Brachysandalus setosus
Creators: name: Liu, Yingqi
name: Cai, Wanzhi
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Reduviidae
Brachysandalus
Brachysandalus setosus

description: Brachysandalus setosus (Stål, 1874)
(Figs. 48–52)
Pirates (Brachysandalus) setosus Stål, 1874: 60. Type locality: Australia (Northern Australia).
Pirates setosus: Lethierry & Severin (1896: 127).
Brachysandalus setosus: Maldonado Capriles (1990: 346).
Peirates setosus: Cassis & Gross (1995: 343).
Type specimens examined. Lectotype (present designation), brachypterous female, Typus, Australia boreal., Dämel, setosus Stål, NHRS-GULI 000000134 (NHRS). Paralectotype (present designation), 1 brachypterous male, same detail as lectotype except NHRS-GULI 000008106 (NHRS).
Other specimens examined. [all brachypterous]. QUEENSLAND. 1 female, Cairns (QM); 1 female, Emu Vale area, i.1941, J. Henry (MV); 1 female, Diamantina River Birdsville, x.1977, leg R. Southern (WAM); 1 female, Deepwater Nat Park 65 km NW Bundaberg, 20–26.ix.1992, G.B. & S.R. Monteith (QM); 1 male, 1 female, Millstream Falls, Ravenshoe, 25.v.1969, A. Neboiss (MV); 1 female, Wyberba nr Stanthorpe, E. Sutton (QM); 1 female, Stanthorpe, 21.ix.1930, E. Sutton (MV); 2 males, Moreton Is., ix.1982 (QM); 1 male, 1 female, Caboolture, 24.v.1925 (QM); 1 male, Burleigh, 14.x.1959, A.N. B. (MV); 1 male, National Park, xii.1923, H. Hacker (QM); 1 female, Brisbane, 17.vi.1911, H. Hacker, 1 female, same except 28.viiii.1911, 1 female, same except 9.ix.1912, 1 female, same except 1.vii.1913, 1 male, same except 10.viii.1913 (Fig. 51), 1 female, same except 28.v.1914 (Fig. 50), 1 female, same except 4.viii.1914, 1 male, 1 female, same except 3.viii1915, 1 male, 2 females, same except 10.viii.1915, 1 male, same except 9.iv.1918 (all QM); 1 male, Brisbane (QM); 1 male (dissected), Acacia Ridge, Brisbane, 9.ix.1965, E.C. Dahms (QM). NEW SOUTH WALES. 1 male, 1 female, Coffs Harbour, 24.xii.1949, F.D. (MV). NORTHERN TERRITORY. 1 male, 2 females, 14 km S Adelaide River, 19.ix.1964, A. Douglas leg (WAM). WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 1 male, Wyndham, 7.ix.1964, A. Douglas leg (WAM).
Diagnosis.
Brachypterous male and female known, body small-medium sized. Hemelytron with most of membrane yellowish white (Figs. 48, 49A, 50A, 51A). Sixth and seventh abdominal and connexival segments densely covered with golden, procumbent, longer pubescence (Figs. 48, 49A, 50A, 51A). Fore femur armed below with two irregular rows of minute black tubercles, rows separated by a faint median furrow, ventral surface of mid femur also armed with rows of minute black tubercles (Figs. 49B&C, 50B&C, 51B&C); fore tibia with fossula spongiosa occupying about 2/5 tibial length, mid tibia with fossula spongiosa about 1/3 its length (Figs. 49B&C, 50B&C, 51B&C); in male, abdominal sternite VII without extragenital process (Fig. 51B); male genitalia with median pygophore process short, straight, tapered, venter strongly ridged in caudal view (Fig. 52B), and spine-like, gradually tapered except base distinctly constricted in lateral view (Fig. 52C); inner margin of lateral phallothecal sclerite smoothly arcuate and with some wrinkles (Fig. 52I).
Redescription.
Brachypterous male and female (Figs. 48–51)
Colouration (Figs. 48–51): Blackish brown to black. Antenna and legs dark brown (except tarsi brown); third visible labial segment yellowish brown; hemelytron with most of membrane yellowish white.
Structure (Figs. 48–52): Body small-medium sized, densely covered with yellowish white, procumbent pilosity; antenna also with brown, suberect, short setae; lateral margins of head, lateral margins of pronotum and legs also with yellowish brown to brown, suberect, long setae; sixth and seventh abdominal and connexival segments densely covered with golden, procumbent, longer pubescence.
Head: Anteocular region elongate triangular, clypeus near its base slightly elevated above mandibular plates. Interocular region with arcuate convex sulcus at posterior border of eyes, a small pit near base. Postocular region typical ellipsoid shape, almost rounded to neck. Neck with lateral tubercles tiny and almost absent. Antennae with all segments covered with short yellowish brown to brown pilosity and sparse longer setae; scape thickest, pedicel thinner, then basi- and distiflagellum thinnest. Eye small, reniform, not reaching ventral margin of head in lateral view, width of eye slightly more than half width of interocular space in dorsal view. Ocelli reduced and even nearly invisible in female, slightly raised, separated from each other by more than three times diameter of single ocellus.
Thorax: Anterior pronotal lobe nearly spherical, stripes distinct, sulci indistinct, except thin median longitudinal sulcus in basal 1/2. Posterior lobe abbreviated, only slightly wider and much shorter than anterior lobe, posterior margin of pronotum slightly arcuate. Scutellum disc flat and rugulose, scutellar process knobbed, slightly directed obliquely in lateral view in male and horizontal in female. Propleuron with integument finely faintly granulate, smoothly pilose, set off from dorsal surface by a faint carina. Mesopleuron integument minutely granulate, sparsely pilose. Metapleuron with integument more finely granulate and granules somewhat striate, metapleural sulcus distinctly bicarinate and curved, pilose with whitish dense hairs posteriorly. All sternites with tiny granules, moderately pilose. Mesosternum carinated in middle, metasternum with disc tumid. Hemelytron greatly reduced to a flap, subquadrangular with apex rounded in female and slightly truncate in male, exceeding posterior margin of first abdominal tergite.
Legs: Fore leg with coxa with golden to yellowish brown pilosity; trochanter unarmed, sparsely hairy; femur strongly fusiform, greatly incrassate near base narrowing distally, much thicker than other femora, armed below with two irregular rows of minute black tubercles, rows separated by a faint median furrow; tibia gradually thickened to apex, more or less straight but apex slightly reflexed, fossula spongiosa occupying about 2/5 tibial length. Mid leg with coxa globular; femur only slightly thickened, ventral surface also armed with rows of minute black tubercles; tibia with short golden to yellowish brown pilosity for whole length, with fossula spongiosa about 1/3 its length. Hind coxae separated from each other by less than width of one coxa; femur cylindrical, tibia with brush of setae, denser at apex.
Abdomen: In male, venter of abdomen with a median ridge running from posterior portion of second abdominal sternite to posterior portion of seventh abdominal sternite, weakly curved to right side of body (Fig. 51B); sternite VII without extragenital process (Fig. 51B). Connexivum with golden to yellowish brown pilosity as elsewhere on sternum, abdominal sterna and terga entire. Spiracles situated below connexival suture, about halfway between anterior and posterior margin of each segment. Each spiracle with two impressed shiny roundish areas, one postero-ventrally and one anteriorly near anterior margin of segment. In female, same as male, venter of abdomen flat, all sterna appearing narrow medially except VII very enlarged (Figs. 49B, 50C).
Male genitalia (Fig. 52): Median pygophore process short, straight, tapered, oblique to right side, venter strongly ridged in caudal view (Fig. 52B); spine-like, gradually tapered except base distinctly constricted in lateral view (Fig. 52C). Left paramere (Fig. 52D) subtrapezoidal with apex truncate, right paramere subtriangular and curved in middle (Fig. 52E). Phallus (Fig. 52F–I) in resting condition with basal plate slightly longer than basal plate bridge (Fig. 52F), pedicel slightly curved and subequal to length of basal plate (Fig. 52H&I); length of struts distinctly longer than half length of phallosoma (Fig. 52F); apex of dorsal phallothecal sclerite rounded (Fig. 52F); lateral phallothecal sclerite subquadrangular, inner margin smoothly arcuate and with some wrinkles (Fig. 52I); pair of slender sclerites near base of venter of phallosoma weakly sclerotized (Fig. 52G).
Measurements: [of lectotype female, followed by of paralectotype male]. Body length 12.60, 11.70; maximum width of abdomen 4.06, 3.60; length of head 1.90, 1.90; length of anteocular region 0.87, 0.76; length of postocular region 0.57, 0.53; width of head across eyes 1.52, 1.45; width of interocular space 0.66, 0.65; width of interocellar space 0.34, 0.32; length of eye in dorsal view 0.53, 0.57; width of eye in dorsal view 0.38, 0.38; lengths of antennal segments I–IV 1.06, 1.06 / 1.86, 2.10 / 1.74, 1.90 / 2.12, 1.97; length of visible labial segments I–III 0.80, 0.79 / 1.25, 1.25 / 0.50, 0.53; length of pronotum 2.96, 3.07; length of anterior pronotal lobe 2.28, 2.31; length of posterior pronotal lobe 0.68, 0.76; width of anterior pronotal lobe 2.39, 2.47; width of posterior pronotal lobe 2.47, 2.58; length of scutellum 1.02, 1.17; maximum width of scutellum 1.21, 1.21; length of hemelytron 1.78, 2.24; length of fore tibia 2.66, 2.58; length of fossula spongiosa on fore tibia 1.14, 1.10.
Distribution. Australia (Queensland, New South Wales, Northern Territory and Western Australia). The lectotype female and paralectotype male from ‘ Australia boreal.’, and other specimens examined in the present study have come from Queensland, New South Wales, Northern Territory and Western Australia.
Comparative notes. This species is similar to B. punctorius Stål, 1867 but differs from the latter by body not shiny (vs. body shiny in B. punctorius), sixth and seventh abdominal and connexival segments densely covered with golden, procumbent, longer pubescence (vs. sixth and seventh abdominal and connexival segments without that kind of pubescence in B. punctorius) and abdominal sternite VII without extragenital process in male (vs. left side of abdominal sternite VII with an upturned, spine-like extragenital process in B. punctorius).
Remarks. The Northern Territory and Western Australian specimens generally appear to have more obvious dense and erect bristly setae on their bodies.
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 91-97, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5490.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/13211621