Taiwanocapsus Yasunaga & Yamada & Tsai 2023, n. gen.
Creators: name: Yasunaga, Tomohide
name: Yamada, Kazutaka
name: Tsai, Jing-Fu
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Miridae
Taiwanocapsus

description: Taiwanocapsus n. gen.
Diagnosis: Externally most similar to Eocalocoris or Miyamotoa, the present new genus can be distinguished by the following characters: dorsal surface only with uniformly distributed, simple, reclining setae and lacking silvery sericeous setae (Fig. 13A–B); male total length greater than female; labium short, not exceeding posterior margin of mesepisternum; parameres remarkably specialized in form (Figs. 7A–B, 13G–J); sclerotized rings enlarged, contiguous to each other mesally (Figs. 7F, 14H); and reduced, narrow interramal lobe (Figs. 7D, 14G).
Description. Male: Body elongate oval, tumid, relatively large-sized; basic coloration dark reddish brown; dorsum weakly shining, faintly punctate, with uniformly distributed, simple, reclining setae, lacking sericeous or silvery vestiture. Head: Vertical, rather short; eyes small, contiguous to pronotal collar; vertex with a shallow, faint median sulcus; clypeus weakly projected. Antenna: Generally short; segment I much shorter than head width across eyes, longer than IV; segment II gradually clavate, shorter than basal width of pronotum; segments III and IV equally filiform. Labium: Relatively slender, short, not exceeding posterior margin of mesepisternum. Thorax: Pronotum comparatively shining, not carinate laterally, sparsely and shallowly punctate, with uniformly distributed, simple, reclining setae; collar about as thick as basal part of antennal segment II; calli not clearly demarcated; scutellum moderately elevated; scent efferent system small, with ear-like peritreme (Fig. 13C–D). Hemelytron: Weakly shining, rather declivous at cuneal fracture, with uniformly distributed, pale, simple setae. Legs: Moderate in length; tibial spines short and sparsely distributed; meta-tarsomere III longer than I or II (Fig. 13E); pretarsal structure as in Fig. 13F; parempodia rhombic, relatively long. Genitalia (Figs. 7A–C, 13G–L): Parameres remarkably modified in shape (Figs. 7A–B, 13G–J); left paramere bifurcate, with apically spinulate basal branch (Fig. 13I); right paramere elongate, J–shaped, much longer than left, with a sharp process at middle (Fig. 7B, 13J); vesica widely membranous, elongate, with a single lobal sclerite that is tapered toward apex and spinulate sclerite on right side of membrane (Fig. 7C); ductus seminis inflated subapically.
Female: Similar to male in coloration and structure, but body ovoid, shorter and wider. Genitalia (Figs. 7D–F, 14H–K): Sclerotized rings enlarged, contiguous to each other mesally (Figs. 7F, 14H); posterior wall with widened dorsal structure and narrow interramal lobe (Figs. 7D, 14J–L); interramal lobe with uniformly distributed spinules (Fig. 14L).
Etymology. Named for Taiwan, combined with the mirine generic name Capsus Fabricius; gender masculine.
Type species. Taiwanocapsus luteocordatus Yasunaga, Yamada & Tsai, new species.
Distribution. Currently known only from Taiwan.
Discussion. The present new genus is at first sight similar to Eocalocoris or Miyamotoa, as having the similar dorsal color pattern and body shape (cf. Fig. 2A–C). Based on the unique male genitalic structure, however, Taiwanocapsus is assumed to be related to Fangumellus Yasunaga, Oh & Lee, described from Laos (cf. Yasunaga et al. 2016). The former can be distinguished from the latter by the larger size, almost uniformly dark reddish brown dorsum, smooth vertex that is not carinate basally, longer antenna, weakly shining and shallowly punctate pronotum, remarkably bifurcate left paramere, and J-shaped, elongate right paramere with the sharp median process.
description: Published as part of Yasunaga, Tomohide, Yamada, Kazutaka & Tsai, Jing-Fu, 2023, New genera and new species of remarkably large-sized or uniquely-shaped mirine plant bugs from Taiwan (Heteroptera: Miridae: Mirinae), pp. 264-288 in Zootaxa 5278 (2) on pages 275-282, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5278.2.3, http://zenodo.org/record/7906118