Kunungua atramentomaculata Bolshakova & Konstantinov, 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Bolshakova, Darya S.
name: Konstantinov, Fedor V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Miridae
Kunungua
Kunungua atramentomaculata

description: Kunungua atramentomaculata sp. nov.
Figs 6 C, 7 C
Material examined.
Holotype. ♀, Democratic Republic of the Congo: Haut Uelé: Mabaya [Mabao], 3.32 ° N, 28.74 ° E, L. Burgeon 1 (ZISP_ENT00008427) (MRAC).
Paratype. Democratic Republic Of The Congo: 1 ♀, Haut Uelé: Moto, 3.056 ° N, 29.47 ° E, 1920, L. Burgeon (ZISP_ENT00014326) (MRAC).
Diagnosis.
Recognised by the following combination of characters: collar dark brown; corium pale yellow, with brown transverse band starting slightly above claval apex and not quite reaching costal margin, blurring distally; cuneus brown, with brown spot blurring towards base.
This species can be unambiguously distinguished from all other congeners by the presence of a brown band crossing the corium transversely, starting slightly above the claval apex, but not reaching the outer margin of the corium.
Description.
Female. Colouration (Figs 6 C, 7 C). Head, except for pale yellow antennal fossa, dark brown; antennal segment I pale yellow basally, gradually darkening to brown apically, segment II dark brown, segments III and IV yellowish brown; eyes commonly dark brown; pronotum, scutellum, and clavus dark brown; corium pale yellow, with transverse brown band crossing corium, starting slightly above claval apex and nearly reaching costal margin, blurring distally; corium narrowly dark brown along costal margin in apical half; cuneus brown, basally with blurring brown spot and dark brown outer margin; membrane transparent, basal two-thirds of membrane fuscous, apical one-third whitish; coxae brown anteriorly, pale yellow posteriorly; femora pale yellow basally, dark brown at middle, brownish yellow distally; fore tibia pale yellow, darkened basally; middle tibia pale yellow, except for brown basal one-third; basal one-half of hind tibia brown, apical half pale yellow; tarsal segments I and II pale yellow, the latter slightly darkened apically; segment III greyish brown; abdomen dark brown basally and apically, middle part, comprising about one-half of abdomen, whitish yellow.
Vestiture. Clothed with long whitish simple setae, adpressed on hemelytron, semierect elsewhere, subequal to width of antennal segment I at middle, somewhat shorter on pronotum.
Structure. Total length 4.2 mm; body 3.7 times as long as width of pronotum and 4.4 times as long as pronotal length.
Head 0.3 times as long as wide, 2 times as wide as collar; antennal fossa large, removed from inner eye margin by distance subequal to its own width, located at the level of inferior eye margin; frons only slightly convex; vertex about 1.3 times as wide as length of antennal segment I; segment I 1.7 times as long as head, 0.5 times as long as pronotum, 0.4 times as long as pronotal width; labium long, almost reaching hind coxa (Fig. 7 C).
Thorax. Posterior margin of pronotum slightly concave medially (Fig. 6 C); pronotum 1.2 times as wide as long, 1.2 times as wide as head; calli 0.5 times as wide as basal width of pronotum; pronotal disk, calli and collar 0.7 times, 0.2 times, and 0.2 times as long as pronotum, respectively; calli and collar together about 0.3 times as long as pronotum.
Hemelytron. Semitransparent, long, corium reaching apex of abdomen; cuneus about 1.5 times as long as wide at base (Figs 6 C, 7 C).
Legs. Slender, femora gradually thickening apically (Fig. 6 C, 7 C).
Genitalia. Bursa copulatrix as in K. ukerewensis, weakly sclerotised, with indistinct sclerotised rings of dorsal labiate plate, posterior wall entirely membranous.
Male. Unknown.
Distribution.
Known from two localities in Congo, Haut Uelé.
Host.
Unknown.
Etymology.
The specific epithet is a Latin adjective composed of the noun atramentum, meaning “ ink ” and the adjective maculatus, - a, - um, meaning “ spotted ”, referring to the shape of the band on the corium, blurring distally and thus resembling an ink spot.
Discussion.
While this species is known solely from two females, its distinct colouration prompted us to describe it despite the lack of known males. Given the observed variation in colour patterns within Kunungua, we are confident that with further collecting efforts, males could be readily associated with females.
description: Published as part of Bolshakova, Darya S. & Konstantinov, Fedor V., 2024, Revision of the genus Kunungua (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Miridae) with descriptions of three new species and new generic synonymy, pp. 219-239 in Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 71 (1) on pages 219-239, DOI: 10.3897/dez.71.122735