Punctifulvius aleksanderi Yasunaga & Wolski & Taszakowski 2023, n. sp.
Creators: name: Yasunaga, Tomohide
name: Wolski, Andrzej
name: Taszakowski, Artur
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Miridae
Punctifulvius
Punctifulvius aleksanderi

description: Punctifulvius aleksanderi n. sp.
(Figs 1B, 3, 4)
Material examined. Holotype (♀). MALAYSIA: W-Malaysia, Selangor, N of Kuala 10.ii., Templer Park 1998, lgt. S. Bečvář (MMBC); paratype (♀): the same data as for holotype (MMBC).
Diagnosis. Recognized by its dorsum covered with moderately dense, fine, semirecumbent setae (Figs 3A, B, D); head rugopunctate (Figs 3A, B); antennomere I yellow, tinged with red (Fig. 1B); thoracic pleura rugopunctate (Figs 3D, F); exocorium broadly tinged with yellow and pale brown (Fig. 1B); cuneus yellow with dark brown apex (Fig. 1B); female genitalia with paired, relatively small, ovoid, thin-rimmed sclerotized rings (Fig. 4B).
Description. Female. Macropterous, body oval (Fig. 1B). Dorsum mostly fuscous with yellow and red areas, weakly shining, mostly punctate, uniformly covered with moderately dense, fine, short, reclining setae (Figs 1B, 3B, D). Head contrastingly yellow, broadly tinged with red, rugose, covered with moderately dense, fine, short, semirecumbent setae (Figs 1B, 3A, B); antennomere I yellow, with reddish tinge along entire length of inner area and red apex, covered with uniform, short, moderately dense, adpressed setae; antennomere II mostly dark brown, yellowish red on basal quarter and with broad, reddish annulation subapically, antennomere II mostly covered with sparse, semirecumbent setae, vestiture on apex denser; antennomere III and IV fuscous, covered with long, erect and suberect setae (Figs 1B, 3D); labium yellow, weakly tinged with fuscous, reaching hind coxae. Pronotum entirely fuscous, punctate covered with short reclining setae; calli convex (Figs 1B, 3B). Mesoscutum and scutellum fuscous, with punctures shallower and sparser than on pronotum and hemelytron (Fig. 1B). Thoracic pleura fuscous; ventral part of metepisternum weakly tinged with yellow, nearly glabrous, propleuron punctorugose, remaining pleura rugose, metepisternum much longer than wide; scent gland evaporative area contrastingly yellow, small, not reaching base of hind coxa (Figs 3D, F). Hemelytron weakly shining, punctate, uniformly covered with moderately dense, fine, short reclining setae; clavus fuscous; corium fuscous with small yellow pale brown patch subanteriorly; exocorium (embolium) mostly yellowish, narrowly fuscous anteriorly, posterior quarter reddish; cuneus mostly yellow, apex fuscous; lateral margin tinged with red; membrane fuscous (Fig. 1B). Legs yellow, covered with moderately dense, adpressed setae; femora broadly tinged with red (Fig. 1B); tarsomere I shorter than II and III (Fig. 3G); pretarsal claw with weakly developed subapical tooth and with relatively long basal spine (Figs 3H–J). Abdomen mostly fuscous, dirty yellowish posteriorly. Female genitalia. Genital chamber membranous (Figs 4A, B); sclerotized rings small, thin rimmed, ovoid, localized centrally on the bursa copulatrix (Fig. 4B); lateral oviducts situated posteriorly on genital chamber, thin (Fig. 4B); posterior wall with interramal sclerite well developed, strongly sclerotized, subrectangular, medial plate weakly developed (Figs 4C, D).
Male. Unknown.
Measurements: See Table 1.
Etymology. This species is dedicated to Aleksander Herczek on the occasion of his 70th birthday and for his many contributions to the study of Miridae.
Distribution. Malaysia (Selangor) (Fig. 12).
Biology. Unknown.
Remarks. P. aleksanderi is most similar to P. sakaerat in sharing the hemelytron with cuneus widely pale brown or orange-red (Figs 1B, 2B, C) and head rugose, at most with sparse, shallow punctures on vertex and frons (Figs 2A, B, 9A). However, it is easily distinguished by the yellow pale brown tinged on the anterior half of the corium and exocorium (Fig. 1B).
description: Published as part of Yasunaga, Tomohide, Wolski, Andrzej & Taszakowski, Artur, 2023, First record of the plant bug genus Punctifulvius Schmitz from the Oriental Region, with descriptions of three new species (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Miridae, Cylapinae), pp. 152-169 in Zootaxa 5382 (1) on pages 157-158, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5382.1.17, http://zenodo.org/record/10280497