Neochelonoderus areius Heiss & Grebennikov, 2015, n. sp.
Creators: name: Heiss, Ernst
name: Grebennikov, Vasily
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Aradidae
Neochelonoderus
Neochelonoderus areius

description: Neochelonoderus areius n. sp.
(Figs. 5, 6)
Material examined. HOLOTYPE, male (CNC): “ Tanzania, Kimboza / forest / 7°01’18’’S, 37°46’15’’E / 8.i. 2012, 288m / sift 24, V.Grebennikov // CNCCOLVG / 0 0 0 0 3935 // CNCCOLVG / 00004757”. PARATYPES, 3 females: “ Tanzania, Kimboza / forest / 7°01’18’’S, 38°48’28’’E / 8.i. 2012, 263m / sift 25, V.Grebennikov // CNCCOLVG / 0 0 0 0 3936 // CNCCOLVG / 00004758” (CNC); “ Tanzania, Kimboza / forest / 7°01’21’’S, 37°48’29’’E / 9.i. 2012, 217m / sift 24, V.Grebennikov // CNCCOLVG / 0 0 0 0 3942 // CNCCOLVG / 00004759” (CEHI); “ Tanzania, Kimboza / forest / 7°01’21’’S, 37°48’29’’E / 9.i. 2012, 217m / sift 24, V.Grebennikov // CNCCOLVG / 00003943” (CEHI).
Diagnosis. Easily recognized by the wide body, the anteriorly diverging genae and the characters mentioned in the key.
Description. DNA barcode GenBank accessions: KJ427723 (holotype), KJ427726, KJ427728, KJ427729 (paratypes). Body surface subglabrous, colouration ferrugineous; left and right middle leg missing.
Head. Wider than long (1.7/1.55); produced genae diverging anteriorly, apices rounded, with distinct basal tubercle; antenniferous lobes large, posteriorly excised, inner face angulate; antennae relatively short, 1.07x as long as width of head, antennomeres I/II/III/IV = 0.55/0.275/0.6/0.4; eyes placed on anterolateral angle of wide postocular lobes which is subangularly rounded and converging posteriorly, with 2–3 pairs of round tubercles visible from above.
Pronotum. About 2.5x as wide as long (2.1/0.85); disk with prominent median tubercles and sublateral ridges; lateral margins angularly expanded their structure as of N. talaus n. sp.
Mesonotum. Strongly transverse (2.55/0.85); median elevation triangular without longitudinal sulcus; sublateral conical elevations lower than those of pronotum; lateral margins raised and bisinuate apically.
Metanotum. Posteriorly fused to mtg I, fusion line indistinct; round sublateral elevations lower than those of mesonotum.
Mtg I+II. Mtg I fused to mtg II but fusion line distinct; median raised ridge with longitudinal furrow; mtg II only laterally separated from mtg III, fused at middle, rhomboidal depression of median ridge continues uninterrupted on mtg III.
Abdomen. Median elevation longitudinally depressed; triangular deltg II posterolaterally expanded, posterolateral angles of deltg III–VII roundly produced, decreasing in size from deltg II–VII.
Female. Similar to male (Fig. 6); tergite VII trapezoidal, depressed at middle, carinate posteriorly; ptg VIII visible as small round projections.
Measurements. HOLOTYPE male: body length 6.8; length of antennae 1.83; width of abdomen across tergite V 3.25. Paratypes female: body length 6.8, 7.0, 7.3; length of antennae 1.9; ratio length of antennae / width of head 1.06; width of abdomen across tergite III 3.65, V 3.75.
Etymology. This species epithet is a Latinized Greek mythical name of Areius, an Argonaut, brother of Argonaut Talaus and first cousin of Jason; noun in apposition.
description: Published as part of Heiss, Ernst & Grebennikov, Vasily, 2015, Review and three new species of the flat bug genus Neochelonoderus Hoberlandt, 1967 from East Africa (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Aradidae), pp. 581-589 in Zootaxa 3947 (4) on pages 583-585, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3947.4.9, http://zenodo.org/record/237212