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

description: Proteatingis Shofner and Cassis gen. nov.
(Figs 5A, B, 8, 13–22)
Zoobank registration: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 9D2EBBA8- F4B0-440A-BB7B-33B0C027B 19F.
Type species: Proteatingis xouthos, by original designation.
Diagnosis: The genus Proteatingis is recognized by the following combination of characters: body elongate and almost parallel-sided to slightly rounded; five cephalic spines; bucculae narrow, areolate; antennae long, slender, AI–AIII with short setae, AIV with aciculate setae; AI and AII short, AIII long, length subequal to exceeding distance between humeral angles, AIV weakly clavate; body elongate, oblong to parallel-sided, hemelytra exceeding abdomen; collum raised, slightly inflated, projecting slightly forward over head to form hood; pronotum convex, tricarinate, with numerous punctures, these with six to eight triangular tuberculate processes distributed evenly around internal rim; paranota areolate across collum and pronotal disc with deeply impressed calli, uniseriate posterior to calli; costal area uniseriate, subcostal area biseriate; peritreme of metathoracic gland large, loop-like.
Male: Macropterous, 2.5–3.5 mm (Table 3). COLORATION. Ground colour straw-coloured, brown, golden-brown, dark brown; calli brown, dark brown, or black; head brown, reddish brown, dark brown, or black; thoracic sternites usually same colour as head; abdomen similar to ground colour but usually darker. VESTITURE. Head: setae in bands from antenniferous tubercles to frontal spines, and from frontal spines along either side of medial spine to back of head, and from antenniferous tubercles along dorsal margin of eye; bucculae with arcuate or aciculate setae and ciliate punctures; waxy deposits often encircling eye and from frons to antenniferous tubercles to apex. Antennae: AIAIII 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: disc with sparse distribution of minute scale-like setae; waxy exudate deposited in calli. Thoracic pleura and sterna: proepisternum with anterior minute setae and numerous punctures, these with six to eight triangular tuberculate processes distributed evenly around internal rim, lacking these punctures posteriorly; proepimeron and supracoxal lobes with minute setae and tuberculate punctures; mesepisternum with minute setae; mesepimeron and supracoxal lobes with minute setae and tuberculate punctures posteriorly; metepisternum with minute setae and tuberculate punctures. Legs: sparse distribution of minute setae on femora and tibiae; distal ends of tibiae with slightly longer setae and denser distribution. Hemelytra: glabrous, except R + M and cubitus veins with sparse distribution of minute setae. Abdominal venter: sparse to moderate distribution of minute setae, usually pruinose. STRUCTURE. Head: five cephalic spines present, unbranched; frontal spines parallel or convergent. Antennae: AI and AII short, AII one-half to subequal length of AI; AIII usually longer than distance between humeral angles; AIV weakly clavate, length roughly equal to AI + AII. Labium: moderate length, extending to anterior or posterior end of metasternum. Paranota: paranota areolate across collum and disc with deeply impressed calli, uniseriate posterior to calli. Pronotum: strongly convex, collum slightly raised, slightly inflated posteriorly; dorsal surface of disc with numerous punctures, these with six to eight triangular tuberculate processes distributed evenly around internal rim; tricarinate, these extending from posterior margin of collum to posterior projection of pronotum; medial and lateral carinae equal thickness; lateral carinae slightly to moderately divaricating anteriorly; paranota extending from anterior margin of collum to posterior edge of disc, curved, following shape of disc; paranota areolate across collum, carina-like to areolate across disc. Thoracic pleura and sterna: peritreme of the metathoracic gland loop-like, often with dorsal extension reaching margin of hemelytra. Sternal carinae elevated, uniseriate, areolae rectangular to slightly rounded; prosternal carinae straight, parallel; mesosternal carinae straight to slightly divaricating anteriorly and slightly converging posteriorly; metasternal carinae vary from straight and parallel, width between carinae equal to width between mesosternal carinae, to divaricating, wider than width between mesosternal carinae. Hemelytra: areolae small, irregular, nearly uniform in size in discoidal and subcostal areas; sutural area areolae anteriorly similar in size to discoidal areolae, increasing in size posteriorly; subcostal area biseriate with regular arrangement of areolae; costal area uniseriate. Male genitalia: pygophore boxlike, with lateral margins tumose, sometimes with pair of basal spurs near posterior margin of genital margin; parameres C-shaped with apophysis strongly tapered distally; aedeagus with Y-shaped dorsal plate; endosomal membrane usually heavily spinulate; pair of sclerotized, hook-like lobal sclerites rarely with elongate spinulate endosomal lobal sclerites.
Female: Macropterous. Body 2.6–3.8 mm (Table 3), usually slightly larger and wider than male. COLORATION. As in male. VESTITURE. As in male. STRUCTURE. As in male.
Distribution: Australia (Drake and Ruhoff 1965a, Cassis and Gross 1995, Péricart and Golub 1996, Dang et al. 2014): ACT, NSW, NT, QLD, VIC, and WA.
Etymology: This genus is named for its host affiliation with members of the Proteaceae.
Remarks: Like Cercotingis, Proteatingis is morphologically similar to several other genera; there is no single character that distinguishes it. It is defined polythetically by a combination of characters (as in the diagnosis above). Proteatingis can be distinguished from Perissonemia by the presence of lateral carinae on the pronotum (Perissonemia either lacks these carinae or they are weakly developed) and the well-developed paranota (lacking in Perissonemia). The uniseriate paranota and entirely uniseriate costal areas sets Proteatingis apart from Cercotingis. Additionally, the presence of a pronotal hood in Proteatingis differentiates the genus from Cercotingis, Ulonemia, and other similar genera such as Eritingis and Nethersia, which all lack a pronotal hood.
Checklist of Proteatingis
Pr. astibosetes sp. nov. ................................................................................... Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Queensland Pr. burckhardti comb. nov. (Péricart 1992) .................................................... Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Victoria Pr. howardi sp. nov ............................................................................................................................................. New South Wales, Queensland Pr. minuta sp. nov ...................................................................................................................................................................................... Tasmania Pr. mjobergi comb. nov. (Horváth 1925) .............................................................................................................................. Western Australia Pr. xouthos sp. nov ......................................................................................................... Northern Territory, Queensland, Western Australia
Key to the species of Proteatingis
1. Total length excluding antennae less than 2.8 mm; Tasmania (Fig. 13K, L) ..................................................... Pr. minuta sp. nov.
1’. Total length excluding antennae greater than 2.9 mm; Tasmania, mainland Australia ....................................................................2
2. Costal area areolae irregular, reticulated, appearing biseriate over half the length of costal area; dorsal surface with prominent pattern of dark brown reticulations (Fig. 13I,......................................................................................................J) Pr. howardi sp. nov.
2’. Costal area areolae square to rectangular, uniseriate; if reticulate or biseriate, these confined to anterior third of costal area, transitioning to square or rectangular areolae posteriorly; dorsal pattern variable, never with prominent reticulations..........3
3. Paranota carina-like across pronotal disc (Figs 13A–D, 14A–D)..................................................................... Pr. astibosetes sp. nov.
3’. Paranota areolate along entire length, areolae easily visible and well-defined ...................................................................................4
4. Antennal segment I black; Pilbara and south-west WA (Fig. 13M, N) ....................... Pr. mjobergi comb. nov. (Horváth 1925)
4’. Antennal segment I brown, golden-brown, reddish brown, or dark brown, never black; Tasmania, mainland Australia except Pilbara and south-west WA...........................................................................................................................................................................5
5. Metasternal carinae straight, parallel, width equal to mesosternal carinae; areolae of lateral pronotal carinae small, somewhat rounded (Fig. 14E–H); eyes black; head black ............................................................. Pr. burckhardti comb. nov. (Péricart 1992)
5’. Metasternal carinae curved, obovate, width greater than mesosternal carinae; areolae of lateral pronotal carinae large, more square than round (Fig. 14O, P); eyes red; head brown to dark brown.............................................................. Pr. xouthos sp. nov.
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 396-406, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad080, http://zenodo.org/record/11240237