Panaetius eliasi Wang & Liu & Cassis 2015, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Wang, Xiao-Jing
name: Liu, Guo-Qing
name: Cassis, Gerasimos
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Acanthosomatidae
Panaetius
Panaetius eliasi

description: Panaetius eliasi sp. nov.
Figures 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12
Zoobank registration: http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:60666B87-F52D-4915-8517-60A67AF9D2F0
Holotype: ♂, AUSTRALIA: New South Wales: Smiths Lake, 32°23′56″S 152°28′49″E, 6–10 IX 2010, M. Elias and C. Reid, ex Gleichaenia dicarpa (00002731) (AM).
Paratypes: 2♂♂ 9♀♀, same data as holotype (00002732– 00002742) (AM; UNSW); 1♂ 1♀, Blacksmith, near golf course, 15 Mar 1981, R. Patterson (00002744–00002745) (ANIC); 1♀, Myall Lakes National Park, 10.3 km south of Seal Rocks Road, Hawks Nest Road, 32°30’S 152°21’E, 20 X 1995, R. T. Schuh and G. Cassis (00002743) (AM). AUSTRALIA: Queensland: 1♀, Central station, Fraser Island, 14–15 X 1978, G. B. Monteith (00002794) (QM).
Diagnosis. Panaetius eliasi is recognised by the following combination of characters: antennae brown (Fig. 1); anterolateral angles of pronotum slender, subequal in width to lateral margin of eyes (Figs 1,7a); humeral horns black, protruding, elevated upwards, apically bifid, anterior arm short, posterior arm robust, acute (Fig. 1); anterior part of scutellum dark brown, almost black (Fig. 1); membrane infuscate, veins dark brown (Fig. 1); parameres black, apically bifid with both arms rounded (Fig. 2a); aedeagus without ventral conjunctival lobes (Fig. 2c,d).
Description. Male. COLOURATION (Fig. 1). Head: dark brown, almost black, with reddish brown markings dorsally; yellowish brown or yellow stripe along medial and inferior margins of paraclypei; medial margin of eyes with yellow stripe and reddish brown markings; laterally with yellow spot along anterior margin of eyes; bucculae dark brown, with posterior angle and margin yellow. Eyes: reddish brown, with posterior margin yellowish brown. Antennae: AI yellowish brown, with apex black; AII(a)-AII(b) medium brown, AII black apically; AIII-AIV dark brown. Labium: LI-LIII medium brown, with base of LII pale brown; LIV dark brown, sometimes with greenish tinge. Pronotum: mostly medium brown, anteromedial region pale brown; anterolateral processes pale brown; two transverse dark brown stripes at medial and posterior region of pronotum, intersected by a pale brown stripe; humeral horns black. Scutellum: dark brown at base, with four yellowish brown spots along basal margin, sometimes two spots medially indistinct; V-shaped pale brown callose marking at apex. Thoracic pleura: propleuron mostly dark brown, with posterior and lateral margin yellowish brown; mesopleuron dark brown, with yellowish brown spot along lateral margin; metapleuron dark brown, with a big pale brown spot along lateral margin. MTG: external efferent system dark brown. Hemelytra: medium brown, with reddish brown markings; membrane smoky brown at base, sometimes with a large irregular dark brown spot near inner base of membrane; white at apex, transparent; veins dark brown. Legs: coxae pale brown; femora pale brown at base, medium brown apically; tibiae dark brown, with medium brown bands medially; tarsi pale brown, sometimes with reddish tinge; claw medium brown at base, black apically. Abdomen: connexiva pale brown to white, with dark brown markings; venter pale brown with dark brown stripes laterally; abdominal spine pale brown. STRUCTURE. Head: paraclypei flat, arcuate distally, contiguous (Figs 1,7). Antennae: AIII-AIV slightly wider than segments AI-AII(b); AI shortest; AII(a) about as 1.5× long as AI; AII(b) a little shorter than AII; AII(b) about as long as AIV; AIV slighter longer than AII(a). Labium: reaching mesocoxae or a little beyond; LI slightly wider than LII and LIII; LI shorter than ventral side of head; LII about 2.0× longer than LI; LIII slightly shorter than LII, LIV about 1.5× shorter than LII. Pronotum: anterolateral processes of pronotum slender, nearly reaching posterior margin of eyes (Fig. 7a); humeral horns distinctly protruding, elevated upwards, apically bifid, anterior tooth short, pointing laterally; posterior tooth sharp, more robust than anterior tooth, posteriorly oriented. Scutellum: flat, slightly wider than long. MTG: peritreme laterally oriented, mesepimeron without evaporative areas (Fig. 8a). Legs: metafemora slightly broader than mesofemora; tarsi narrow, tarsal segment I short, segment II ca. 2.0–3.0× longer than segment I. Male genitalia (Fig. 2): pygophore (Fig. 2a) and parameres heavily sclerotised; parameres broad, apically emarginate, with both branches rounded (Fig. 2b); aedeagus with a pair of basal lateral membranous conjunctival lobes and sclerotised dorsal processes, latter slender and apex sinuate; vesica narrow apically, apex weakly sclerotised (Fig. 2c,d).
Female. COLOURATION (Fig. 1). Mostly as in male, aside from following differences. Head: dorsum and anterior margin of paraclypei medium brown or almost black; small yellow spot between ocelli. Antennae: sometimes AV yellow brown. Pronotum: mostly yellowish brown. Scutellum: mostly with V-shaped yellowish brown stripe at apex. Thoracic pleura: one large or two small yellowish brown stripe(s) near lateral margin of propleuron. Legs: apex of tibiae medium brown, with reddish tinge. Abdomen: midline region of venter dark brown; abdominal spine of sternite III yellowish brown. VESTITURE. As in male. STRUCTURE. Mostly as in male, aside from following differences. Antennae: AI shortest; AII(a) about 0.5× longer than AI, and equal to AIII; AII(b) as long as AIV. Abdomen: Pendergrast’s organ (Fig. 9a). Female genitalia: see Figure 6a.
Measurements. Table 2.
Etymology. Named after one of the collectors of this species and colleague, Michael A. Elias from the University of New South Wales.
Distribution. Distributed in the mid-north coast of New South Wales and southeast Queensland (Fig. 11). This distribution suggests a major disjunction, but in all likelihood this reflects sampling inadequacy.
Plant associations. Specimens collected from Smiths Lake were found on the fern Gleichaenia dicarpa R. Br. (Gleicheniaceae). On the basis of> 10 specimens collected on this fern, we hypothesise it as the host plant of P. eliasi. Its association on ferns is of interest, because few heteropteran taxa are known to have fern hosts, with the notable exception of bryocorine clades in the plant bug family Miridae (Cassis & Schuh 2012; tribe Brycorini, Felisacus spp.).
Remarks. Panaetius eliasi can be separated from P. laevicornis by its humeral horns being apically divided and with prominent ridges (Fig. 1). It is also differentiated from P. lobulatus and P. trabifer by its uniformly black humeral horns (Fig. 1), and the anterolateral processes of the pronotum are slender (Fig. 7a,c,d).
description: Published as part of Wang, Xiao-Jing, Liu, Guo-Qing & Cassis, Gerasimos, 2015, Revision of Panaetius Stål (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Acanthosomatidae) from Australia, including the description of two new species and phylogenetic analysis, pp. 445-464 in Austral Entomology 54 (4) on pages 454-456, DOI: 10.1111/aen.12154, http://zenodo.org/record/15299076