout except at apex (Fig. 24G); endosoma not clearly separated from phallotheca, non-retractable, entirely expanded from phallotheca in repose; apex of aedeagus membranous, with anchor-shaped apex formed by three oppositely directed processes.
Etymology
The genus is named after Gary M. Stonedahl in recognition of his outstanding contribution to plant bug taxonomy and particularly his seminal studies of eccritotarsines. The gender is feminine.
Description
COLORATION. Pale yellow, with darkened apices of labium, antennal segments II–IV, and tarsi (Fig. 4D– F).
SURFACE AND VESTITURE. Head smooth, moderately shining, pronotal collar and calli weakly punctate, disc of pronotum coarsely punctate, scutellum smooth, hemelytron weakly rugose, shining; dorsum clothed with dense, adpressed to semierect, comparatively short, whitish simple setae, appendages, thoracic venter and abdomen with longer simple setae, erect to semierect on femora, adpressed elsewhere.
STRUCTURE. Body elongate, parallel sided, 3.7–4.0× as long as basal width of pronotum. Head: vertical, strongly produced ventrally below eyes; in dorsal view transverse, not produced anteriad of antennal fossae, with small sessile eyes separated from pronotum by distance almost equal to eye length; vertex broad, 3.0–3.2× as wide as dorsal width of one eye, with shallow transverse depression; eye occupying about one-third of head height in lateral view; frons weakly convex, vertical, clypeus not prominent oriented ventroposteriorly; mandibular and maxillary plates comparatively large, subquadrate; antennal fossa located close to inferior eye margin at mid-height of eye in frontal view; antennal segment I tubular, about twice diameter of segment II, slightly longer than head width, segment II 1.9–2.0× as long as head width, 1.0–1.1× as long as pronotum width; segments II and III filiform, subequal in length and slightly shorter than segment II; labium reaching mesocoxa, with segment I long, reaching procoxa, length of segment II subequal to segment I, segments III and IV combined subequal in length to segment II. Thorax: pronotum 1.4–1.5× as wide as long, campaniform; pronotal collar wide and flat, more than twice as wide as diameter of antennal segment I, not delimited by impressed line posteriorly; calli weakly raised and poorly demarcated, reaching lateral margins of pronotum, separated by small deep pit; disc of pronotum behind calli noticeably widened, trapeziform, raised, with slightly convex lateral margins, rounded posterior angles and somewhat concave medially posterior margin; mesoscutum almost entirely covered with pronotum, separated from scutellum by distinct recession; scutellum slightly raised above hemelytron; metathoracic scent efferent system typical for eccritotarsines (Fig. 25D). Hemelytron: translucent, long, with nearly straight costal margin, distance between base of hemelytron and apex of clavus subequal to distance between apex of clavus and cuneal fracture, apex of abdomen not reaching or barely surpassing cuneal fracture; embolium inflated; cuneus elongate, 2.5–3.0× as along as broad, cuneal fracture obsolete; single cell of membrane forming almost right angle and reaching apex of cuneus. Legs: elongate, slender, hind femur surpassing apex of abdomen, tibiae cylindrical, slightly dilated apically; tarsi 2-segmented with apical segment elongate, slightly swollen; pretarsus typical eccritotarsine.
GENITALIA. Genital capsule boat-shaped, slightly compressed laterally, dorsolateral wall of capsule protruded into large subapical fold and equipped with spinelike subapical process at base of fold (Fig. 23); right paramere slightly larger than left one, L-shaped, apical process prominent, straight, with abruptly curved apex and long subapical spine (Fig. 24A–D); left paramere hook-shaped (Fig. 24E–F); aedeagus tubular, C-shaped, sclerotized throughout except at apex, with subapically serrate dorsal wall; endosoma not clearly separated from phallotheca, non-retractable, entirely expanded from phallotheca in repose (Fig. 24G); apex of aedeagus weakly sclerotized, anchor-shaped, with three oppositely directed, gradually curved, weakly sclerotized processes, dorsal and ventral processes simple, lateral process apically sclerotized, twin-coned.
Female
STRUCTURE, SURFACE AND VESTITURE. As in male.
GENITALIA. Not examined.
Host
Similarly to Ernestinus spp., specimens of this monotypic genus were found in large groups breeding on under surfaces of Colocasia (Araceae) leaves (Fig. 27D).
Remarks
The new genus undoubtedly belongs to a group of six genera outlined by Stonedahl (1988) and related to Ernestinus (see relevant Remarks section for additional details). Within this group, Stonedahlia gen. nov. appears to be most closely related to Myiocapsus Poppius, 1914. Both genera may be easily distinguished from Eofurius, Ernestinus, Microbryocoris, Palaeofurius, and Stylopomiris by the ventrally produced head with vertical frons, pale yellow coloration, and genital capsule with spinelike process on the left wall. Myiocapsus spp. differ from Stonedahlia gen. nov. in having distinctly larger eyes contacting anterior margin of pronotum and projecting laterally beyond anterolateral angles of pronotum, and male genitalia structure, particularly the simple, straight, gradually tapering right paramere (Stonedahl 1988: figs 49e, 50e, 51g), and the apex of aedeagus with small membranous lobes and one or two sclerotized appendages (Stonedahl 1988: figs 49g, 50g, 51d).
Based on gracile body, ventrally produced head, slender legs, and pale yellow coloration, the new genus is superficially similar to Prodromus Distant, 1904 (compare Fig. 27C–D) but the distinctly stylate eyes, longitudinal sulcus on vertex, strongly narrowed basal part of antennal segment I, sickle-shaped left paramere, entirely sclerotized aedeagus, and other characters of the latter genus suggest that the two taxa are only distantly related.
description: Published as part of Yeshwanth, H. M. & Konstantinov, Fedor V., 2021, Review of the plant bug tribe Eccritotarsini (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae) of India and Sri Lanka with description of two new genera and six new species, pp. 1-69 in European Journal of Taxonomy 745 on pages 30-32, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2021.745.1311, http://zenodo.org/record/4690362