Kunungua gemina Bolshakova & Konstantinov, 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Bolshakova, Darya S.
name: Konstantinov, Fedor V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Miridae
Kunungua
Kunungua gemina

description: Kunungua gemina sp. nov.
Figs 6 F, 7 E, 8 D, E, 9 D, 10 N – Q
Material examined.
Holotype. ♀, Democratic Republic of the Congo: P. N. U. (Upemba National Park), Kamitungula af. Lusinga, 8.93 ° S, 27.21 ° E, 1700 m, 04 Mar 1947 – 07 Mar 1947, Miss G. F. de Witte, 6 a (ZISP_ENT00008589) (MRAC).
Paratypes. Democratic Republic of the Congo: P. N. U. (Upemba National Park), Lusinga, 8.93 ° S, 27.21 ° E, 1760 m, 19 Mar 1947, Miss G. F. de Witte, 75 a, 5 ♀ (ZISP_ENT00008415, ZISP_ENT00008416, ZISP_ENT00008417, ZISP_ENT00014336, ZISP_ENT00014337), 1 ♂ (ZISP_ENT00014338); 22 Mar 1947, Miss G. F. de Witte, 95 a, 4 ♀ (ZISP_ENT00014331, ZISP_ENT00014332, ZISP_ENT00014333, ZISP_ENT00014334) (MRAC). P. N. U. (Upemba National Park), Kamitungula af. Lusinga, 8.93 ° S, 27.21 ° E, 1700 m, 04 Mar 1947 – 07 Mar 1947, Miss G. F. de Witte, 6 a, 1 ♀ (ZISP_ENT00014335) (MRAC). Katanga: P. N. U. (Upemba National Park), Kabwoe sur Muye, 8.8 ° S, 26.85 ° E, 1.320 m, 13 May 1948 – 14 May 1948, Miss G. F. de Witte, 1603 a, 1 ♀ (ZISP_ENT00014318) (MRAC).
Other specimens examined.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: P. N. U. (Upemba National Park), Lusinga, 8.93 ° S, 27.21 ° E, 17 Mar 1947, Miss G. F. de Witte, 1 ♀ (ZISP _ ENT 00014317) (MRAC); 19 Mar 1947, Miss G. F. de Witte, 1 ♀ (ZISP _ ENT 00008416) (MRAC).
Diagnosis.
Recognised by the following combination of characters: antennal segment I pale yellow, with dark brown apex; collar dark brown; corium pale yellow, with elongate brown spot in medioapical area; cuneus dark brown; right paramere with needle-shaped apex.
Resembles the dark form of K. ukerewensis in the general appearance, body proportions, and colouration, particularly in the presence of an oval brown spot in the medioapical area of corium and the entirely darkened cuneus. Kunungua ukerewensis can be distinguished from the new species in having brownish yellow to yellow collar (figs 6 G, H), and the shape of both parameres (Fig. 10 D – G).
Description.
Female. Colouration (Figs 6 F, 7 E). Head dark brown except for pale yellow antennal fossa; antennal segment I pale yellow, with dark brown apex, segments II – IV dark brown; eyes usually dark brown; pronotum, scutellum, and clavus dark brown; corium pale yellow, with longitudinal, more or less semicircular band along its inner margin starting slightly above claval apex; cuneus uniformly brown; membrane semitransparent, fuscous basally, whitish apically; coxae pale yellow; fore tibia and fore femur brownish yellow; middle and hind femora pale yellow basally, brown in middle part, brownish yellow apically; middle and hind tibiae brownish yellow, darker basally and gradually lightening apically; tarsal segment I pale yellow, segment II gradually darkening apically; segment III greyish brown; abdomen dark brown.
Vestiture. Clothed with whitish long simple setae, adpressed on hemelytron, semierect elsewhere, subequal to width of antennal segment I at middle, somewhat shorter on pronotum.
Structure. Total length 4.2–4.3 mm; body 4.0–4.1 times as long as width of pronotum and 4.5–4.9 times as long as pronotal length.
Head 0.3 times as long as wide, 1.9 times as wide as collar; antennal fossa large, removed from the inner eye margin by distance subequal to its own width, located at the level of inferior eye margin; frons flattened, only slightly convex distally; vertex about as wide as length of antennal segment I; antennal segment I 1.9–2.0 times as long as head, 0.5–0.6 times as long as pronotum, 0.4–0.5 times as long as pronotal width; labium relatively short, segment IV reaching middle of mesothorax (Fig. 7 E).
Thorax. Posterior margin of pronotum slightly concave medially (Fig. 6 F); pronotum 1.1–1.2 times as wide as long, 1.3 times as wide as head; calli 0.5 times as wide as basal width of pronotum; pronotal disk, calli, and collar 0.6–0.7 times, 0.2 times, and 0.1–0.2 times as long as pronotum, respectively; calli and collar together 0.3–0.4 times as long as pronotum.
Hemelytron. Semitransparent, long, corium reaching the apex of abdomen; cuneus about twice and a half as long as wide at the base (Figs 6 F, 7 E).
Legs. Slender, femora gradually thickening apically (Fig. 6 F).
Genitalia. Bursa copulatrix weekly sclerotised, sclerotised rings not distinctive, posterior wall fully membranous.
Male. Colouration, structure, surface, and vestiture as in female.
Genitalia. Genital capsule. Lateral portions of cuplike sclerite lobe-shaped, right being about twice as large as the left one. Outgrowth forming outer side of right paramere socket wide, trapeziform, left outer outgrowth small, claw-like (Fig. 9 D).
Parameres. Subequal in size; right paramere somewhat S-shaped, apically needle-shaped (Fig. 10 P, Q), left paramere falciform, apically tapering, somewhat expanded subapically (Fig. 10 N, O).
Aedeagus as in Fig. 8 D, E; C - shaped; with lobe-shaped, rounded, and devoid of pigmentation dorsal outgrowth of sclerotised part located close to phallobase.
Distribution.
Known from Congo.
Host.
Unknown.
Etymology.
The specific epithet is the Latin adjective geminus, - a, - um, meaning “ twin ”, in allusion to the similarity of the new species and the dark form of K. ukerewensis in general appearance.
description: Published as part of Bolshakova, Darya S. & Konstantinov, Fedor V., 2024, Revision of the genus Kunungua (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Miridae) with descriptions of three new species and new generic synonymy, pp. 219-239 in Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 71 (1) on pages 219-239, DOI: 10.3897/dez.71.122735