Meschia zoui Gao & Malipatil 2019, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Gao, Cuiqing
name: Malipatil, M. B.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Meschiidae
Meschia
Meschia zoui

description: Meschia zoui sp. nov.
(Figs. 3–6)
Type specimens. Holotype Ƌ, “<Yunan, Menghai, Chengguan (hw) \ host: Ficus religiosa L. (hw) \ 19 (pr) 79. X. 6, det. Zou (hw) \ Nankai University (pr)>” [ch, mounted on card, right legs missing]. Paratypes: 1 Ƌ 1 ♀, same data as holotype [ch, mounted on card]; 3 ♀ ♀ ♀, “<Yunan, Menghai (hw) \ host: Ficus hookeriana Corner (hw)\ 19 (pr) 79. X. 8, det. Zou (hw) \ Nankai University (pr)>” [ch, mounted on card]. All the type specimens are deposited in NKUM.
Diagnosis. Anterior and posterior margin and other parts of pronotum with scattered irregular dark spots (Fig. 3a, c); anterolateral angle of pronotum distinctly projecting laterally (Fig. 3e); hemelytron with opaque ochraceous stripe laterally (Fig. 3a, c); terga I–VI without punctures (Fig. 4a); middle part of lateral margin of dorsal pygophore opening narrowed anteriorly (Fig. 4c); vesica with an indistinct lateral membranous lobe (similar to Fig. 2c); middle part of paramere blade distinctly broader than basal part (Fig. 4c, e, h).
Description. Colouration: Head ochraceous with dense brown punctures. Median area of head fuscous in darker specimens (Fig. 3a). Small conical protuberances anterior to juga pale (Fig. 3e, f). Colour of antenna ochraceous to dark ochraceous, with segments III and IV slightly fuscous in some specimens (Fig. 3g). Pronotal posterior margin with four or six, and anterior margin with two or three vague irregular dark spots or patches; other part of pronotum also scattered fuscous spots or patches or vague irregular dark bands in some darker specimens. Scutellum ochraceous to reddish ochraceous, with anterolateral angles, tubercles on base, one third of lateral margin and apex smooth, impunctuate and pale (Fig. 3a, c). Corium ochraceous with dark markings on middle of apical margin and apical angle, unevenly scattered dark coloured punctures, so corium looks variegated. Corium subhyaline with opaque ochraceous stripe laterally. Membrane hyaline, slightly passing apex of abdomen. Ground colour of body beneath and legs pale ochraceous and with a vague fuscous band along distal part of sternum in one of the specimen examined. Punctures beneath of head darker or concolorous. Labium reaching to middle of sternite V (male) or posterior margin of sternite VII (female), with tip blackish brown. Pleura scattered with coarse dark ochraceous punctures. Metathoracic scent gland opening pale ochraceous, with tip blackish brown. Distal upper side of femora scattered dark spots. Claws dark brown. Basal part of sterna golden-orange. Outer laterotergites bicolored, with posterolateral areas darker (Fig. 3a).
Structure and measurements (male/female): Body (Fig. 3 a–d) length including wings 4.14/4.71; maximum width 1.85/2.06.
Head: Length 0.66/0.67; width across eyes 1.34/1.47; interocular space 0.83/0.98; interocellar space 0.36/0.44; eyeocellar space 0.17/0.17; eye length 0.32/0.32; eye width 0.24/0.23. Base of head with many microtrichia (Fig. 5 a–b). Antennae (Fig. 3g), length of segments: 0.31/0.30, 0.81/1.12, 0.65/0.76, 0.80/missing; antennal setae as in Fig. 5 c–e. Labrum length 0.12/0.12. Labium extending to middle of abdominal sternum V (male) or sternum VII (female), length of segments: 0.67/0.73, 0.97/1.07, 0.53/0.61, 0.73/0.81; sensilla on tip of labium as in Fig. 5f.
Thorax: Pronotum (Fig. 3a, c, e), median length 0.94/1.02; width at posterior margin 1.74/1.99; width at anterior margin 1.01/1.15. Some specimens without obvious pale median longitudinal line. Anterolateral angle of pronotum with an acutely rounded extension laterally. Scutellum length 0.79/0.99, width 0.98/1.21. Length of hemelytra 2.71/3.17; length of corium 1.78/2.09; claval commissure 0.18/0.23. Clavus either only punctate in three longitudinal rows or with scattered punctures between inner two rows of punctures. Metathoracic scent gland as in Fig. 6 a–b. Metathoracic spiracle spindle shaped, narrow, with simple filter processes (Fig. 6b) (terminology used in Kment & Vilímová 2010; Kment et al. 2012). Tibial comb and claw complex as in Fig. 6 e–f.
Abdomen: Abdomen connexiva exposed beyond middle of corium in both sexes. Terga without any punctures except distal part of tergum VII slightly punctate (Fig. 4a). Outer laterotergites with fine punctures. Venter covered with sparse punctures, somewhat thickly punctate on lateral areas. Sterna III–VII increasingly greatly narrowed medially and moved forward for reception of ovipositor (Fig. 3d). Median area of sterna III and IV broadly membranous in dissected specimen (Fig. 4b). Spiracles and trichobothria as in Fig. 6 c–d.
Genitalia. Female: ovipositor and spermatheca as in Fig. 4b; spermathecal bulb moderately sclerotized, with a basal rim. Male: Dorsal pygophore opening with middle part of lateral margin narrowed anteriorly, with a pair of pointed protuberances; posterior margin of pygophore and cuplike sclerite not fused; median indentation in posterior margin shallow and narrowed towards caudal end (Fig. 4c); tip of cuplike sclerite obtusely pointed (Fig. 4c). Phallus (Fig. 4d) generally similar to that in M. quadrimaculata. Phallotheca and conjunctiva without any processes; vesica with a lateral membranous lobe; gonoporal process twisted three times (Fig. 4d). Paramere with middle part of blade obviously broader than basal part (Fig. 4c, e, h); both dorsal and ventral lobes obtuse (Fig. 4 e–h).
Distribution. China: Yunnan Province (Southern China).
Host. Ficus religiosa L. and Ficus hookeriana Corner. (Family Moraceae).
Etymology. We dedicate this species to the late Dr. Huanguang Zou, the collector of the type specimens, and a recognized specialist in Chinese Heteroptera.
Remarks. This new species is most similar to M. woodwardi in having the pronotum with scattered dark spots, the hemelytra with opaque ochraceous stripe laterally, the anterolateral angle of pronotum extended laterally, and the median part of paramere blade broad, but it can be distinguished from M. woodwardi by the anterior margin of pronotum with dark spots (vs. without dark spots); terga I–VI without punctures (vs. terga I–VI with punctures, as in Malipatil 2014: 240, fig. 16); middle part of lateral margin of dorsal pygophore opening narrowed anteriorly (vs. middle part of lateral margin of dorsal pygophore opening parallel) (as in Malipatil 2014: 240, fig. 18) and the conjunctiva without any processes (vs. conjunctiva with a pair of membranous lobes) (as in Malipatil 2014: 240, fig. 21).
The new species can be distinguished from M. quadrimaculata by the pronotum with scattered dark spots (vs. only pronotal posterior margin with four vague irregular fuscous or dark spots); and the sterna III–VII increasingly greatly narrowed medially and moved forward for reception of the ovipositor (vs. sterna IV–VII increasingly greatly narrowed medially). The new species can be distinguished from M. pugnax by the pronotum with scattered dark spots (vs. without dark markings); the corium with opaque ochraceous stripe laterally (vs. without opaque ochraceous stripe laterally); the terga I–VI impunctate (vs. terga I–VI punctate); and the middle part of lateral margin of dorsal pygophore opening narrowed anteriorly (vs. middle part of lateral margin of dorsal pygophore opening parallel). The characters that distinguish the new species from all described members of the family Meschiidae are also provided in the key above.
description: Published as part of Gao, Cuiqing & Malipatil, M. B., 2019, Meschia zoui sp. nov., first representative of the family Meschiidae from China (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Lygaeoidea), pp. 172-182 in Zootaxa 4603 (1) on pages 176-177, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4603.1.9, http://zenodo.org/record/2673395