Ptilocerus kanoi Esaki 1931
Creators: name: Rédei, Dávid
name: Tsai, Jing-Fu
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Reduviidae
Ptilocerus
Ptilocerus kanoi

description: Ptilocerus kanoi Esaki, 1931   
(Figs. 54–64, 66)  
 Ptilocerus kanoi Esaki, 1931: 261. HOLOTYPE: ♂, [Taiwan:] ‘ Urai’ [= Wulai]; KUEC.   
 References. ESAKI (1932): 1655 (redescription, habitus illustration); KATO (1933):[plate 22] (colour photo); HSIAO & REN (1981): 411 (redescription); MALDONADO CAPRILES (1990): 339 (catalogue, distribution); PUTSHKOV & PUTSHKOV (1996): 171 (catalogue, distribution); LIN (2003): 128 (listed, distribution).   
 Specimens examined. TAIWAN: TAIPEI CITY: ‘ Sôzan’ [= Yangmingshan], 16.v.1937, leg. M. Chujo (1 ♀, NTU). TAIPEI COUNTY: ‘ Taihoku’ [= Taipei], 27.iv.1931, leg. J. Sonan (1 ♂ [Figs. 54–60], NTU); same locality, 19.iv.1932, leg. R. Takahashi (1 ♂ [Figs. 61–64], NTU); same locality, 1. iv.1940, leg. Musayama (1 ♂, NTU); ‘ Wulai, Taipei’, 20.iii.1963, leg. K.S. Lin (1 ♂, TARI). NANTOU COUNTY: Lienhuachih, 31.vii.2008, leg. H.T. Shih (1 ♂, TARI).   
 Diagnosis. The species can be distinguished from other speces of Ptilocerus by the combination of the following characters: pronotum broad, humeral angles dilated; fore wing (Fig. 66) with corium short, occupying about one fourth of total length of wing; anterior margin of membrane nearly straight, apices of membranes of the two wings directed caudolaterad and not overlapping in resting position of wings; membrane with several irregularly distributed, small, rounded, light spots; venation simple, without reticulate veins. The species seems related to P. guttifer (Walker, 1873) (Borneo) and P. venosus (Walker, 1873) (Singapore) by the structure of the wing (anterior margin of membrane straight, corium very short), but it is easy to distinguish from these by the simple venation and the strongly different colour pattern of the wing.   
 Redescription of pregenital abdomen and genitalia. Pregenital abdomen (♂, ♀) rounded in dorsal view (♂: Fig. 54), sternites III–VI each with a short median longitudinal ridge (Fig. 55); epipleurites VII of male fused along midline posteriad to tergite (= mediotergite) VII; segment VIII of male membranous dorsally. Male genitalia. Genital capsule (Figs. 57–58) elongate, dorsally membranous, anterior and posterior apertures not separated by distinct dorsal sclerotized bridge-like portion therefore seemingly confluent. Parameres (Figs. 59–60) curved, curved portion provided with hair sensilla, apical one-fourth forming an elongate, apically obtusely truncate process. Phallus (Figs. 61–64): articulatory apparatus (Fig. 64) small, restricted to the extreme base of the phallus; basal plates short, thick; support bridge complex with 2+2 capitate processes of lateral position, continued in 1+1 greatly elongate, narrow support bridge prolongations (Fig. 64: sbp) separated at base but adjacent at most of their length; phallosoma with a large, membranous basal aula (Fig. 61: ba) provided with a pedicel (Fig. 61: ped); phallotheca elongate, with a dorsal sclerotized plate (Fig. 61: dsp); phallotheca mouth situated ventrally, relatively far from the apex of the phallotheca; endosoma tubular, membranous, with processes as follows: 1+1 struts subdivided into two portions: basal portions (Figs. 61–62: strb) thick, broadened towards apex, apical portions (Figs. 61–62: stra) articulated to apex of basal portions of struts, thickened and curved basally, elongate, whiplike, narrowing towards apex, far protruding from phallotheca; 1+1 elongate lateral sclerites (Figs. 61–62: lsc); 1+1 elongate, membranous lobes, their basal portions surrounding bases of apical portions of struts (Fig. 63).   
 Distribution. Taiwan!
description: Published as part of Rédei, Dávid & Tsai, Jing-Fu, 2011, The assassin bug subfamilies Centrocnemidinae and Holoptilinae in Taiwan (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae), pp. 411-442 in Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 51 (2) on pages 433-436, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5328439