Himacerus frater Kerzhner & Jacobs, 2008, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Kerzhner, Izyaslav M.
name: Jacobs, Dawid H.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2008
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Nabidae
Himacerus
Himacerus frater

description: Himacerus frater sp. nov.
(Figs 1–7)
Holotype. ɗ, South Africa, Farm Wiedow nr. Vanrhynsdorp, 31°45´S 18°46´E, 3–10.X.2002 (D. Jacobs & M. Stiller) (TMSA).
Paratypes. South Africa: 1 ɗ 7 Ψ, same data as in holotype (1 Ψ ZIN, 1 Ψ SANC, 5 Ψ 1 ɗ DHJS); 1 Ψ, Gifberg nr. Vanrhynsdorp, 31°45´S 18°42´E, 9.X.2002 (D. Jacobs & M. Stiller) (DHJS); 1 ɗ South Africa, CP, Arkoep farm, nr. Bowersdorp, 30.19S 17.36E, ix 1990 (CD Eardly) (SANC).
Description. Macropterous. Dull; head and pronotum slightly shiny. Dorsum with short recumbent white hairs. Body straw-yellow with well developed brown to black pattern (Fig. 1).
Head ventrally and laterally black; dorsum yellow with black median stripe including entire clypeus and extending to hind margin of vertex. Ocelli large. Rostrum yellow, bases of segments 1 and 2 darkened, extending to mid coxae. Antennal segment 1 brownish; 2 yellowish, with dark subapical 1/6, but with extreme apex pale; 3 and 4 brown; base of 3 pale.
Pronotum yellow; median stripe narrowed on hind lobe and sublateral stripe on each side black. Between median and sublateral stripes, black pattern on fore lobe and brown spots on hind lobe. Hind lobe with dense, minute punctures. Scutellum yellow, its base and wide median stripe black.
Hemelytra slightly or hardly extending beyond apex of abdomen. Corium and clavus with numerous brown spots; hind 2/3 of corium with sublateral brown stripe; inner margin of clavus usually narrowly brown.
Triangular part in fore corner of corium and hypocostal lamina without brown spots. Membrane grey with brown veins.
Venter of thorax yellow with brownish black spots and stripes. Venter of abdomen black with connexivum and narrow adjacent stripe on each side of sternum yellow. Segments of connexivum with wide black bands on hind margins; these bands very distinct dorsally, but less so ventrally.
Coxae black or dark brown with pale apex. Fore and mid femora with pale brown pattern; apical fourth of hind femora dark brown. Tibiae narrowly dark brown at both ends; fore and mid tibiae (sometimes also hind tibiae) with wide pale fuscous ring. Tarsal segment 1 and apices of 2 and 3 brown.
Male genital segment (Figs 2–3) without sharp projections before lateral processes of parameres. Paramere (Fig. 4) smoothly curved; lateral process small, not rounded, bifurcate in lateral view. Armament of aedeagus (Fig. 5) with 6 spinose fields and a group of 8 larger spines. Vagina (Figs 6–7) wider than long, with transverse parietal gland ventrally.
Measurements (in mm). Body length ɗ 7.0–7.1, Ψ 7.4–7.6; body width ɗ 1.9–2.1, Ψ 2.1–2.3; head length 1.30–1.40; head width ɗ 0.95–1.02, Ψ 1.05–1.07; vertex width ɗ 0.35–0.42, Ψ 0.40–0.42; antennal segments 1–4 length 0.70–0.80, 1.50–1.57, 1.25–1.50, 1.05–1.25; pronotum length ɗ 1.65–1.70, Ψ 1.70–1.80; pronotum width ɗ 1.90–2.00, Ψ 2.00–2.20, scutellum length 0.70–0.80; scutellum width 0.90–1.00.
Chromosome number. The basic chromosome number appears to be 2n(ɗ) = 38XY (36 autosomes + XY); but between 1 and 3 B-chromosomes may be present. Two of the B-chromosomes usually form a ‘bivalent’ at metaphase I.
Distribution. Western part of the Republic of South Africa. All individuals were collected during the day in dense shrubs growing in this arid region.
Comparison. The new species is similar to H. hottentotta (Reuter), especially to its western populations, but differs in the well developed dark pattern of body and in the structure of the male and female genitalia. In H. hottentotta (see figures of the genitalia in Remane 1964 and Kerzhner 1989), the genital segment bears sharp projections before the lateral processes of the parameres, the paramere itself is bent almost at a right angle and has a large rounded lateral process, the armament of the aedeagus differs in shape and relative disposition of spinose fields, and the vagina is more produced cephalad. The Afrotropical species of the genus can be identified with the following key.
FIGURES 2–3. Himacerus frater sp. nov., genital segment of male. 2, dorsal; 3, laterodorsal.
description: Published as part of Kerzhner, Izyaslav M. & Jacobs, Dawid H., 2008, A new species of Himacerus from South Africa (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Nabidae), pp. 63-67 in Zootaxa 1819 on pages 64-65, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.182972