Psallops vietnamensis Kim & Taszakowski & Phan & Jung 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Kim, Junggon
name: Taszakowski, Artur
name: Phan, Quoc Toan
name: Jung, Sunghoon
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Miridae
Psallops
Psallops vietnamensis

description: Psallops vietnamensis Kim & Taszakowski sp. nov.
(Fig. 1)
Diagnosis. Recognized from other congeners by the following combination of characters: dorsum mostly pale with partial dark areas; head and pronotum entirely dark brown; interocular distance extremely narrow; antenna entirely dark brown, except for the paler base and apex of first antennal segment, and the paler apices of second and third antennal segments; second segment thickest, its maximal diameter wider than interocular distance; lateral margin of scutellum partially rounded, entirely dark brown; hemelytron mostly pale brown; anterior part of corium reddish dark brown; posterior part of embolium reddish brown; cuneus reddish dark brown; left paramere vertically curved, and its hypophysis long, sensory lobe broad with process; right paramere simple and small, apex sharp (Fig. 1D–G).
Description. MALE: Body elongate, length 2.46. Coloration: partly pale and dark brown with reddish brown parts. Head: entirely dark brown with pale base and apices of antennal segments; vertex, frons and clypeus entirely dark brown; antenna entirely dark brown, except for pale base and apices of segments; first segment partly pale and dark brown, basal part and apex pale; second and third segments entirely dark brown, except for pale apex. Thorax: pronotum entirely dark brown; scutellum mostly dark brown, paler than pronotum, lateral margins pale brown; hemelytron mostly pale brown with dark areas; clavus and corium mostly pale brown, anterior parts of clavus and corium reddish brown; posterior part of embolium reddish brown; cuneus mostly reddish brown, basal part pale brown; membrane greyish; vein dark grey; thorax reddish brown; procoxae dark reddish brown with pale apical margin; mid and hindcoxae pale; midleg present (fore- and hindlegs missing); femur basally pale and with ½ distal portion dark reddish brown; tibia and tarsus entirely pale brown. Abdomen: reddish dark brown. Surface and vestiture: body mostly glossy, covered with long dark setae; head densely covered with long and short setae; pronotum with small, weak and sparse punctations, covered with long setae; scutellum with small punctations, sparsely covered with short pubescence; hemelytra semi-glossy, with small and sparse punctations, sparsely covered with dark setae. Structure: Head: slightly prognathous, vertical; vertex flat; interocular distance short, less than diameter of second antennal segment, less than 1/5 one compound eye width; compound eye collapsed in dorsal view, eyes nearly contiguous, eye height subequal to head height; total antennal length shorter than body length; first segment as almost thick as second segment, base thinner than, and distal apex as thick as second segment, longer than interocular distance; second antennal segment cylindrical, thickest at apex; third segment longer than first segment; fourth segment missing; proportion of first to fourth antennal segments 0.13: 0.69: 0.31: missing; labrum elongate; labium long, apex reaching fifth abdominal segment. Thorax: pronotum somewhat semicircular, longitudinal length shorter than 1/2 basal maximal width, posterior margin almost straight; calli barely visible and weakly swollen; scutellum somewhat rounded, anterior width longer than 1/2 basal pronotal width, longitudinal length shorter than commissure; lateral margin of each hemelytron almost straight; cuneus relatively short, outer margin shorter than anterior margin; midlegs slender; midfemur linear, fore- and hindlegs missing. Abdomen: straight and slightly angled, tapered to pygophore, not reaching to apex of cuneus. Genitalia: left paramere vertically curved, hypophysis long and straight, sensory lobe broader with process basally (Fig. 1D, E, F); right paramere simple, small, its apex sharp (Fig. 1E, G); endosoma lost.
FEMALE: Unknown.
Measurements (in mm). Male (n=1) Body length, clypeus–apex of membrane: 2.46; head length: 0.16; head width, including compound eyes: 0.62; interocular distance: 0.08; 1 st antennal segment length: 0.13; 2 nd antennal segment length: 0.69; 3 rd antennal segment length: 0.31; 4 th antennal segment missing; mesal pronotal length: 0.38; posterior pronotal maximal width (straight): 0.94; anterior scutellar width: 0.49; mesal scutellar length: 0.41; commissure length: 0.46; outer embolial margin length (straight): 1.26; outer cuneal margin length (straight): 0.37; maximal width across hemelytron: 0.50.
Specimen examined. [CNU] Holotype: 1 ♂, Vietnam, Bach Ma National Park, Phu Loc District, Thua Thien Hue Province, 22.vi.2023, Jeon J. leg.
Host. Unknown.
Distribution. Vietnam (Central).
Etymology. Named after the type locality, Vietnam.
Remarks. This new species is easily distinguished from most congeners by simple colorations on the dorsum with dark head (including the antennae), pronotum and scutellum and pale hemelytra with dark parts. Many species of Psallops have the dorsum with mottled patterns, and/or notable spots. Psallops vietnamensis sp. nov. resembles the congeners from the Hebrides and Nigeria, P. schmitzi Herczek & Popov, 2014, and P. webbi Herczek & Popov, 2014, but it can be distinguished by short interocular distance much narrower than compound eye width (vs. interocular distance subequal to eye width); and totally dark head (vs. pale clypeus and juga).
description: Published as part of Kim, Junggon, Taszakowski, Artur, Phan, Quoc Toan & Jung, Sunghoon, 2025, First record of the subfamily Psallopinae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae) from Vietnam, with description of a new species, pp. 194-198 in Zootaxa 5588 (1) on pages 195-196, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5588.1.10, http://zenodo.org/record/14896001