Kiwisaldula cranshawi Larivière & Larochelle 2018, new species
Creators: name: Larivière, Marie-Claude
name: Larochelle, André
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Saldidae
Kiwisaldula
Kiwisaldula cranshawi

description: Kiwisaldula cranshawi new species
Kiwisaldula cranshawi Larivière and Larochelle, new species. Holotype: Male (LUNZ) labelled “ NEW ZEALAND CO The Remarkables Rastus Burn 1680m 6.ii.1986 R.R. Scott / hillside seepages / HOLOTYPE [male symbol] Kiwisaldula cranshawi Larivière & Larochelle, 2018 (red label).” Paratypes 5 males (3 LUNZ, 2 NZAC), 5 females (3 LUNZ, 2 NZAC) with same data as holotype, except for 1 female paratype (collected by J.W. Early), bearing blue paratype labels.
Description (Submacropterous adult). Body length 3.30–4.27 (3.72 mm); short-ovate (mostly) to elongate-ovate (Fig. 2); female generally more broadly shaped. Dorsal colour largely dark, with moderately pale lateral margins of pronotum contrasting against dark hemelytra with reduced, mostly individual (rarely coalesced) pale markings and strongly developed steely grey pruinose areas. Facial colour (Fig. 6) moderately contrasted. Head, pronotum, and scutellum moderately shiny against mostly dull hemelytra. Dorsal pubescence short to moderately long, mostly reclined, mostly golden brown, often more densely distributed on pronotum, clavus, and endocorium. Hemelytra fully developed or with some cell reduction; hindwings reaching from about tip of corium to half of membrane. Head (Fig. 6, facial view). Preocellar spots whitish yellow to yellowish brown. Preocular spots yellowish to yellowish brown (sometimes nearly indistinct). Transverse swelling slightly to moderately (mostly) developed; lateral portions contiguous; whitish yellow (mostly) to yellowish brown, darker near facial midline. Mandibular plates slightly to moderately developed, concolorous with or darker than transverse swelling. Maxillary plates moderately to strongly (mostly) developed, concolorous with or paler than transverse swelling. Rostrum brown, reaching hind coxae. Antennae about 4.1x longer than pronotum + collar medially; segment I whitish yellow to yellowish brown (sometimes pale brown), ventral and dorsal sides dark throughout or nearly so (striped), ventral side usually more heavily marked than dorsal side; segment II yellowish brown to brown throughout, about 2.2x longer than segment I; segments III–IV dark brown to nearly black. Thorax. Lateral margins of pronotum subrectilinear to slightly convex, distinctly explanate, moderately pale whitish yellow to yellowish brown (pale area at midlength about 1.5x the width of antennal segment II, sometimes narrower). Scutellum about 1.8 x longer than pronotum + collar medially. Thoracic underside black, with slightly to moderately contrasting acetabula (acetabulum I narrowly to broadly pale, more broadly so in male; acetabulum II very narrowly pale; acetabulum III very narrowly pale or completely dark), and broadly pale lateral margins. Legs largely pale; fore and mid femora with ventral side dark brown to nearly black over most of length (distinctly striped); hind femora without ventral and dorsal sides dark brown to black, coalesced into an annulus; fore tibiae pale (mostly) or slightly infumate dorsally near base (not striped throughout); hind tibiae about 2.7x longer than tarsal segments II+III combined. Hemelytra: corium (Figs 2, 10) largely blackish, with highly reduced or evanescent pale markings on endocorium and usually slightly more extensive pale markings (whitish yellow) on exocorium; endocorium with distinct or sometimes ill-defined dark brown to black eyespot subbasally near R vein; costal margin usually dark throughout; colour pattern in female sometimes with slightly more extended pale markings on exocorium but mostly consistent with that in male; pruinose areas strongly developed, bearing a distinctive steely grey tinge, distributed on base and apex of clavus, most of corium (sometimes evanescent on exocorium), and on membrane near apex of clavus; basal pruinose area of clavus narrow and short, covering less than one-third of clavus length; basal pale spot of clavus absent; subapical pale spot of clavus present (mostly) or absent; membrane with four fully formed cells or with some cell reduction; cell 1 the shortest, distinctly shorter than cells 2 and 3, subtriangular; cells 2 and 3 subrectangular, subequal in length and width (cell 3 sometimes narrower); cell 4 the narrowest, slender, subequal in length or distinctly longer than cell 3, ending apically nearly in line with tip of cell 3 (sometimes well before tip of cell 3). Abdomen. Venter: male, completely blackish (rarely with margin of some segments narrowly pale); female, blackish medially with hind margin of segments narrowly pale and moderately to broadly margined with yellowish ivory. Male parandria (Fig. 18) elongate, broadly subtriangular with outer margins almost straight in basal half, obtusely rounded and somewhat broad at tip; inner margins almost straight or barely convex in basal half, moderately concave in apical half; medial membrane with acute inward projection on each side; basal margin slightly sinuate. Male paramere (Fig. 14) without distinct processus sensualis, instead with slightly uneven cuticular surface bearing less than ten setae; processus hamatus elongate (sometimes shorter than illustrated), slightly constricted at base, its tip very narrow, acuminate. Other characters as in generic description (Larivière & Larochelle, 2016: 459).
Geographic distribution (Fig. 21). South Island, alpine zone of mountains in Central Otago (CO) and Otago Lakes (OL).
Material examined. A total of 86 specimens including types, from the following localities. South Island. CO –Old Man Range (NZAC); Rock and Pillar Range, Stonehenge Track (LUNZ); The Remarkables (Lake Alta Track (NZAC); Rastus Burn (LUNZ, NZAC)). Snowdon Forest, Boyd Creek Tops track, alpine tops (NZAC).
Biology. Altitudinal range. Alpine; collected around 1200 to 1800 m. Habitat. Collected in numbers on dense carpet of alpine vegetation (e.g., moss- Juncus -cushion plants) of waterlogged bog in scree and tussock grasslands; also on hillside seepages, on sphagnum moss by tarn, in alpine bog, tarn or swamp. Seasonality. Adults and tenerals (newly emerged adults) collected in February and March, but tenerals mostly found in March. Food. Predator or scavenger. Behaviour. Undocumented.
Remarks. This species is named after Ian Cranshaw (Auckland), a special acquaintance and highly skilled health specialist, and someone who likes to climb mountains.
Kiwisaldula cranshawi is a distinctive small to medium-size species with pale lateral margins of pronotum strongly contrasting against dark, highly pruinose hemelytra with reduced pale markings, and processus hamatus of male paramere elongate, acuminate.
This is mostly a submacropterous species but the Old Man Range population is subbrachypterous (with highly reduced hindwings). The odd macropterous individuals may also be encountered.
Specimens examined from Snowdon Forest, Boyd Creek Tops track (OL) are mostly tenerals and rather small for K. cranshawi but paramere configuration, body shape and overall colour suggests that they may belong to this species.
description: Published as part of Larivière, Marie-Claude & Larochelle, André, 2018, Kiwisaldula (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Saldidae) from the South Island of New Zealand: new species and identification key, pp. 151-166 in Zootaxa 4514 (2) on pages 157-159, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4514.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/2607823