Pachytomella cursitans Reuter 1905
Creators: name: Namyatova, Anna A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Miridae
Pachytomella
Pachytomella cursitans

description: Pachytomella cursitans Reuter, 1905
(Figs. 1, 2, 4–7)
Pachytomella cursitans Reuter, 1905: 53
Type locality. Puerto de Pajares, Cantabrian Mountains, Spain.
Type material examined. LECTOTYPE [designated here], 1 ♁: SPAIN: ASTURIAS: Puerto de Pajares, 43 ° N 5.76666 ° E, G. C. C. (AMNH_PBI 00257680) (FMNH). PARALECTOTYPES: SPAIN: ASTURIAS: Puerto de Pajares, 43 ° N 5.76666 ° E, G. C. C., 12 ♁♁ (AMNH_PBI 00266867, AMNH_PBI 00313022), 5 ♀♀ (AMNH_PBI 00257680, AMNH_PBI 00266867) (FMNH).
Additional material examined. SPAIN: ASTURIAS: Puerto de Pajares, 43 ° N 5.76666 ° E, G. C. C., 1 ♁ (AMNH_ PBI 00315007), 1 ♀ (AMNH_PBI 00315007) (HNHM). Puerto de Vegarada, 43.03333 ° N 5.48333 ° W, 1520 m, 02.vii.1965, Gonzalez, 2 ♁♁ (AMNH_PBI 00145219) (JRBS).
Redescription. Male: Brachypterous, oval, total length 1.4–1.7 mm. COLOURATION (Fig. 1): Head: Uniformly dark brown to black, sometimes with tiny yellowish spot on vertex; eye dark brown to black with hind margin somewhat paler; labium dark brown to black; antennal segment I and II dark brown to black, segments III and IV of same colour or somewhat paler. Thorax: Pronotum, scutellum, pleurites, evaporatorium, coxae, and femora dark brown, fore and middle femora with yellowish apices, hind femur uniformly dark brown to black or with apex somewhat paler, tibiae, tarsi and hemelytron uniformly dark brown to black. Abdomen: Dark brown to black. SURFACE AND VESTITURE: As in generic description, hemelytra rugose or with shallow punctation. STRUCTURE AND MEASUREMENTS: Body 1.9–2.3× as long as width of pronotum. Head: Shape, position of antennal fossa and length of labium as in generic description; eye not protruding, in contact with anterior margin of pronotum; head 1.4–1.5× as wide as high; vertex 2.0–2.5× width of eye; antennal segment II 0.6–0.7× as long as basal width of pronotum, 0.6–0.7× as long as width of head; segments III and IV combined, as long as or longer than segment II. Thorax: Pronotum 2.2–2.5× as wide as long and 0.9–1.0× width of head, with posterior margin straight or concave; mesoscutum not exposed; hind femur distinctly swollen; length of hemelytra ranging from reaching sixth abdominal tergum to reaching eighth tergum, hemelytra in contact with each other, claval commissure longer than scutellum; posterior margin of hemelytron rounded, clavus not delineated. GENITALIA: Right paramere with apex truncate (Fig. 5); apical process of left paramere basally with triangular process directed upward (Fig. 5); dorsal wall of theca with apical depression (Fig. 4); basal portion of ductus seminis membranous distally (Fig. 4); distal portion of ductus seminis bowl-shaped, with dorsal wall somewhat longer than ventral wall (Fig. 2); endosoma with one large and two small denticulate areas (Fig. 4).
Female: Brachypterous, oval, total length 1.7–1.9 mm. COLOURATION: As in male, vertex always with a distinct yellowish spot. SURFACE AND VESTITURE: As in males. STRUCTURE AND MEASUREMENTS: Structure as in generic description. Head: Somewhat broader than in male, 1.3–1.5× as wide as high; vertex 2.4–2.7× width of eye; antennal segment II 0.3–0.4× as long as basal width of pronotum, 0.3–0.4× as long as width of head; antennal segments III and IV combined, equal in length to segment II. Thorax: Pronotum 2.5–2.6× as wide as long and 1.0× width of head; posterior margin of pronotum somewhat concave; hemelytra in contact with or at a small distance from each other, reaching abdominal tergum V or VI, with truncate posterior margins; claval suture shorter than scutellum; clavus not delineated. GENITALIA: Sclerotised rings of dorsal labial plate relatively large, 1/3 rd– 1/4 th width of dorsal labiate plate; sclerotised areas near sclerotised rings indistinct (Fig. 6); posterior wall with single trapeziform sclerite (Fig. 7).
Differential diagnosis. Distinguished by the small body, brachypterous male, vertex uniformly dark brown to black, eye in males in a contact with anterior margin of pronotum, antennal segment II in males short, 1.1–1.3× as long as width of vertex, tibiae dark brown to black, apical process of left paramere with triangular process at base (Fig. 5), dorsal wall of theca with apical depression (Fig. 4), endosoma with denticulate areas (Fig. 4), sclerotised ring 1/3 rd– 1/4 th width of dorsal labiate plate and dorsal labiate plate without sclerotised area near those rings (Fig. 6). Can be confused with P. doriae, but females of that species differ by the yellowish tibiae, dorsal labiate plate with narrow sclerotised area near sclerotised rings, and sclerotised rings each 1/4 th– 1/5 th width of dorsal labiate plate (Fig. 6). Males of P. doriae are recognized by having eyes located at a small distance from anterior margin of pronotum, antennal segment II 1.5–1.7× as long as width of vertex (Fig. 5). Male genitalia of P. cursitans seemingly are not separable from that of P. doriae (Fig. 4).
Distribution. The species is known only from Spain (REUTER 1905, WAGNER 1974, KERZHNER & JOSIFOV 1999).
Discussion. Pachytomella cursitans and P. doriae are very similar in both the external view and male genitalia. Both species possess the set of characters that distinguishes them from other species of Pachytomella. These characters are: brachypterous males, very short antennal segment II, apical process of left paramere with triangular process at base, dorsal wall of theca with apical depression, and endosoma devoid of spicules, but armed with areas of small denticles.
REUTER (1905) noticed the similarity in the original description of P. cursitans, but did not discuss it. WAGNER & WEBER (1965) included both species in the key where P. doriae is erroneously separated from P. cursitans as a species with macropterous males. However, WAGNER (1974) wrote that both species were brachypterous and could be distinguished by the length of antennal segment II in relation to width of vertex and length of antennal segment III. According to my observations, these two species can be separated by the ratio of antennal segment II to width of vertex, structure of female genitalia, colouration of tibiae in females and other characters indicated in the diagnosis. Males of P. cursitans and P. doriae seem to have identical male genitalia and can not be reliably distinguished.
description: Published as part of Namyatova, Anna A., 2010, Revision of the genus Pachytomella (Heteroptera: Miridae: Orthotylinae: Halticini), pp. 341-368 in Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 50 (2) on pages 351-354, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4503680