Reduvius frommeri Weirauch, Russell & Hwang, 2015, sp. n.
Creators: name: Weirauch, Christiane
name: Russell, Kaleigh
name: Hwang, Wei Song
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Reduviidae
Reduvius
Reduvius frommeri

description: Reduvius frommeri, sp. n.
Figs. 1, 2, 5–7, Table 1
Diagnosis. Distinguished from other New World species of Reduvius by the pale body with contrasting dark head (Fig. 1), moderate size (9.5–10.3 mm), large eyes, third (second visible) labial segment about 1.5 times longer than second, fairly short scutellar process that in lateral view is distinctly curved dorsad, fossula spongiosa of foretibia short (~1/9 of tibia), medial process of pygophore with narrow base and apical triangular rami (Fig. 5, dark grey arrow), basal plate extensions of aedeagus with projection consisting of a narrow base and a rounded apex (Fig. 6, black arrow), lateroventral phallotheca sclerotization indistinct, and distal half of right and left basal plate struts in dorsal view separated from each other (Fig. 6, white arrow). This species is very easily separated based on the distinctive coloration.
Description. Male: Total length 9.5–10.3 mm (Fig. 1). Macropterous; body elongate-ovoid. COLORATION: General coloration uniformly pale yellowish, with head including labium, part of the antenna, and sometimes forecoxa and pronotal collar dark brown to sometimes almost black (Fig. 1). Scape typically dark brown with apex brown, sometimes pale, and pedicel, basiflagellomere, and distiflagellomere pale (Figs. 2 A–C, E). Labium with second (first visible) segment and base of third segment dark brown to black, remainder of third and fourth segments brown (Fig. 2 A, B). Thorax pale, sometimes with pronotal collar and forecoxa, and occasionally with darker suffusions on anterior pronotal lobe and scutellum (Figs. 1, 2 C–F). Corium and membrane pale, with slight and irregular dark suffusion at base of corium and around border of corium-membrane margin, membrane with or without darker suffusion (Figs. 1, 2 G). Legs pale, some specimens with forecoxa and foretrochanter dark brown (Figs. 1, 2 B–F, H), claw brown. Abdomen dorsally and ventrally pale, pygophore light brown (Figs. 1, 2 H).
SETATION: Head, thorax (including legs), and abdomen with combination of fairly stout (e.g., on scutellum) and short and slender, sparse adpressed and erect, pale setae (Fig. 2). All antennal segments with fairly long and dense setae (Fig. 2). Pedicellar trichobothria as long as surrounding setae, but distinctly more slender. Foreleg in addition to general setation with irregular rows of stout, short spine-like setae on ventral surface of trochanter, femur, and tibia (Fig. 2 D). Setation on midleg similar, but ventral setation less dense and setae longer (Fig. 2 H). Hindleg with general setation and very long, dense, and erect setae on tibia (Fig. 1). Corium devoid of setae, except some along the subcostal margin. Abdomen ventrally with sparse, long, very slender setae, arranged in rows along the posterior segment margin. Pygophore ventrally with moderately dense cover of setae.
STRUCTURE: Head: about 1.5 times as long as wide across eyes, as wide as anterior pronotal lobe, anteocular region slightly longer than postocular and gently declivous, neck elongate and slender (Figs. 1, 2); mandibular plate large, projecting beyond apex of scape in lateral and dorsal view, maxillary plate and gena elongate, gula curved (Fig. 2 A–C). Eyes large and protruding in all perspectives (Fig. 2 A, C, E), shallow interocular sulcus located at posterior margin of eyes (Fig. 2 C), ocelli large and located on large, median tubercle (Fig. 2 C). Antennifer short, antenna long, surpassing base of abdomen (Figs. 1, 2), scape surpassing apex of clypeus, about as long as head width, fairly slender; pedicel more than twice as long as scape, and more slender; flagellomeres together almost as long as scape and pedicel combined, filiform (Fig. 1). Labium moderately long and stout, with second (first visible) segment ~2/3 length of third and distinctly stouter, fourth segment short and triangular (Fig. 2 A). Thorax: Pronotum ~3/4 times as long as wide (Figs. 1, 2 C), anterior lobe little more than ½ as wide as posterior, with narrow collar, and anterolateral angles slightly knob-shaped, humeral angles rounded; transverse sulcus shallow, separating smooth anterior lobe from rugose posterior, longitudinal sulcus distinct across most of anterior lobe. Scutellum triangular with disc bordered by distinct carina, tip pointed and, in lateral view, curved dorsad (Fig. 2 F). Stridulitrum elongate (Fig. 2 E). Legs: Legs fairly long and slender (Figs. 1, 2), hindleg longer than fore- and midlegs, forecoxa almost twice as long as wide, forefemur only slightly more incrassate than midfemur, tibiae slender, fore- and midtibial fossulae short (1/9 of length), foretibial comb distinct, all legs with three tarsomeres with first tarsomere distinctly shorter than tarsomeres two and three; claws symmetrical, slender. Hemelytron: exceeding tip of abdomen (Figs. 1, 2); venation as in Fig. 2 G.
Male genitalia (Figs. 5, 6): Pygophore elongate ovoid, medial process of pygophore with narrow, weakly sclerotized base and apically with short, triangular rami; parameres slender, apically curved. Aedeagus slender, basal plate extensions relatively short, with projection consisting of a narrow base and a rounded apex (black arrow), lateroventral phallotheca sclerotization indistinct, and distal half of right and left basal plate struts in dorsal view separated from each other (white arrow).
Female: Similar to male, total length 9.2–10.7 mm (Fig. 1). Female External Genitalia (Fig. 2 I) plate-like.
Etymology. Named in honor of Dr. Saul Frommer, former curator at the Entomological Research Museum at the University of California, Riverside. Saul was involved in collecting the holotype at Boyd Desert Research Center that is part of the University of California Natural Reserve System.
Distribution. Holotype: USA: California: Riverside Co.: P.L. Boyd Desert Research Center, 3.5 mi S of Palm Desert, 100 ft downstream from gaging station, 33.67676°N 116.37459°W, 294 m, 23 Jul 1969, S. I. Frommer, L. LaPre and W. Ewart, ♂ (UCRC_ENT 00020227) (AMNH).
Paratypes: USA: California: Riverside Co.: Deep Canyon, 33.64178°N 116.38477°W, 318 m, 22 Aug 1963, E. I. Schlinger, Light Trap, ♂ (UCRC_ENT 00006730) (AMNH). P.L. Boyd Desert Research Center, 3.5 mi S of Palm Desert, 100 ft downstream from gaging station, 33.67676°N 116.37459°W, 294 m, 26 Jun 1969, Saul Frommer and L. LaPre, ♂ (UCRC_ENT 00019721) (UCR). San Bernardino Co.: Joshua Tree N.M. Lost Palm Canyon, 33.71079°N 115.76085°W, 13 Jul 1963, E.L. Sleeper, 3 ♂ (UCR_ENT 0 0 0 45628, UCR_ENT 0 0 0 45256, UCR_ENT 00045027), immature (UCR_ENT 00045401), g (UCR_ENT 00044992) (CAS). Joshua Tree N.M. Pleasant Valley, 33.90556°N 115.98556°W, 16 Jul 1965, E.L. Sleeper and S.L. Jenkins, g (UCR_ENT 00045345) (CAS).
Collecting method and dates: The 9 known specimens were collected using light traps or UV lighting between the end of June and end of August.
We do not assign this new species to any of the species groups created by Miller (1951; 1955) for the Old World fauna of Reduvius or the senilis group that was created by Wygodzinsky and Usinger (1964) for the Nearctic endemics. The new species shares several diagnostic species group features with species in the senilis group, among them the size, general coloration, the short first metatarsomere, and a median abdominal carina. In addition, the distinct lateral process on the basal plate extension is shared with some of the endemic Nearctic species. However, the median process of the pygophore is rather uniformly low and broad, and has distinct lateral processes in the three species of the senilis group, whereas this process has a narrow base and apical triangular rami in R. frommeri. A final diagnostic feature of the group, the fact that the parameres are visible in situ, is also lacking in R. frommeri. This may either indicate that R. frommeri is not closely related to the three other Nearctic endemics, or that the diagnosis of the senilis group should be revisited. A comprehensive taxonomic revision that integrates morphological, molecular, phylogenetic, and geographic data is clearly overdue for this large genus and species group concepts should be tested as part of this effort.
We would typically advise against adding a new species to a genus that is likely not monophyletic and in need of a taxonomic revision. However, this new species is morphologically distinct from other sympatric species, geographically disjunct from the great majority of congeners, and restricted to fairly remote desert areas of Southern California, making it very unlikely that this species is adventive and conspecific with any of the described Old World taxa. We also hope that description of this new species will raise awareness and result in the eventual collection of additional specimens. Lastly, this contribution demonstrates that species discovery even for conspicuous organisms that typically have large distribution range in a fairly well-studied part of the world is not complete.
description: Published as part of Weirauch, Christiane, Russell, Kaleigh & Hwang, Wei Song, 2015, Reduvius frommeri, a new species of Reduviidae from the Western United States (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), with a synopsis of the Nearctic species of Reduvius Fabricius, pp. 267-279 in Zootaxa 3972 (2) on pages 269-277, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3972.2.7, http://zenodo.org/record/239534