Brachysandalus flavidus Malipatil & Liu 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Liu, Yingqi
name: Cai, Wanzhi
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Reduviidae
Brachysandalus
Brachysandalus flavidus

description: Brachysandalus flavidus Malipatil & Liu, sp. nov.
(Figs. 12, 13)
Type specimens. [all macropterous]. Holotype male, Australia, Queensland, Lockerbie Area, Cape York, 13– 24.iv.1973, G.B. Monteith (QM). Paratypes: 3 males (1 dissected), same as holotype (QM); 2 males, Gordon’s Mine area, Iron Range, rainforest, 12–18.ii.1976, G.B. Monteith (QM); 1 male, Gordon’s Creek area, Claudie R. district, MV trap, 27.vi.1982, M.A. Schneider & G. Daniels (QM); 1 male, West Claudie R., Iron Range, rainforest, 50 m, 3–10.xii.1985, G. Monteith & D. Cook (QM).
Other specimens. [all macropterous]. QUEENSLAND. 1 male, Claudie R., 11/ 12.ii.1913, Colld. J.A. Kershaw (MV); 1 male, Claudie R., 5.14, from Dr Macgillvray (MV); 1 male, 15.18S 145.00E, Isabella Falls, at light, P. Zborowski & E.D. Edwards (ANIC); 1 male, Hughenden, H. Batchelor, 174 (QM); 2 males, Between Mt Garnet and Mt Surprise, under lava flow, Yarramulla, at light, 11. i – 25.ii.1989, M. Asche & H. Hoch (VAIC).
Diagnosis.
Only macropterous male known, body medium sized. Generally blackish brown (Fig. 12), hemelytron with spot involving apical area of clavus and corresponding adjoining area of corium between veins Pcu+1A and Cu pale yellow, apical 1/3 of membrane pale brownish yellow (Fig. 12A). Fore femur armed below with two rows of black minute tubercles, rows separated by a faint median furrow, mid femur armed below with irregular rows of minute tubercles (Fig. 12B&C); fore tibia with fossula spongiosa occupying slightly more than 1/3 tibial length, mid tibia with fossula spongiosa about 1/3 its length (Fig. 12B&C); in male, left side of abdominal sternite VII with a narrowly elongate triangular extragenital process, apically slightly curved outwards on cuticle (Figs. 12B, 56G); male genitalia with median pygophore process spine-like, straight, tapered, oblique to right side, venter strongly ridged in caudal view (Fig. 13B), and straight, base slightly constricted in lateral view (Fig. 13C); inner margin of lateral phallothecal sclerite slightly corrugated (Fig. 13I).
Description.
Macropterous male (Fig. 12)
Colouration (Fig. 12): Generally blackish brown. Legs with tarsi dark brown; hemelytron with spot involving apical area of clavus and corresponding adjoining area of corium between veins Pcu+1A and Cu pale yellow, also apical margin of corium and adjoining narrow area of membrane brownish yellow; apical 1/3 of membrane pale brownish yellow.
Structure (Figs. 12, 13): Body medium sized, generally covered with fine short furry shiny yellow pubescence, with sparse long dark bristly setae obvious on appendages.
Head: Sub-fusiform, wholly covered with short whitish yellow pilosity and sparse longer bristly setae, prominent on mandibular plates, dorsal aspect of head and between eyes, and on dorsal aspect of first visible labial segment. Anteocular region triangular, clypeus slightly elevated above mandibular plates. Interocular region with arcuate convex sulcus at posterior border of eyes, a small pit near base. Postocular region almost rounded to neck, without obvious lateral tubercles. Antennae with all segments cylindrical, with short whitish pilosity and sparse longer setae. Scape thickest, pedicel about as thick as scape, then basi-and distiflagellum distinctly thinnest. Eyes conspicuously large, reniform, reaching dorsal margin and almost reaching ventral margin in lateral view. Ocelli conspicuously large and raised, separated from each other by about diameter of single ocellus, separated from eye by slightly less than diameter of single ocellus. Labium with ventral surface sparsely covered with longer setae.
Thorax: Anterior lobe of pronotum with integument slightly rough except between longitudinal stripes rather smooth, shallow median longitudinal sulcus in basal half, with short pilosity. Posterior pronotal lobe short, arcuately quadrate, integument finely rugulose and minutely granulate, with short pilosity as anterior lobe, humeri rounded, posterior margin arcuate. Scutellum with disc slightly depressed and finely granulate, lateral margins slightly carinate, integument with dark pilosity, scutellar process knob-shaped, slightly directed obliquely in lateral view. Meso-and metanotum generally also rugulose. Propleuron with integument faintly granulate, smoothly pilose, set off from dorsal surface by a carina. Mesopleuron integument minutely granulate, sparsely pilose. Metapleuron with integument more sparsely and distinctly granulate but granules not striate, metapleural sulcus distinctly bicarinate and curved, pilose with silvery dense hairs posteriorly. All sternites smooth, moderately pilose. Mesosternum carinate in middle, metasternum with disc tumid. Hemelytron fully covering to slightly exceeding abdomen.
Legs: Fore leg with coxa with whitish pilosity; trochanter unarmed, sparsely hairy; femur strongly fusiform, greatly incrassate near base and narrowing distally, much thicker than other femora, armed below with two rows of black minute tubercles, rows separated by a faint median furrow, in addition sparsely pilose laterally and above; tibia cylindrical, more or less straight but apex slightly reflexed and covered with tuft of hairs, fossula spongiosa occupying slightly more than 1/3 tibial length; tarsi cylindrical, denser short pilosity ventrally. Mid leg with coxa globular; femur only slightly thickened and armed below with irregular rows of minute tubercles, tibia with short whitish pilosity for whole length, with fossula spongiosa about 1/3 its length. Hind leg with femur cylindrical; tibia with brush of seta as on mid tibia, denser at apex. [Note: teratological cases of tarsi and tarsal claws were observed in two specimens of this species, see details below].
Abdomen: Shiny, smooth with sparse longer setae in addition to pilosity. Venter of abdomen with a median ridge running from posterior portion of second abdominal sternite to posterior portion of seventh abdominal sternite, slightly curved to right side of body (Fig. 12B), left side of sternite VII with a narrowly elongate triangular extragenital process, located near posterior margin of sternite and apically slightly curved outwards on cuticle (Figs. 12B, 56G, 57G). Connexivum with golden pilosity as elsewhere on sternum. Spiracles situated below connexival suture, about halfway between anterior and posterior margin of each segment. Each spiracle with spot-like smooth impressed not obviously visible areas, one anteriorly and one postero-ventrally on each sternite.
Male genitalia (Fig. 13): Median pygophore process spine-like, straight, tapered, oblique to right side, venter strongly ridged in caudal view (Fig. 13B); straight, base slightly constricted in lateral view (Fig. 13C). Parameres (Fig. 13D&E) subtriangular and curved in middle, similar in shape and size, outer surfaces covered with obvious sparse longer bristles as on pygophore, apex of left paramere (Fig. 13D) blunt. Phallus (Fig. 13F–I) in resting condition with basal plate longer than basal plate bridge (Fig. 13F), pedicel curved and subequal to length of basal plate (Fig. 13H&I); length of struts distinctly longer than half length of phallosoma (Fig. 13F); apex of dorsal phallothecal sclerite blunt (Fig. 13F); lateral phallothecal sclerite less sclerotized, subquadrangular, inner margin slightly corrugated (Fig. 13I); pair of slender sclerites near base of venter of phallosoma weakly sclerotized (Fig. 13G).
Measurements: [of holotype male, followed by one non-type male]. Body length 12.40, 12.45; maximum width of abdomen 3.70, 3.42; length of head 1.82, 1.90; length of anteocular region 0.67, 0.64; length of postocular region 0.38, 0.35; width of head across eyes 1.67, 1.71; width of interocular space 0.57, 0.45; width of interocellar space 0.19, 0.15; length of eye in dorsal view 0.72, 0.72; width of eye in dorsal view 0.57, 0.60; lengths of antennal segments I–IV 1.06, 1.02 / 2.31, 2.16 / 1.97, 2.16 / 2.28, 2.31; length of visible labial segments I–III 0.80, 0.76 / 1.14, 1.14 / 0.49, 0.45; length of pronotum 3.15, 2.70; length of anterior pronotal lobe 1.90, 1.50; length of posterior pronotal lobe 1.25, 0.98; width of anterior pronotal lobe 2.09, 2.09; width of posterior pronotal lobe 3.40, 3.11; length of scutellum 1.25, 1.40; maximum width of scutellum 1.52, 1.54; length of hemelytron 8.58, 8.50; length of fore tibia 2.54, 2.28; length of fossula spongiosa on fore tibia 0.91, 0.87.
Distribution. Australia (Queensland).
Etymology. The species epithet is the Latin adjective flavidus (meaning ‘yellowish’), in allusion to the conspicuous yellowish patch on apical area of the hemelytral membrane.
Comparative notes. This species is related to B. maculatus sp. nov. but differs from the latter in the following. Membrane of hemelytron with apical 1/3 pale brownish yellow (vs. membrane of hemelytron with an irregular small vague yellow to yellowish-brown patch near confluence of veins Cu and M in B. maculatus sp. nov.) and left side of abdominal sternite VII with a narrowly elongate triangular extragenital process, apically slightly curved outwards on cuticle in male (vs. left side of abdominal sternite VII with an elongate narrow apically pointed flattish process, with lateral adjoining cuticular area slightly swollen in male in B. maculatus sp. nov.).
Remarks. This species exhibits morphological abnormalities (teratology cases) of tarsi and tarsal claws (Fig. 57G–I) in two macropterous male specimens examined, one from Isabella Falls and one from Hughenden. See further details under cases of leg teratology section below.
description: Published as part of Liu, Yingqi & Cai, Wanzhi, 2024, Revision of Australian Brachysandalus with the description of nine new species including one cavernicolous species (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae), and observations on male extragenital structure and leg teratology, pp. 1-112 in Zootaxa 5490 (1) on pages 30-33, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5490.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/13211621