Eldarca nigroscutellata, Faúndez, Eduardo I., 2015

Faúndez, Eduardo I., 2015, Synopsis of the genus Eldarca Signoret, 1864 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Coreidae), Zootaxa 3915 (2), pp. 287-294 : 292-293

Eldarca nigroscutellata sp. nov.

( Figs. 1 , 5, 9 , 12, 13, 14 )

Eldarca haematomera (misidentification): Breddin (1897): 26 (faunistics; Argentina: Santa Cruz)

Type material. Holotype: CHILE, Magallanes Region, Pali Aike, 17-II-1991, L. E. Peña leg. 1♂ ( USNM). Paratypes: same data as holotype 4 ♂ 1 ♀ ( USNM, 1 ♂ EIFC); CHILE, Magallanes Region: Cerro Castillo, 22-II- 1991, Leg. L. E. Peña, 17 ♂ 14 ♀; Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, Laguna Azul-Laguna Amarga, 24-I-1981, Leg. J. Petersen 2 ♂ 3 ♀ ( EIFC, 1 ♂ 1 ♀ IPUM); Parque Nacional Torres del Paine, I-2004, Leg. A. Zúñiga, 3 ♀ ( EIFC). ARGENTINA: Santa Cruz Province: P. N. Los Glaciares, Moreno Glacier, 50˚28′S-73˚02′W, 27-II-1982, A. C. Ashworth leg., glacier margin, pitfall traps in an area of sparse vegetation, 1 ♀ ( EIFC); East end of Lago Argentino 50˚12′S-71˚57′W, 28-II-1982, A. C. Ashworth leg., Magellan steppe, in sand, patchy vegetation on active dunes, 1 ♂ ( EIFC).

Description. General body features: general coloration blackish blue, with ivory patterns on sides ( Fig. 1 ); body entirely covered by a dense and fine concolorous punctation and by small and dense whitish pilosity.

Head: Wider than long, apex pointed, blackish blue colored with an ivory median line; eyes slightly prominent, dark-reddish with an ivory line in the perimeter; ocelli circular, red, located backwards the eyes and not contiguous with pronotum; antennae blackish blue, antennal segment I very convex in the inner margin, II and III cylindrical, IV cylindrical with rounded apex; antenniferous tubercle with a small tooth in the external side; rostrum reaching or barely surpassing the mesocoxae, blackish blue.

Thorax: Pronotum subtriangular, blackish-blue colored with an ivory line in the lateral margins, anterolateral margins sharpened, produced anteriorly, humeral angles rounded, not projected, posterior margin with convex projections on each side of scutellum. Scutellum nearly equilaterally triangulate, blackish blue. Hemelytra reaching the end of abdomen; clavus semirectangular, meeting beyond the end of scutellum; corium blackish-blue with an ivory patch in the anterolateral portion and in the posterior magin; membrane smoky with numerous longitudinal veins; ostiolar peritreme lobulate, very short, reaching ¼ of the metapleuron; evaporatoria rugose, restricted to a small patch surrounding the peritreme, present in metapleuron and a small portion of mesopleuron; osteolar plate with bulbous aspect. Legs bicolored, reddish orange up to ¾ of femora, extant portion blackish blue, tibae with a median sulcus, tarsi 3-segmented.

Abdomen: Connexiva ivory colored; abdomen convex with a rounded margin, each connexival segment subrectangular; ventral portion of the abdomen blackish blue colored, with ivory margins, base of abdomen ventrally with a median truncate process reaching the metacoxae; spiracles dark (blackish or brownish).

Female genitalia ( Fig. 5 ): 1st gonocoxae truncate anteriorly, each gonocoxite with the shape of one fourth of circle, posterior margin convex, slightly pointed; paratergite VIII subrectangular, longer than wider, posterior margin rounded and convex; paratergite IX nearly square; spermatheca ( Fig. 13 ): spermathecal bulb dilated apically, constricted basally, spermathecal duct slightly rolled, spermathecal pump rounded.

Male genitalia: pygophore pentagonal in ventral view, lateral sides not projected, nearly straight ( Fig. 9 ), presence of a truncate depression in caudal view; parameres hook shaped, proximal lobe bigger than distal lobe, distal lobe acute and sharpened ( Fig. 14 ).

Measurements (mm; male mean, female mean follows in parentheses): total length: 9.38 (9.70); pronotum: width: 3.40 (3.48), length: 2.22 (2.21); head: width 1.73 (1.76), length 1.50 (1.50); antennae: I = 0.93, II = 1.10, III = 1.38, IV = 1.26; rostrum: I = 1.07, II = 0.97, III = 0.48, IV = 0.81.

Differential diagnosis. Eldarca nigroscutellata sp. nov. can be differentiated from E. nigra by having ivory borders of pronotum and connexiva; whereas E. nigra is completely black; also in the female genitalia, the first gonocoxae are more truncated in E. nigroscutellata , whereas it is more rounded in E. nigra ; the paratergite VIII is subrectangular in E. nigroscutellata ; and rhomboid in E. nigra .

From E. haematomera it can by differentiated by the male pygophore which is pentagonal in E. nigroscutellata and square shaped in E. haematomera n the female genitalia the first gonocoxae are slightly pointed apically in E. nigroscutellata and very acute apically in E. haematomera ; the scutellum is unicolor in E. nigroscutellata , whereas it has ivory bands on the sides in E. haematomera .

From E. rufa it can be differentiated by the dorsal coloration which is blackish blue in E. nigroscutellata and reddish in E. rufa ; the scutellum is unicolor in E. nigroscutellata , whereas it has ivory bands on the sides in E. rufa ; the legs are bicolor in E. nigroscutellata , whereas legs are unicolor in E. rufa ; the male pygophore has nearly straight lateral margins in E. nigroscutellata ; the lateral margins in E. rufa are strongly inclinated and convex; in the female genitalia the first valvifer is more pointed in E. rufa than in E. nigroscutellata , and the first paratergites are subrectangular in E. nigroscutellata ; and rhomboid in E. rufa .

Etymology. The specific epithet is a Latin composed adjective nigroscutellatus (- a, - um), given in reference to the unicolorous blackish scutellum of this species.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 4. Habitus. 1 — Eldarca nigoscutellata sp. nov., 2 — E. haematomera (Spinola, 1852), 3 — E. nigra Signoret, 1864, 4 — Eldarca rufa (Reed, 1899).

FIGURES 5 – 11. 5 – 8 — female terminalia: 5 — Eldarca nigroscutellata sp. nov., 6 — E. haematomera (Spinola, 1852), 7 — E. nigra Signoret, year, 8 — E. rufa (Reed, 1899), female terminalia. 9 – 11 — pygophore, ventral view: 9 — E. nigroscutellata, 10 — E. haematomera, 11 — E. rufa. Abbreviations: GX = Gonocoxae I, PTVIII = Paratergite VIII, PTIX = Paratergite IX.

FIGURES 12 – 14. 12 — distribution map of Eldarca species; 13 – 14 — Eldarca nigroscutellata sp. nov.: 13 — spermatheca, 14 — right paramere.