Brachysandalus gunbalanyae Malipatil & Liu 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Liu, Yingqi
name: Cai, Wanzhi
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Reduviidae
Brachysandalus
Brachysandalus gunbalanyae

description: Brachysandalus gunbalanyae Malipatil & Liu, sp. nov.
(Figs. 24, 25)
Type specimens. Holotype macropterous male, Australia, Northern Territory, Oenpelli, D. P. Cahill, 12.18 (MV). Paratypes: NORTHERN TERRITORY. 2 macropterous males (1 dissected), same as holotype (MV).
Diagnosis.
Only macropterous male known, body small-medium sized. Dark brown to black (Fig. 24), hemelytron with an oval spot involving apical 1/2 of clavus and adjoining area of corium between veins Pcu+1A and Cu yellow (this spot about as long as scutellum length) (Fig. 24A). Fore femur armed below with two rows of minute tubercles, rows indistinctly separated by a faint median furrow, ventral surface of mid femur without tubercles (Fig. 24B); fore and mid tibiae with fossula spongiosa occupying about 1/3 tibial length (Fig. 24B); in male, abdominal sternite VII with extragenital structure in the form of a small narrow apically pointed process, but without a corresponding swelling of cuticle (Figs. 24C, 55L, 56L); male genitalia with median pygophore process straight, tapered to pointed apex, venter strongly ridged in caudal view (Fig. 25B), and slenderly spatulate, slightly narrowly at base and gradually narrowing to a slightly reflexed apex in lateral view (Fig. 25C); inner margin of lateral phallothecal sclerite with upper half smooth but lower half with several denticles (Fig. 25I).
Description.
Macropterous male (Fig. 24)
Colouration (Fig. 24): Dark brown to black. Antenna brown with apical two segments yellowish brown; third visible labial segment brown; oval spot involving apical 1/2 of clavus and adjoining area of corium between veins Pcu+1A and Cu yellow (this spot about as long as scutellum length), and an inconspicuous, thin, curved stripe near base of costal margin on membrane pale yellow; legs dark brown except apex of fore femur and basal portion of fore tibia yellowish brown.
Structure (Figs. 24, 25): Body small-medium sized, wholly covered with golden, pilosity; anteocular part of head, legs and posterior margin of abdomen covered with yellowish brown to brown, suberect setae of varying lengths; scutellum with margins and apical process covered with several blackish brown bristles.
Head: elongate fusiform, wholly covered with short whitish yellowish pilosity and sparse longer brownish bristly setae, prominent on mandibular plates, dorsal aspect of head and between eyes, and on dorsal aspect of first labial segment. Anteocular region elongate triangular, clypeus near its base slightly elevated and knobbed above mandibular plates. Interocular region with arcuate convex sulcus at posterior border of eyes, a small pit near base. Postocular region almost rounded to neck with lateral tubercles not obvious. Ventral surface of head slightly tumid before eyes. Second and third antennal segments with short whitish pilosity that is much shorter than width of respective segments, and a few sparse longer darker setae, pedicel only slightly thinner than scape, then basi-and distiflagellum slightly thinnest. Eyes large, reniform, almost reaching dorsal and ventral margins in lateral view, width of eye more than interocular width. Ocelli large and conspicuously raised, separated from each other by about diameter of single ocellus, separated from eye by less than diameter of single ocellus.
Thorax: Pronotum entirely covered with short pale pilosity; anterior lobe with integument smooth, stripes distinct, sulci indistinct except shallow and posteriorly widened median longitudinal sulcus in basal half. Posterior pronotal lobe arcuately quadrate, integument finely rugulose, with short pilosity, humeri rounded, posterior margin almost smoothly rounded, about 1.5X as wide as maximum width of anterior lobe. Scutellum triangular, disc slightly depressed, sides conspicuously carinate, integument pilose, scutellar process short, posteriorly directed with apex strongly pointed. Propleuron with integument faintly granulate, smoothly pilose, set off from dorsal surface by a carina. Mesopleuron integument minutely granulate, sparsely pilose. Metapleuron with integument more sparsely and distinctly granulate but granules do not striate, metapleural sulcus distinctly bicarinate and curved, pilose with silvery dense hairs posteriorly. All sternites smooth, moderately pilose. Metasternum with disc tumid. Hemelytron distinctly exceeding tip of abdomen, not exposing connexiva laterally.
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 minute tubercles, rows indistinctly separated by a faint median furrow; tibia cylindrical, more or less straight but apex slightly reflexed, fossula spongiosa occupying about 1/3 tibial length; tarsi with denser pilosity interspersed with several thicker bristles ventrally. Mid leg with coxa globular; femur only slightly thickened, not armed below with tubercles; tibia with short whitish pilosity for whole length, with fossula spongiosa only about 1/3 its length. Hind leg with femur cylindrical; tibia with brush of setae, denser at apex; tarsi and tarsal claws of right leg in holotype exhibit abnormality, see details below.
Abdomen: Sternum carinate in midline, shiny, smooth with sparse longer hairs in addition to pilosity (Fig. 24C), sternite VII with extragenital structure in the form of a small narrow apically pointed process, but without a corresponding swelling of cuticle (Figs. 24C, 56L, 57L). 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 postero-ventrally with impressed spot not obviously visible, also impressed irregular areas present anterior of each spiracle close to anterior margin of abdominal sternite. Dorsum with three small scent gland scars of subequal width on terga III–IV, IV–V and V–VI.
Male genitalia (Fig. 25): Median pygophore process straight, tapered to pointed apex, oblique to right side, venter strongly ridged in caudal view (Fig. 25B); slenderly spatulate, slightly narrowly at base and gradually narrowing to a slightly reflexed apex in lateral view (Fig. 25C). Parameres (Fig. 25D&E) subtriangular and curved in middle, with outer surfaces covered with obvious sparse longer bristles as on pygophore (Fig. 25A–C), left paramere (Fig. 25D) slightly broader and longer than right paramere (Fig. 25E). Phallus (Fig. 25F–I) in resting condition with basal plate longer than basal plate bridge (Fig. 25F), pedicel slightly curved and slightly shorter than basal plate (Fig. 25H&I); length of struts longer than half length of phallosoma (Fig. 25F); apex of dorsal phallothecal sclerite truncate (Fig. 25F); lateral phallothecal sclerite subquadrangular, inner margin with upper half smooth but lower half with several denticles (Fig. 25I); pair of slender sclerites near base of venter of phallosoma strongly sclerotized (Fig. 25G).
Measurements: [of holotype male]. Body length 11.70; maximum width of abdomen 3.40; length of head 1.71; length of anteocular region 0.57; length of postocular region 0.38; width of head across eyes 1.33; width of interocular space 0.41; width of interocellar space 0.19; length of eye in dorsal view 0.60; width of eye in dorsal view 0.45; lengths of antennal segments I–IV 0.87 / 1.90 / 1.71 /?; length of visible labial segments I–III 0.79 / 0.95 / 0.38; length of pronotum 2.39; length of anterior pronotal lobe 1.36; length of posterior pronotal lobe 0.98; width of anterior pronotal lobe 1.82; width of posterior pronotal lobe 2.73; length of scutellum 1.48; maximum width of scutellum 1.40; length of hemelytron 8.10; length of fore tibia 2.09; length of fossula spongiosa on fore tibia 0.64.
Distribution. Australia (Northern Territory – top end).
Etymology. The species name is derived from ‘ Gunbalanya ’ an Aboriginal Australian town in west Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia, and historically referred to as Oenpelli, where the type specimens were collected.
Comparative notes. This species has some similarities with B. maculatus sp. nov. described below, the details in which both these species differ from each other are detailed under B. maculatus sp. nov. below.
Remarks. The tarsi and tarsal claws of right leg in the holotype exhibit a case of teratology (Fig. 57J–L), see further details under cases of leg teratology section 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 49-53, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5490.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/13211621