Graptophara anomala Rédei & Tsai 2018, new species
Creators: name: Rédei, Dávid
name: Tsai, Jing-Fu
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Graptophara
Graptophara anomala

description: Graptophara anomala, new species
Figs. 9–14, 21–28, 31–33, 38–41, 46–50
Type material. Holotype: ♂, “(S. INDIA) \ Anamalai Hills \ Cinchona \ 3,500ft alt. \ V.1976 \ T.R.S. Nathan ” [pr], “NSMT-I- \ He 43086” [pr]; pinned, distiflagellum of left antenna lacking (NSMT). Paratypes (2 ♂♂ 1 ♀): same locality label as holotype, “NSMT-I- \ He 43087” [pr] (1 ♂, male genitalia dissected for this study, NSMT); “ Museum Leiden \ S. INDIA, Madras State \ Anamalai Hills \ Kadamparai, 3500 ft. \ V.1963 \ P. Susai Nathan ” [pr] (1 ♂ RMNH); “S-India: Karnataka \ Ablathi, ca 800 m \ 12.17 N 76.05 E \ W. LORENZ, X. 1984 ” [hw] (1 ♀ ZSMC).
Diagnosis. Easily differentiated from its only congener, G. reynaudii by the uniformly metallic blue-green ground colour of the dorsum (Figs. 9–14); the presence of a conspicuous globose swelling on the pronotum between the cicatrices (Figs. 10, 13, 21: arrow) is a unique character of this species within Scutelleridae.
Redescription. Colour. Dorsum shining metallic blue-green; distal third of scape, basipedicellite, and basal third of distipedicellite as of ground colour of dorsum, remaining portion of distipedicellite and flagellum dull black, basal two-thirds of scape dull, bright yellow to dark brown; labiomeres I, II, and base of labiomere III yellow, remaining portions blackish brown; posterior lobe of pronotum with a pair of small, rounded sublateral spots and a very small, posteriorly narrowing median spot before its middle, scutellum with two pairs of spots arranged transversely anteriad to middle and a pair of spots posteriad of middle; thoracic pleura as general colour of dorsum, posterior margin of proepimeroid narrowly yellow, most of mesepimeron, peritreme, and ventral portions of pro-, meso- and metathoracic supracoxal lobes extensively yellow, sternites dark brown, with a broad yellow vitta along midline of mesothorax continuing in yellow mesofurcasternum; coxae, trochanters, and most of femora bright yellow (♂) or red (♀), a narrow apical annulus on each femora as well as all tibiae and tarsi black with metallic blue-green lustre; abdominal venter bright orange (♂) or red (♀), with a pair of sublateral series of metallic blue-green patches mesad of spiracles on ventrites III–VII (might be lacking on VII), which are small, rounded and broadly separated in females but extensive and partly confluent (particularly on ventrites III–IV) in males; ventrites V–VII each with a black median spot at their anterior margin (might be lacking on V); genital capsule (♂) and ovipositor (♀) metallic green to blue.
Body about 1.85–1.9 times as long as humeral width. Body surface and vestiture: anterior collar of pronotum and transverse furrow separating callar and posterior lobes of pronotum with scattered punctures in their whole widths, remaining parts of pronotum virtually unpunctured; anterior half of scutellum (except basal tumescence) distinctly punctate, punctures coarse and partly confluent around anterolateral angles, becoming indistinct posteriorly, posterior portion of scutellum virtually lacking noticeable punctures; abdominal venter lacking punctures. Head 1.15–1.2 times as wide as its median length, about 1.55 times (♂, ♀) as wide as interocular distance, length of anteocular part about 2.1 (♂) / 2.6 (♀) times as long as length of one eye, more strongly tapering anteriorly than in G. reynaudii. Antenna: distipedicellite 1.9–2.1 times as long as basipedicellite. Labium: apex reaching to base to middle of abdominal ventrite IV. Pronotum 2.15–2.2 times as wide across humeral angles as its median length, with a conspicuous, globose swelling medially between cicatrices (Figs. 10, 13, 21: arrow).
Scutellum about 1.35–1.45 times (♂, ♀) as long as its greatest width, rather subparallel in its basal two-fifths then abruptly narrowed (♂), or broadly ovoid (♀), apically broadly rounded, not emarginate.
FIGURES 42–50. Graptophara spp., female genitalia. 42–45, G. reynaudii (Guérin-Méneville, 1834); 46–50, G. anomala sp. nov. Terminalia, posterolateral view, left vf8 open (42); same but left va8 separated from ipsilateral vf8 (dotted arrow) (46); same, vf8 completely removed (47); genital and postgenital segments in dorsal view, t8 removed (outline shown by dotted line) (43, 48); fecundation sclerite with proximal portion of proximal duct of spermatheca, left lateral view (44); intermediate part and apical receptacle spermatheca from different views (45, 49, 50). Lettering: algp = anterolateral gynatrial pouch; dd = distal duct of spermatheca; dil = dilation of spermatheca; fec = fecundation sclerite; lt8, lt9 = laterotergites VIII, IX; pd = proximal duct of spermatheca; rs = ring sclerite; sp8 = spiracle VIII; sva8 = sclerite of valvula VIII; t8, t10= tergites VIII, X; va8, va9 = valvulae VIII, IX; va8' = apical lobe of valvula VIII; vf8, vf9 = valvifers VIII, IX. Scales in mm.
External male genitalia (Figs. 23–28, 31–33, 38–40). Genital capsule (Figs. 23–26): ventral rim weakly sinuate at both sides of a small, short median protrusion (Figs. 24–25); posterior end of cuplike sclerite thickened, rigid and laminate. Paramere (Figs. 27–28) with fine hairs on lateral edge and with small tubercles at base of crown. Phallus (Figs. 31–32, 38): phallotheca with a pair of rod-like thecal processes set on an elongate common stem; with cp-II1 (Figs. 32, 38: cp-II1) fully sclerotized, elongate, gradually tapering apically, cp-II2 (Figs. 31–32, 38: cp-II2) membranous, elongate, tubular, cp-II3 (Figs. 32, 38: cp-II3) apically sclerotized, produced into a sharp tip, cp-III (Fig. 33, 38: cp-III) heavily sclerotized, curved ventrad, apically deeply bifurcate. Aedeagal complex (Fig. 39–40) with an oval endophallic reservoir of moderate size, somewhat smaller than swollen part of dorsoapical lumen, partly attached to base of aedeagus; dorsal lump of aedeagus highly elevated but relatively smaller than in G. reynaudii.
External female genitalia (Figs. 41, 46–50). Terminalia in resting position as in Fig. 41, base of exposed portion of valvifers VIII obliquely elevated, carina-like, posterior margin broadly emarginate; valvulae IX with a large, oval, heavily sclerotized and pigmented sclerite (Fig. 47: sva8), apical lobe (Fig. 47: va8') present as a small, well demarcated sclerite. Gynatrium: areas surrounded by ring sclerites strongly sclerotized and pigmented, platelike; fecundation sclerite (Fig. 48: fec) elongate, band-like, proximal portion broadened around orifice of spermathecal duct. Spermatheca: intermediate part with distinct septum and fretum; elongate proximal portion of apical receptacle helically curved, making an incomplete coil (Figs. 49–50).
Measurements (♂♂ / ♀) (in mm; N = 2 ♂♂ 1 ♀). Body length 16.2–16.6 / 19.2; length of head 3.05–3.20 / 3.50, width across eyes 3.88–3.92 / 4.35, interocular distance 2.48–2.52 / 2.75; lengths of scape 0.87–0.88 / 1.25: basipedicellite 0.85–1.00 / 1.03: distipedicellite 1.89–1.98 / 2.18: basiflagellum 2.13–2.63 / 2.78: distiflagellum 2.28–3.18 / 3.14; median length of pronotum 4.04–4.12 / 4.70, humeral width 8.70–8.85 / 10.4; length of scutellum 10.9–11.6 / 13.5, greatest width 8.10–8.20 / 9.45.
Intraspecific variability. Except of the rather dissimilar body shape of the two sexes, no noteworthy intraspecific variability was observed on the small material available.
Preimaginal stages, habitat, bionomics. Unknown. The single female examined, collected in October, was gravid, with several immature eggs within its abdomen.
Etymology. The specific epithet is the Latin adjective anomalus, - a, - um (‘irregular’, ‘anomalous’), referring to the unusual morphology of this species, also rhyming with the name of its type locality, the Anamalai Hills of southern India.
Distribution. The species is apparently restricted to the Malabar Region of the Indian Subcontinent; the material examined during the present study was collected in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
description: Published as part of Rédei, Dávid & Tsai, Jing-Fu, 2018, A revision of Graptophara (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Scutelleridae), pp. 346-360 in Zootaxa 4407 (3) on pages 352-358, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4407.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/1216572