Cercotingis namadgi Shofner and Cassis 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Shofner, Ryan
name: Cassis, Gerasimos
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Tingidae
Cercotingis
Cercotingis namadgi

description: Cercotingis namadgi Shofner and Cassis sp. nov.
(Figs 6I, J, 7I, J, 9, 12)
Zoobank registration: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: AEDC7B8B- B869-452C-A266-B9D617E5F010.
Type material
Holotype: AUSTRALIA: Australian Capital Territory: Namadgi National Park, 2 km N of Glendale Depot on Boboyan Rd, 35.67207°S 148.99905°E, 862 m, 13 Dec 2013, G. Cassis and J. Karras, Hakea microcarpa R.Br. (Proteaceae), det. Neville Walsh RBGV, 1 ♂ (UNSW_ ENT 00046235) (ANIC).
Paratypes: AUSTRALIA: Australian Capital Territory: Namadgi National Park, 2 km N of Glendale Depot on Boboyan Rd, 35.67207°S 148.99905°E, 862 m, 13 Dec 2013, G. Cassis and J. Karras, Hakea microcarpa R.Br. (Proteaceae), det. Neville Walsh RBGV, 5 ♂ (UNSW _ ENT 00046232 - UNSW _ ENT 00046234, UNSW _ ENT 00046236, UNSW _ ENT 00046237), 3 ♀ (UNSW _ ENT 00046238 - UNSW _ ENT 00046240) (ANIC). Namadgi National Park, 5.2 km N of jnct of Yaouk Rd and Boboyan Rd on Boboyan Rd, 35.88703°S 148.9857°E, 1206 m, 09 Dec 2013, G. Cassis and J. Karras, Hakea microcarpa R.Br. (Proteaceae), det. Neville Walsh RBGV, 4 ♂ (UNSW _ ENT 00046243 - UNSW _ ENT 00046246), 8 ♀ (UNSW _ ENT 00046247 - UNSW _ ENT 00046254) (UNSW). Namadgi National Park, c. 5 km W of Orroral Gate on Cotter Hut Rd, 35.61382°S 148.91842°E, 1151 m, 10 Dec 2013, G. Cassis and J. Karras, Hakea microcarpa R.Br. (Proteaceae), det. Neville Walsh RBGV, 1 ♂ (UNSW _ ENT 00046241), 1 ♀ (UNSW _ ENT 00046242) (AM).
Diagnosis: Cercotingis namadgi is recognized by the following combination of characters: anterior margin of collum straight or slightly curved posteriorly; lateral margin of paranota adpressed to pronotal disc, paranotal areolae laterad to pronotal disc obscured and not visible from dorsal view; anterior one-quarter of costal area biseriate; metasternal carinae straight, parallel, width between metasternal carinae equal to width between mesosternal carinae.
Male: Macropterous; 3.59 ± 0.13 mm (N = 10) (Table 3). COLORATION. Brown to dark brown. Head: reddish brown; medial spine reddish brown, frontal and occipital spines golden-brown to brown; bucculae straw-coloured, clypeus dark reddish brown, genae dark reddish brown; eyes black to reddish-black. Antennae: AI–AII dark brown, AIII dark brown proximally, lightening to golden-brown distally, AIV dark brown to black. Labium: golden-brown, LIV black. Pronotum: disc dark brown, blackish laterally at the humeral angles, straw-coloured on posterior projection; calli dark reddish brown; collum brown, paranota brown, darkening to dark brown adjacent to the humeral angles, areolae translucent; lateral carinae straw-coloured to brown anteriorly, brown across disc, straw-coloured posteriorly; medial carina brown, with black macula at apex of disc, straw-coloured on the posterior projection. Thoracic pleura and sterna: proepisternum golden-brown anteriorly, dark reddish brown posteriorly, proepimeron and supracoxal lobes golden-brown; mesepisternum mostly dark reddish brown, mesepimeron and supracoxal lobes golden-brown; metepisternum golden-brown; peritreme of metathoracic gland golden-brown; prosternum and mesosternum dark reddish brown, metasternum golden-brown; sternal carinae straw-coloured. Hemelytra: discoidal area straw-coloured anteriorly, light brown to brown posteriorly; costal and subcostal areas light brown to brown; cubitus vein with two dark brown bands; R + M vein light brown to brown, with occasional dark brown bands. Legs: tarsi dark brown, tarsal claws golden-brown; tibiae golden-brown, occasionally dark brown proximally; femora dark brown; trochanter golden-brown; coxae black. Abdominal venter: golden-brown; abdominal sterna mostly golden-brown, darkening dorsally, sternites IV–VIII with dark brown band across width; spiracles dark brown; pygophore golden-brown darkening to dark brown posteriorly. VESTITURE. Head: white arcuate decumbent setae in bands from antenniferous tubercles to occipital spines and from frontal spines along either side of medial spine to back of head; bucculae with short white setae; dense globules of wax covering bucculae, gena, frons, encircling eye and from frons to apex. Occipital and medial spines with white decumbent setae. Antennae: AI–AIII with white to straw-coloured decumbent setae, AIV with straw-coloured semi-erect to erect aciculate setae; distal ends of AII and AIII with dense ring of microtrichia. Pronotum: anterior margin glabrous, rarely with short setae; paranotal margins, medial and lateral carinae, and disc with short scale-like setae; disc with numerous punctures with six to eight triangular tuberculate processes distributed evenly around internal rim; calli with short white to golden-brown setae, globules of wax often covering calli. Thoracic pleura and sterna: anterior portion of proepisternum, proepimeron, posterior portion of mesepisternum, mesepimeron, and metepisternum with moderate distribution of short white setae and tubercle-lined punctures as on pronotal disc; anterior portion of pro- and mesepisternum glabrous; sternal carinae with sparse distribution of arcuate setae; all surfaces covered with globules of wax, propluron heavily coated with wax. Legs: coxae to tibiae with white short setae; ventral surface of tarsi with semi-erect aciculate setae; coxae covered with wax. Hemelytra: costal margins glabrous or rarely sparsely covered with short setae; subcostal, discoidal, and sutural area veins glabrous; cuboidal and R + M veins with sparse distribution of white to straw-coloured short setae. Abdominal venter: moderate distribution of decumbent arcuate setae, with white wax coating entire abdomen. STRUCTURE. Head: spines rounded apically; frontal spines upright, parallel or convergent distally, less than half the length of AI; medial spine conical, stout, length slightly exceeding that of frontal spines, width about one-half of length; occipital spines straight, entirely protruding beyond collum or with only base of spine hidden. Antennae: AI and AII short, AI 2× longer than AII; AIII longer than the pronotal width across humeral angles, AIV weakly clavate. Labium: moderate length, exceeding anterior margin of metasternum. Pronotum: strongly convex; collum apex inflated to subglobose, height one-half of disc; medial and lateral carinae raised, uniseriate; medial and lateral carinae equal thickness, lateral carinae slightly divaricating; paranota curved, adpressed to disc medially, upturned and erect posteriorly, two to three areolae wide, exceeding height of hemelytra, one-half height of disc. Thoracic sterna: mesosternal and metasternal carinae elevated, uniseriate, areolae rectangular; mesosternal carinae straight, parallel, metasternal carinae curved, convergent posteriorly. Legs: legs thin; femora tapered proximally. Thoracic pleura: peritreme large, loop-like, strongly depressed medially, with dorsal extension reaching hemelytral margin. Hemelytra: areolae small and uniform size in discoidal and subcostal areas; sutural area areolae similar to discoidal area proximally, increasing in size 4× to 5× distally; costal area areolae large, rectangular; costal area biseriate anteriorly, uniseriate for posterior three-quarters, subcostal area mostly biseriate, discoidal area increasing from one to six areolae wide, sutural area one to eight areolae wide. Male genitalia: pygophore (Fig. 12A, B); parameres (Fig. 12C–E); aedeagus with U-shaped dorsal plate (Fig. 12F); endosomal membrane mostly lacking spinules, very minute when present (Fig. 12F–H); pair of elongate, medium-sized, spinulate endosomal lobal sclerites (Fig. 12F—H).
Female: Macropterous; 3.92 ± 0.11 (N = 10) (Table 3). COLORATION. Overall lighter than male with more pronounced patterning, straw-coloured to golden-brown. VESTITURE. As in male. STRUCTURE. As in male.
Plant associations: Recorded from Hakea microcarpa, 23 specimens (Proteaceae).
Distribution: Known from Namadgi National Park in the Australian Capital Territory (Fig. 10).
Etymology: Named for Namadgi National Park, the only location from which this species is currently known. Namadgi is a local Aboriginal name for the mountains of the Brindabella Range in the southern Australian Capital Territory and bordering New South Wales.
Remarks: Cercotingis namadgi is closely related to C. croajingolong and shares many characters; but C. namadgi is distinguishable by shorter frontal, medial, and occipital spines, adpressed paranota (vs. free on C. croajingolong), shorter medial carina on the pronotum, smaller costal area areolae, and U-shaped dorsal plate on the aedeagus (vs. Y-shaped on C. croajingolong).
description: Published as part of Shofner, Ryan & Cassis, Gerasimos, 2024, Phylogenetics and taxonomy of the Indo-Australian genus Ulonemia sensu Drake (Hemiptera: Tingidae), with the recognition of new genera and species collected from Proteaceae in Australia, pp. 360-425 in Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 200 (2) on pages 393-395, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad080, http://zenodo.org/record/11240237