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

description: Cercotingis tasmaniensis Shofner and Cassis sp. nov.
(Figs 5E, F, 6K, L, 7K, L, 9)
Zoobank registration: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 1564B5A2- C722-497A-AA26-A97424006411.
Type material
Holotype: AUSTRALIA: Tasmania: Riparian shrubland on bank of New River, 28.3 km W of Ida Bay, 43.40882°S 146.55627°E, 19 m, 08 Feb 2016, R. Shofner, Orites diversifolius R. Br. (Proteaceae), det. Miguel de Salas TMAG, 1 ♂ (UNSW_ ENT 00046471) (TMAG).
Paratypes: AUSTRALIA: Tasmania: Reservoir Lakes nr Mt La Perouse, 43.48327°S 146.73057°E, 800 m, 16 Feb 1988, P. B. McQuillan, 1 ♀ (UNSW_ENT 00046472) (TDAH). Riparian shrubland on bank of New River, 28.3 km W of Ida Bay, 43.40882°S 146.55627°E, 19 m, 08 Feb 2016, R. Shofner, Orites diversifolius R. Br. (Proteaceae), det. Miguel de Salas TMAG, 1 ♀ (UNSW_ENT 00027448) (UNSW).
Diagnosis: Cercotingis tasmaniensis can be recognized by the following combination of characters: posterior half of medial carina golden-brown, brown, or straw-coloured; areolae of pronotal carinae small, obscure, carinae nearly contiguous with pronotal disc; paranota areolate along entire length, areolae easily visible and well-defined; anterior portion of costal area biseriate; metasternal carinae straight, parallel, width between metasternal carinae equal to width between mesosternal carinae.
Male: Macropterous; 3.43 mm (N = 1) (Table 3). COLORATION. Brown to straw-coloured. Head: brown to dark brown; spines golden-brown to straw-coloured; bucculae straw-coloured; eyes red. Antennae: AI–AIII golden-brown, AIV golden-brown, darkening apically. Rostrum: golden-brown with dark brown to black band proximally on second segment, dark brown to black apex. Pronotum: disc brown; calli dark brown; collum and paranota brown to golden-brown; lateral and medial carinae straw-coloured anteriorly, dark brown medially, black posteriorly. Thoracic pleura and sterna: proepisternum golden-brown anteriorly, mostly dark brown posteriorly, proepimeron and supracoxal lobes golden-brown to straw-coloured; mesepisternum mostly dark brown, mesepimeron and supracoxal lobes golden-brown to straw-coloured; metepisternum dark brown anteriorly, golden-brown posteriorly; peritreme of metathoracic gland straw-coloured; pro-, meso-, and metasternum golden-brown to brown; prosternal carinae dark brown, mesosternal and metasternal carinae straw-coloured. Hemelytra: discoidal area straw-coloured proximally, darkening to golden-brown distally, with dark brown to black blotch on cubitus vein; subcostal area straw-coloured proximally, darkening to dark brown distally, costal margin straw-coloured with dark brown costal veins; sutural area straw-coloured along interior margin, remainder brown; apex of hemelytra golden-brown, with inverted cordate dark brown field covering distal end of sutural area, with smaller cordate pale blotch incised into distal end of dark blotch. Legs: mostly golden-brown, coxae dark brown; tarsi dark brown to black distally. Abdominal venter: golden-brown, posterior margins of abdominal sternites III–IX dark brown; sternite II dark brown. VESTITURE. Head: distribution of golden-brown aciculate setae in bands from base of AI to occipital spines and from frontal spines along either side of medial spine, to back of head; frons and gena with straw-coloured aciculate setae; medial spine with straw-coloured short aciculate to hooked setae; vertex with globules of wax; bucculae with arcuate aciculate setae and ciliate punctures. Antennae: AI–AII with straw-coloured sparse, aciculate arcuate setae; AIII with straw-coloured aciculate decumbent setae, AIV with straw-coloured aciculate setae; distal ends of AII and AIII with dense ring of microtrichia. Pronotum: anterior margin mostly glabrous, with occasional arcuate aciculate setae; paranotal margins with arcuate aciculate setae; medial and lateral carinae mostly glabrous, with occasional arcuate aciculate setae; disc with minute scale-like setae and numerous punctures with six to eight cilia distributed evenly around internal rim of punctures; calli often with globules of wax. Thoracic pleura and sterna: proepisternum with arcuate aciculate setae and ciliate punctures anteriorly as on pronotal disc, lacking ciliate punctures posteriorly, proepimeron and supracoxal lobes with arcuate aciculate setae and ciliate punctures; mesepisternum with arcuate aciculate setae, mesepimeron and supracoxal lobes with arcuate aciculate setae and ciliate punctures posteriorly; metepisternum with arcuate aciculate setae and ciliate punctures; pro-, meso-, and metapluron covered with small wax globules. Legs: trochanter to tarsus with golden-brown aciculate setae; coxae with single row of arcuate aciculate setae. Hemelytra: glabrous, rarely with short aciculate setae on veins. Abdominal venter: aciculate setae and wax distributed throughout. STRUCTURE. Head: frontal spines slightly conical, convergent, approximately one-third length of AI; medial spine stout, conical, height approximately one-half of AI; occipital spines straight, cylindrical to weakly clavate, exceeding length of medial spine, easily exceeding anterior edge of collum. Antennae: AI and AII short, AII one-half length of AI; AIV weakly clavate. Labium: moderate length, extending to posterior margin of metasternum. Pronotum: strongly convex; collum apex inflated to subglobose, height one-half of disc; carinae decumbent on disc, slightly elevated posteriorly; medial and lateral carinae equal thickness, lateral carinae strongly divaricating anteriorly; paranota curved, following disc, upturned, nearly adpressed to disc, biseriate to triseriate, areolae irregular. Thoracic sterna: mesosternal and metasternal carinae elevated, uniseriate, areolae rectangular; mesosternal carinae straight, parallel, metasternal carinae straight to slightly curved. Hemelytra: areolae small, irregular, and nearly uniform size in discoidal and subcostal areas; sutural area areolae similar to discoidal area proximally, increasing in size to 10× distally; costal area areolae irregularly shaped anteriorly, large, rectangular posteriorly; anterior one-third costal area biseriate, posterior two-thirds uniseriate, subcostal area biseriate, discoidal area increasing from one to eight areolae wide, sutural area increasing from two to nine areolae wide. Male genitalia: not examined.
Female: Macropterous; 3.38–3.49 mm (N = 2) (Table 3). COLORATION. As in male. VESTITURE. As in male. STRUCTURE. Noticeably broader than males; otherwise as in male.
Plant associations: Recorded from Orites diversifolius, two specimens (Proteaceae).
Distribution: Known from South-west National Park near Ida Bay, and Reservoir Lakes near Mt. Peruse, Tasmania (Fig. 10).
Remarks: This species is similar to C. decoris but can be distinguished by the shape of the metasternal carinae.
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 395-396, DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad080, http://zenodo.org/record/11240237