Brachysandalus alutaceus
Creators: name: Liu, Yingqi
name: Cai, Wanzhi
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Reduviidae
Brachysandalus
Brachysandalus alutaceus

description: Brachysandalus alutaceus (Reuter, 1881)
(Figs. 1, 2)
Brachysandalus Helluo Stål, 1867: 260. Synonym in part, Lethierry & Severin (1896: 124).
Pirates (Brachysandalus) alutaceus Reuter, 1881: 314. Type locality: Australia (Port Denison).
Brachysandalus alutaceus: Maldonado Capriles (1990: 345).
Peirates alutaceus: Cassis & Gross (1995: 340).
Type specimen examined. Lectotype (present designation), macropterous female, Typus, Thorey., Port Denison, alutaceus Typ. Reut., NHRS-GULI 000000114 (NHRS).
Other specimens examined. [all macropterous]. QUEENSLAND. 1 male, Kowanyama, 11. i.1977, D.L. Hancock (QM); 1 female, 13.27S 142.42E, Langi Lagoon, Mungkan Kandju N.P., at light open forest, 29.vi.– 5.vii.1998, T. Weir (ANIC); 1 female, 15.04S 145.07E, Mt Webb N. P. nr Cooktown, at light in rainforest, stop 27, 27–30.iv.1981, D.C.F. Rentz (ANIC); 1 female, Rockhampton, NHRS-GULI 000008100 (NHRS). NORTHERN TERRITORY. 3 males, 2 females, Oenpelli, 12.18, D.P. Cahill (MV); 1 female, Alligator R., 22.ix.1914, from D.P. Cahill (MV); 1 male, Northern Territory, from Prof Spencer, Colld. 7–8/12 (MV). WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 1 male (dissected), Ord R. 5200 (WAM).
Diagnosis.
Macropterous male and female known, body medium sized. Dark brown to blackish brown (Fig. 1); hemelytron with a yellow, oval spot involving apical 1/2 of clavus and adjoining area of corium between veins Pcu+1A and Cu (Fig. 1A). Body wholly covered with golden, short pilosity (Fig. 1); fore femur armed below with two rows of tubercles, outer tubercles large and conical, inner ones minute, rows separated by a faint median furrow, ventral surface of mid femur densely covered with blackish brown bristly setae (Fig. 1B&C); fore tibia with fossula spongiosa occupying about 2/5 tibial length, mid tibia with fossula spongiosa about 1/3 its length (Fig. 1B&C); in male, left side of abdominal sternite VII with a large, strongly sclerotized, broad hook-shaped extragenital process, curved outwardly on abdominal integument, located close to posterior margin of sternite VII (Figs. 55C, 56C); male genitalia with median pygophore process long, straight and slightly oblique to right side, venter strongly ridged, apex blunt in caudal view (Fig. 2B), spatulate and pointed at apex in lateral view (Fig. 2C); inner margin of lateral phallothecal sclerite irregularly serrated (Fig. 2I).
Redescription.
Macropterous male and female (Fig. 1)
Colouration (Fig. 1): Dark brown to blackish brown.Antenna brown with apical two segments yellowish brown; third visible labial segment brown; legs with tibiae brown and tarsi yellowish brown; hemelytron with a yellow, oval spot involving apical 1/2 of clavus and adjoining area of corium between veins Pcu+1A and Cu, an inconspicuous yellowish, thin, curved stripe near base of costal margin on membrane.
Structure (Figs. 1, 2): Body medium sized, wholly covered with golden, short pilosity; anteocular part of head, legs and posterior margin of abdomen covered with yellowish brown, suberect setae of varying lengths, ventral surface of mid femur also with blackish brown, short bristly setae; scutellar margins and apex of process covered with several brown bristly setae.
Head: Anteocular region triangular, clypeus near its base slightly knobbed above mandibular plates. Interocular region with arcuate convex sulcus at posterior border of eyes, a small pit near base. Postocular region rounded to neck. Neck with lateral tubercles not obvious. Antennae with all segments covered with short whitish pilosity and sparse longer setae; scape thickest, pedicel thinner, then basi- and distiflagellum thinnest. Eyes medium sized, reniform, not reaching dorsal and ventral margins of head in lateral view, width of eye subequal to half width of interocular space in male and shorter than half width of interocular space in female in dorsal view. Ocelli moderately developed, slightly raised, separated from each other by slightly more than diameter of single ocellus, separated from eye by slightly less than diameter of single ocellus in male while separated from each other by almost twice diameter of single ocellus, separated from eye by more than diameter of single ocellus in female. Labium with ventral surface sparsely covered with longish setae.
Thorax: Anterior lobe of pronotum with distinct stripes, sulci indistinct, except shallow median longitudinal sulcus in basal half. Posterior pronotal lobe short, arcuately quadrate, integument finely rugulose, humeri rounded, posterior margin almost straight in middle and slightly concave laterally. Scutellum with a longitudinal oval depression on disc, scutellar process knob-shaped and slightly directed obliquely in lateral view. Propleuron with integument finely faintly granulate, smoothly pilose, set off from dorsal surface by a faint carina. Mesopleuron integument minutely granulate, sparsely pilose. Metapleuron with integument more distinctly granulate but granules not striate, metapleural sulcus distinctly bicarinate and arcuate, pilose with whitish dense hairs posteriorly. All sternites with tiny granules in median part, moderately pilose. Mesosternum with disc raised, metasternum with disc tumid. Hemelytra well developed, slightly exceeding tip of abdomen in male and just reaching to slightly exceeding tip of abdomen in female.
Legs: Fore leg with coxa with whitish pilosity; trochanter unarmed, sparsely hairy; femur strongly fusiform, greatly incrassate near base narrowing distally, much thicker than other femora, armed below with two rows of tubercles, outer tubercles large and conical, inner ones minute, rows separated by a faint median furrow; tibia gradually thickened to apex, almost straight but apex slightly reflexed, fossula spongiosa occupying about 2/5 tibial length. Mid leg with coxa globular, femur only slightly thickened, ventral surface densely covered with blackish brown bristly setae; tibia with short whitish to golden pilosity for whole length, with fossula spongiosa about 1/3 its length. Hind leg with coxae close to each other; femur cylindrical, tibia with brush of setae, denser at apex. Tarsi cylindrical, with denser short pilosity ventrally.
Abdomen: In male, venter of abdomen with a median ridge running from posterior portion of second abdominal sternite to posterior portion of seventh abdominal sternite and curved slightly to right side of body; left side of sternite VII with a large, strongly sclerotized, broad hook-shaped extragenital process, curved outwardly on abdominal integument, located close to posterior margin of sternite VII (Figs. 55C, 56C). Connexivum with golden pilosity as elsewhere on sternum, abdominal sterna and terga entire. Spiracles situated below connexival suture, about halfway between anterior and posterior margin of each segment. Each spiracle with two impressed shiny roundish areas, one postero-ventrally and one anteriorly near anterior margin of segment. In female, same as male, venter of abdomen flat, all sterna appearing narrow medially except VII very enlarged (Fig. 1B).
Male genitalia (Fig. 2): Median pygophore process long, straight and slightly oblique to right side, venter strongly ridged, apex blunt in caudal view (Fig. 2B), spatulate and pointed at apex in lateral view (Fig. 2C). Paramere subtriangular, outer surfaces densely covered with yellowish brown hairs (Fig. 2D&E), apex of left paramere truncate (Fig. 2D), left paramere (Fig. 2D) slightly slender and longer than right paramere (Fig. 2E). Phallus (Fig. 2F–I) in resting condition with basal plate subequal to basal plate bridge (Fig. 2F), pedicel slightly curved and shorter than basal plate (Fig. 2H&I); length of struts longer than half length of phallosoma (Fig. 2F); apex of dorsal phallothecal sclerite rounded (Fig. 2F); lateral phallothecal sclerite subquadrangular, inner margin irregularly serrated (Fig. 2I); pair of slender sclerites near base of venter of phallosoma strongly sclerotized (Fig. 2G).
Measurements: [of lectotype female, followed by one male and one female]. Body length 14.82, 13.20 (♂),13.00 (♀); maximum width of abdomen 4.20, 3.90 (♂), 3.92 (♀); length of head 2.20, 2.09 (♂), 1.98 (♀); length of anteocular region 0.90, 0.76 (♂), 0.83 (♀); length of postocular region 0.41, 0.45 (♂), 0.49 (♀); width of head across eyes 1.53, 1.52 (♂),1.53 (♀); width of interocular space 0.75, 0.64 (♂), 0.62 (♀); width of interocellar space 0.30, 0.23 (♂), 0.22 (♀); length of eye in dorsal view 0.75, 0.76 (♂), 0.64 (♀); width of eye in dorsal view 0.40, 0.42 (♂), 0.49 (♀); lengths of antennal segments I–IV 1.40, 1.21 (♂), 1.36 (♀) / 2.39, 2.28 (♂), 2.10 (♀) / 2.01,? (♂),? (♀) / 2.20,? (♂),? (♀); length of visible labial segments I–III 0.75, 0.76 (♂), 0.83 (♀) / 1.21, 1.23 (♂), 1.25 (♀) / 0.42, 0.41 (♂), 0.48 (♀); length of pronotum 3.64, 3.42 (♂), 3.30 (♀); length of anterior pronotal lobe 2.28, 2.20 (♂), 2.12 (♀); length of posterior pronotal lobe 1.30, 1.10 (♂), 1.14 (♀); width of anterior pronotal lobe 2.90, 2.73 (♂), 2.75 (♀); width of posterior pronotal lobe 3.90, 3.45 (♂), 3.49 (♀); length of scutellum 1.60, 1.21 (♂), 1.40 (♀); maximum width of scutellum 1.80, 1.44 (♂), 1.45 (♀); length of hemelytra 9.90, 8.58 (♂),8.70 (♀); length of fore tibia 2.65, 2.47 (♂), 2.46 (♀); length of fossula spongiosa on fore tibia 0.90, 0.76 (♂), 0.68 (♀).
Distribution. Australia (Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia). The specimens examined in the present study have come from northern Queensland, top end of the Northern Territory and Ord River region in Western Australia. Cassis & Gross (1995) recorded this species also from South Australia, but these specimens were not located and examined in the present study.
Comparative notes. This species is similar to B. gunbalanyae sp. nov. and B. maculatus sp. nov. in body colour and general structure within the genus, see details under comparative notes of B. maculatus sp. nov. below.
description: Published as part of Liu, Yingqi & Cai, Wanzhi, 2024, Revision of Australian Brachysandalus with the description of nine new species including one cavernicolous species (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae), and observations on male extragenital structure and leg teratology, pp. 1-112 in Zootaxa 5490 (1) on pages 9-12, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5490.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/13211621