Stenotus gressitti Namyatova & Schwartz & Cassis 2013, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Namyatova, Anna A.
name: Schwartz, Michael D.
name: Cassis, Gerasimos
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Heteroptera
Miridae
Stenotus
Stenotus gressitti

description: Stenotus gressitti sp. nov.
(Figures 1, 2A, B, E, I, 3A, C, D, F–H, 4A–E, 6A, D)
Etymology
The species was named after the late J.L. Gressitt, who collected all the specimens examined.
Material examined
Holotype. AUSTRALIA: Queensland: Archer’s Creek, Evelyn Tableland, 17.51441 ◦ S, 145.47526 ◦ E, 300 m, 10 March 1956, J. L. Gressitt, ♂ (AMNH _ PBI 00045820). Deposited in the Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, USA.
Paratypes. AUSTRALIA: Queensland: Archer’s Creek, Evelyn Tableland, 17.51441 ◦ S, 145.47526 ◦ E, 300 m, 10 March 1956, J. L. Gressitt, 2♂ (00045822, 00045824), 3♂ (00400442, 00045823, 00043883), 7♀ (00400443, 00400444, 00045837, 00045839, 00043884, 00045840, 00045838) (BPBM). E. Evelyn, 17.50328 ◦ S, 145.45329 ◦ E, 11 March 1956, J. L. Gressitt, 2♀ (00045833, 00045834) (BPBM). Kuranda, 16.81722 ◦ S, 145.635 ◦ E, 200 m, 14 March 1956, J. L. Gressitt, Light Trap, ♂ (00045830) (BPBM). Mareeba, Atherton Tablelands, 17.046 ◦ S, 145.503 ◦ E, 300 m, 10 March 1956, J. L. Gressitt, 2♂ (00045826, 00045825), 3♀ (00045835, 00045836, 00045827) (BPBM). Tully [Tulley] Fall, 17.67771 ◦ S, 145.51832 ◦ E, 10 March 1956, J. L. Gressitt, Light Trap, 3♂ (00045829, 00043888, 00045828) (BPBM).
Differential diagnosis
Stenotus gressitti can be recognized by the mostly yellow coloration with reddish tinge, without any brown or black markings or stripes (Figure 1), vertex in male as long as eye diameter (Figure 2B), frons distinctly bulging (Figure 2E), clypeus one-half height of eye anteriorly (Figure 2A), labium reaching middle of metasternum (Figure 2E), ventral surface of genital capsule 1.3 times as long as dorsal surface (Figure 4E), hook-shaped right paramere (Figure 4B); left medial endosomal lobe distinctly longer than right medial lobe and with field of small spicules, right medial endosomal lobe without field of spicules (Figure 4A), and posterior wall of bursa copulatrix lacking dorsal lobe (Figure 6D). Stenotus witchelina can be separated from S. gressitti by body mostly yellow without reddish tinge (Figure 1), vertex in male shorter than eye diameter (Figure 2C), frons almost flat in lateral view (Figure 2F), ventral surface of genital capsule 1.7 times as long as dorsal surface (Figure 4J), right paramere not hook-shaped (Figure 4G), right medial endosomal lobe longer than left medial lobe and with field of small spicules, left medial endosomal lobe without spicules (Figure 4F), and posterior wall of bursa copulatrix with dorsal lobe (Figure 6E). Stenotus binotatus differs from S. gressitti by presence of brown or black markings or stripes (Figure 1), frons almost flat in lateral view (as in Figure 2F), clypeus 0.8 times as long as eye height anteriorly, labium reaching abdominal segment VI, ventral surface of genital capsule 1.5 times as long as dorsal surface (Figure 5E), right medial endosomal lobe longer than left medial lobe (Figure 5A), both medial endosomal lobes bearing field of small spicules (Figure 5A), and posterior wall of bursa copulatrix with dorsal lobe (Figure 6F).
Description – male
Total length 5.3–5.9.
Coloration. Body mostly yellow with reddish tinge (Figure 1).
Head: mostly yellow, often yellow with reddish tinge anteriorly, with reddish brown stripe on frons, and pale reddish stripe along posterior margin of head, often with brown or reddish stripe along antennal fossa, also with small reddish markings dorsally; clypeus often with reddish markings, mandibular and maxillar plates with reddish stripes and markings. Eye reddish brown to dark brown. Labium with segments I–III mostly yellow, segment IV yellow to pale brown basally and brown to dark brown apically. Antenna with segment I yellow with reddish and reddish brown markings or uniformly reddish; segments II–IV reddish yellow, sometimes with brownish apices, rarely uniformly brown.
Pronotum: mostly reddish yellow, with reddish markings; collar yellow and posterior angles and stripe along posterior margin of collar brown; pronotum sometimes pale brown laterally.
Scutellum: yellow or reddish yellow, with reddish markings.
Mesoscutum: reddish yellow with reddish markings and dark brown angles.
Thoracic pleurites and evaporatorium: yellow or reddish yellow with reddish markings.
Legs: coxae, femora, and tibiae yellow with reddish markings, hind coxa sometimes with dark brown marking basally, tibiae only with few markings, tarsi brown.
Hemelytron: yellow with reddish tinge, with outer margin of corium, embolium, and outer margin of cuneus yellow, inner part of clavus sometimes also yellow.
Abdomen: mostly reddish yellow, with red stripe laterally, often yellow ventrally.
Surface and vestiture: body smooth, moderately shiny, with short pale adpressed setae, distinctly shorter than diameter of antennal segment I. Head, pronotum, scutellum and hemelytron (except membrane) with sericeous silver setae (Figure 2I); antennal segment I with adpressed dark setae, segments II–IV also with some suberect setae; thoracic pleura and coxae with rare pale setae; femora with dark adpressed setae; tibiae with three types of setae – pale adpressed setae, very short dark setae, and brown bristle-like setae; tarsi with adpressed pale setae and very short dark setae.
Structure and measurements. Given in Table 1. Body 3.7–4.2× as long as pronotum. Head, transverse, no space between eye and pronotum (Figure 2B); vertex without transverse basal carina; frons distinctly bulging in lateral view (Figure 2E); clypeus one-half height of eye anteriorly (Figure 2A); eye large, subspherical dorsally, slightly transversely elongated (Figure 2B), its height distinctly greater than width in lateral and anterior views (Figure 2A, E); eye diameter as long as vertex in dorsal view (Figure 2B); vertex 0.9–1.1× as wide as eye. Labium. Reaching middle of metasternum; segment I surpassing anterior margin of pronotum, reaching middle of prosternum, almost as wide as antennal segment I; segments II and III each almost as long as segment I, segment IV slightly shorter than segment I (Figure 2E). Antenna: length subequal to clypeus to cuneus distance; length of segment I one-half head width; segment II 4× as long as segment I, 2.4–2.6× as long as head width, and 1.7–1.9× as long as pronotal width; segment III one-half length of segment II; segment IV slightly shorter than segment III.
Pronotum: posterior margin almost twice as long as anterior margin, 1.6–2.0× as wide as long and 1.3–1.4× as long as head width; collar distinct; calli shallow, but distinctly delimited posteriorly, not fused with each other (Figure 2B).
Evaporatorium: triangular, posterior margin as long as anterior margin, only slightly bulging medially (Figure 3H).
Legs: hind femur almost twice as wide as middle femur; segment I of hind tarsus approximately twice as long as segment II and slightly longer than segment III (Figure 3A); parempodia shorter than claw, pulvilli present (Figure 3C, F, G).
Hemelytron: lateral margins slightly convex; claval vein prominent; lateral margin of cuneus twice as long as base.
Genitalia: genital capsule. Ventral surface 1.3× as long as dorsal surface (Figure 4E). Right paramere, hook-shaped, wide medially (Figure 4B). Left paramere, C-shaped, wide basally, apex strongly hooked (Figure 4C, D).
Endosoma: lateral lobes with dense, distinct dorsal and ventral spicules; right medial lobe without ventral spicules, left medial lobe bulging distally, covered with spicules, distinctly longer than right medial lobe (Figure 4A).
Description – female
Total length 5.7–6.4.
Coloration. Similar to male, except generally slightly paler; abdomen yellow ventrally, often with reddish stripe or marking laterally with dorsum reddish yellow.
Structure and measurements. As in male, except eye diameter shorter than vertex; body 3.7–4.0× as long as pronotum; vertex 1.3–1.7× as wide as eye; antennal segment II 2.1–2.5× as long as width of head, 1.4–1.6× as long as width of pronotum; pronotum 1.8–1.9× as wide as long and 1.5× as wide as head.
Genitalia: sclerotized rings of bursa copulatrix oval, not very distinct (Figure 6A); posterior wall faint, most strongly sclerotized apically, with wide slightly sclerotized medial projection, inter-ramal lobes present, dorsal lobe absent (Figure 6D).
Distribution
Queensland.
Discussion
We did not have material of Stenotus to compare the three New Guinean species described by Poppius (1915) with those from Australia. However, according to the descriptions given by Poppius, the species from New Guinea can be readily separated by coloration and structure of the head. He described S. brevicollis and S. bivittatus from single females and S. clypealis Poppius, 1915 from a single male. Stenotus clypealis, according to Poppius, is generally darker with brownish black longitudinal stripe on each side of pronotum and with a black clypeus, brownish black pronotum and reddish brown membrane. Additionally, antennal segment I in S. clypealis almost as long as the head width. The Australian species, S. gressitti and S. witchelina, in contrast, have a different colour pattern (see descriptions), and antennal segment I is only half as long as head width (see Table 1). Stenotus bivittatus can also be separated by the colour pattern, as it has a reddish brown stripe on each side of the head, pronotum, and hemelytra; also the eye in the female is one-half as long as vertex width, whereas in both S. gressitti and S. witchelina there are no stripes on the dorsum and the eye is 0.6–0.8× as long as vertex width. Stenotus brevicollis is generally pale with reddish tinge only on the clavus and can be similar to S. witchelina in this respect. However, the female of this species has a very wide vertex which is 2.5× as long as the eye width; whereas it is much narrower in S. gressitti and S. witchelina (see Table 1).
description: Published as part of Namyatova, Anna A., Schwartz, Michael D. & Cassis, Gerasimos, 2013, First record of the genus Stenotus Jakovlev from Australia, with two new species, and a list of mirine species from Witchelina Nature Reserve (Insecta: Heteroptera: Miridae: Mirinae: Mirini), pp. 987-1008 in Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) (J. Nat. Hist.) 47 (13 - 14) on pages 995-999, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2012.752049, http://zenodo.org/record/5196466