Brachysandalus punctorius Stal 1867
Creators: name: Liu, Yingqi
name: Cai, Wanzhi
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Reduviidae
Brachysandalus
Brachysandalus punctorius

description: Brachysandalus punctorius Stål, 1867
(Figs. 42–45)
Brachysandalus punctorius Stål, 1867: 260; Maldonado Capriles (1990: 346). Type locality: Australia (Moreton Bay).
Pirates (Brachysandalus) punctorius: Stål (1874: 60).
Pirates punctorius: Walker (1873: 126).
Pirates fulvipennis Walker, 1873: 128. Type locality: Australia (Melbourne, Victoria). Synonymized by Cassis & Gross, 1995: 343. Synonymy discarded in the present study.
Pirates (Brachysandalus) flavo-pictus Stål, 1874: 60. Type locality: Australia (Adelaide, South Australia). Synonymized by Cassis & Gross, 1995: 343. Synonymy discarded in the present study.
Type specimen examined. Lectotype (present designation), brachypterous female, Typus, Moreton Bay, Stevens., punctorius Stål, NHRS-GULI 000000132 (NHRS).
Other specimens examined. [M, macropterous; B, brachypterous]. NEW SOUTH WALES. 1 B male (dissected), 33.35S 146.35E, 7.5 km NE by N Gubbata, 4–12.xii.1999, 3 G, D. Driscoll pitfalls, strip, G3 1–8, 12/99 (ANIC) (Fig. 43A–C). 1 B female, 33.35S 146.37E, 8.5 km NE of Gubbata, 12–19.xi.1999, 8 G, D. Driscoll pitfalls, ungrazed roadside, no spinifex, ‘G8 1–8 13/11/99’ (ANIC) (Fig. 43D–F); 2 B females, 33.56S 146.06E, 5 km NE by E Pulletop Nat. Res., 12–18. x.1999, 10 P, D. Driscoll pitfalls, woodland (ANIC). VICTORIA. 1 M male, Lake Hattah, J.E. Dixon, J. E. Dixon Collection Don. Jan 1940 (MV) (Fig. 44).
Diagnosis.
Macropterous male, brachypterous male and female known, body small sized. Black, shiny, pronotum, scutellum and abdominal sternites with metallic blue lustre (Figs. 42–44), hemelytron of macropterous male with a large oval yellow spot involving apical 2/3 of clavus and adjoining area of corium between veins PCu+1A and Cu (Fig. 44A), hemelytron of brachypterous individuals with membrane pale yellow (Figs. 42A, 43A&D). Fore femur armed below with two rows of minute tubercles, rows separated by a faint median furrow, ventral surface of mid femur also with rows of minute blackish tubercles (Figs. 42C, 43C&F, 44B); fore tibia with fossula spongiosa occupying about 2/5 tibial length, mid tibia with fossula spongiosa about 1/3 its length (Figs. 42C, 43C&F, 44B); in male, left side of abdominal sternite VII with an upturned, spine-like extragenital process, located near posterior margin of sternite VII (Figs. 43C, 55F, 56F); male genitalia with median pygophore process straight, tapered, venter strongly ridged in caudal view (Fig. 45B), and straight, spine-like, apical 1/3 gradually tapered, near base slightly constricted in lateral view (Fig. 45C); inner margin of lateral phallothecal sclerite slightly corrugated (Fig. 45I).
Redescription.
Brachypterous male and female (Figs. 42, 43)
Colouration (Figs. 42, 43): Black, shiny. Pronotum, scutellum and abdominal sternites with metallic blue lustre; legs with tarsi brown; hemelytron with membrane pale yellow.
Structure (Figs. 42, 43, 45): Body small 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 brown to blackish brown, suberect, long setae.
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 but covered with small granules. Antennae with all segments covered with short yellowish brown pilosity and sparse longer setae; scape thickest, pedicel thinner, then basi- and distiflagellum thinnest. Eye small, reniform, not reaching dorsal and ventral margins of head in lateral view, width of eye subequal to half width of interocular space in dorsal view. Ocelli reduced and even almost invisible in female, slightly raised, separated from each other by more than three times diameter of single ocellus. Labium with ventral surface sparsely covered with longish setae.
Thorax: Anterior pronotal lobe nearly spherical, dorsal surface slightly flat, 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 nearly straight with median part slightly convex. Scutellum disc flat and rugulose, scutellar process knobbed and horizontal in lateral view. 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 but granules not 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 and flat in middle. Hemelytron greatly reduced to a flap, subquadrangular with apex rounded, slightly 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 rows of minute 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 with rows of minute blackish 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. Tarsi cylindrical, denser short pilosity ventrally.
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, slightly curved to right side of body (Fig. 43C); left side of sternite VII with an upturned, spine-like extragenital process, located near posterior margin of sternite VII (Figs. 43C, 55F, 56F). Connexivum with golden to yellowish brown pilosity as elsewhere on sternum. 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, median part of sternite VII with many transverse wrinkles (Figs. 42C, 43F).
Male genitalia (Fig. 45): Median pygophore process straight, tapered, oblique to right side, venter strongly ridged in caudal view (Fig. 45B); straight, spine-like, apical 1/3 gradually tapered, near base slightly constricted in lateral view (Fig. 45C). Parameres (Fig. 45D&E) subtriangular and curved in middle, left paramere (Fig. 45D) longer and broader than right paramere (Fig. 45E). Phallus (Fig. 45F–I) in resting condition with length of basal plate subequal to length of basal plate bridge (Fig. 45F), pedicel slightly curved and subequal to length of basal plate (Fig. 45H); length of struts distinctly longer than half length of phallosoma (Fig. 45F); apex of dorsal phallothecal sclerite bluntly rounded (Fig. 45F); lateral phallothecal sclerite subquadrangular, inner margin slightly corrugated (Fig. 45I); pair of slender sclerites near base of venter of phallosoma moderately sclerotized (Fig. 45G); endosoma with five sacciform process, apices covered with rows of tiny, brown papillae (Fig. 45F–I).
Macropterous male (Fig. 44)
Differs from brachypterous form in the following: hemelytron with a large oval yellow spot involving apical 2/3 of clavus and adjoining area of corium between veins PCu+1A and Cu, slightly expanding to base of membrane; ocelli slightly raised, separated from each other by about twice diameter of single ocellus; anterior pronotal lobe subtrapezoidal, posterior pronotal lobe not abbreviated, posterior margin arcuate; scutellar process knobbed and slightly directed obliquely in lateral view; metapleural sulcus arcuate; hemelytron well developed, exceeding tip of abdomen.
Measurements: [of lectotype brachypterous female, followed by one brachypterous male and one macropterous male, and one brachypterous female]. Body length 8.70, 9.00 (B ♂), 9.20 (M ♂), 9.10 (♀); maximum width of abdomen 3.12, 2.60 (B ♂), 2.66 (M ♂), 3.12 (♀); length of head 1.52, 1.58 (B ♂), 1.44 (M ♂), 1.44 (♀); length of anteocular region 0.57, 0.64 (B ♂), 0.57 (M ♂), 0.60 (♀); length of postocular region 0.50, 0.45 (B ♂), 0.50 (M ♂), 0.45 (♀); width of head across eyes 1.14, 0.95 (B ♂), 0.98 (M ♂), 1.06 (♀); width of interocular space 0.50, 0.45 (B ♂), 0.41 (M ♂), 0.45 (♀); width of interocellar space? indistinct ocelli, 0.19 (B ♂), 0.19 (M ♂),? indistinct ocelli (♀); length of eye in dorsal view 0.41, 0.39 (B ♂), 0.41 (M ♂), 0.38 (♀); width of eye in dorsal view 0.23, 0.30 (B ♂), 0.22 (M ♂), 0.26 (♀); lengths of antennal segments I–IV 0.68, 0.68 (B ♂),? (M ♂), 0.68 (♀) / 1.21, 1.36 (B ♂),? (M ♂), 1.21 (♀) /?, 1.35 (B ♂),? (M ♂), 1.06 (♀) /?, 1.33 (B ♂),? (M ♂), 1.04 (♀); length of visible labial segments I–III 0.62, 0.60 (B ♂), 0.64 (M ♂), 0.60 (♀) / 0.87, 0.79 (B ♂), 0.87 (M ♂), 0.79 (♀) / 0.45, 0.38 (B ♂), 0.38 (M ♂), 0.37 (♀); length of pronotum 2.09, 1.90 (B ♂), 2.35 (M ♂), 2.15 (♀); length of anterior pronotal lobe 1.63, 1.44 (B ♂), 1.40 (M ♂), 1.70 (♀); length of posterior pronotal lobe 0.48, 0.46 (B ♂), 0.87 (M ♂), 0.41 (♀); width of anterior pronotal lobe 1.90, 1.75 (B ♂), 1.90 (M ♂), 1.83 (♀); width of posterior pronotal lobe 1.90, 1.90 (B ♂), 2.58 (M ♂), 1.90 (♀); length of scutellum 0.87, 0.91 (B ♂), 0.87 (M ♂), 0.75 (♀); maximum width of scutellum 0.84, 0.97 (B ♂), 1.14 (M ♂), 0.95 (♀); length of hemelytron 1.80, 1.87 (B ♂), 6.24 (M ♂), 1.60 (♀); length of fore tibia 1.52, 1.52 (B ♂), 1.71 (M ♂), 1.57 (♀); length of fossula spongiosa on fore tibia 0.60, 0.46 (B ♂), 0.60 (M ♂), 0.53 (♀).
Distribution. Australia (Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria). The lectotype from Moreton Bay (Qld), and other specimens examined in the present study have come from New South Wales, and one macropterous male from Lake Hattah in Victoria.
Comparative notes. This species is more similar to B. ayyammae sp. nov., see details under comparative notes of B. ayyammae sp. nov. above.
Remarks. Cassis & Gross (1995: 343) synonymized Pirates fulvipennis Walker, 1873 and Pirates (Brachysandalus) flavo-pictus Stål, 1874 with Brachysandalus punctorius Stål, 1867. In the present study however the types of all these species were examined and found they are not synonyms of B. punctorius, hence the action by Cassis & Gross is proven to be incorrect. A detailed redescription of Pirates fulvipennis (with Pirates (Brachysandalus) flavo-pictus Stål, 1874, now its junior synonym) is provided above.
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 81-87, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5490.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/13211621