Myiomma nigricollis, Akingbohungbe, A. E., 2006

Akingbohungbe, A. E., 2006, New species of Isometopinae (Hemiptera: Miridae) from Yemen with a new name for Isometopus longirostris Akingbohungbe from Sudan, Zootaxa 1210, pp. 27-38 : 32-35

Myiomma nigricollis sp. nov.

Description

Female. Length 2.24. Maximum width across hemelytra 0.96. Head width across vertex 0.18; dorsal length 0.16; facial length 0.50; facial width 0.42. Minimum frontal inter­ocular space 0.04; anterior space 0.08; posterior space 0.32. Maximum width of eye 0.24; height 0.28. Height of gena 0.12; height of lorum 0.11. Ocellus width 0.02; interocellar space 0.04. Maximum width of pronotum 0.84; median length 0.28. Scutellum length 0.32; width 0.38. Cuneus length 0.34; width 0.28. Rostrum 0.96. Antennae I 0.08; II 0.50; III 0.18; IV missing. (0.14 in paratype).

Elongate oval (figure 4). Head deflexed, vertex broadly horizontal, from above about 0.57x as long as pronotum; in front obovate (figure 5), about 0.84x as broad as high. Frons strongly tumid convex, weakly marginate apically. Gena sub­excavated, bluntly carinate laterally, about 0.43x as high as eye with antennophore located at its apex distad of ventral eye margin. Lorum strongly depressed, about 0.92x as high as gena. Postgena weakly tuberculate, broadly exposed laterally together with occiput. Entire head impunctate, darkred to black with occiput at base pale whitish; pubescent with dark reddish­brown hairs (largely rubbed in specimen). Eyes deep red, glabrous; distinctly separated mesally on frons (0.04 apart), more widely so behind vertex (0.06 apart); deeply emarginate behind ocelli. Ocelli dark translucent, twice width of each apart. Antennae with segment I darkred, about 2x as long as its thickness. II with broad basal band dark­red to black, narrow sub­apical band brighter reddish, and remainder whitish; somewhat narrowed medially, about as thick at base and apex as I; clothed with semi­reclining hairs shorter than segment thickness. III subfusiform, pale suffused with reddish; clothed with semi­reclining hairs equal or subequal to segment thickness. Rostrum bright red on segment I, otherwise darkred to black; extending to eighth abdominal sternite.

Pronotum trapeziform, about 3x as long as broad; lateral margin sharply carinate, posterior bisinuate. Disk black, finely transversely rugose punctate; calli feebly delimited, confluent, impunctate; pubescent with short dark reddish­brown reclining hairs. Mesoscutum, basal two­fifths or so of scutellum black, scutellum otherwise whitish; both impunctate.

Hemelytra pale to whitish ochraceous with base and apex of clavus, rather broad crescent­shaped band covering apical three­fifths of embolium and apical third of corium, apical half of cuneus, broad apical band on membrane, all smoky to dark reddish­brown. Generally impunctate, apparently dense (specimen somewhat rubbed) with short dark red bristle­like hairs intermixed with reddish­brown and golden yellow hairs; latter on whitish bands of scutellum, clavus, and cuneus. Membrane distinctly biareolate, glabrous.

Venter generally dark­red to black, ovipositor base somewhat contrasting pale whitish. Propleura impunctate. Legs largely dark reddish­brown; basal trochanteral segments, tip of hind femora, apical band on tibiae, hind tarsi, all pale yellow to yellow­brown.

Comments

This is the second species record of Myiomma Puton in the Middle East and it shares affinity with the first recorded species, M. maculata Akingbohungbe , also from the Republic of Yemen. The description of the new species as provided above is based primarily on the female holotype; the female paratype, apparently somewhat teneral at the time of collection, had undergone some shrinkage in storage; it is nonetheless quite distinctive. Very unfortunately, a single male specimen that was collected with the female holotype got damaged and lost during the process of microscopic examination. However, some pertinent measurements and notes had earlier been taken on the specimen. These are reproduced hereunder to allow for comparison, especially with M. maculata which was described based on a male specimen.

Length 2.28. Maximum width across hemelytra 0.88. Head width across vertex 0.24; dorsal length 0.18; facial length 0.48; facial width 0.44. Minimum frontal inter­ocular space 0.02; anterior space 0.08; posterior space 0.32. Maximum width of eye 0.24; height 0.28. Height of gena 0.08; height of lorum 0.08. Ocellus width 0.03; inter­ocellar space 0.04. Maximum width of pronotum 0.86; median length 0.30. Scutellum length 0.36; width 0.42. Cuneus length 0.46; width 0.30. Rostrum 0.84. Antennae I 0.08; II 0.70; III 0.12; IV 0.12.

In my 1996 key to Myiomma spp ., the male specimen of the new species will run to couplet 14 just like M. maculata ; here both key out as M. bredoi Akingbohungbe from Lumbumbashi, Republic of Congo. Both species are however relatively larger than M. bredoi ; and while the coxae, trochanters, femora, and ostiolar peritreme are generally whitish in the latter species, they are generally reddish to dark reddish in the new species and M. maculata . The new species differs from M. maculata in having the pronotum about 2.87x as broad as long compared to 2.56x; antennal segment II of the male is generally dark red and clavate, whereas in male M. maculata it is narrowed towards the middle, and largely pale whitish with a subapical dark red band. Similarly, the hind femur in the new species is dark reddish­brown with contrasting whitish apical band whereas it is uniformly dark reddish­brown in M. maculata . The female of the new species will key out in couplet 30 in my 1996 key and there, it will fit more easily as M. albiscutellata Smith. It can however be readily separated from that species in the colouration of its dorsum, which differs in being largely dark brown to blackish. Besides, the head from above in M. albiscutellata is at least 0.70x as long as the pronotum compared to 0.57x in the new species; and similarly, antennal segment II is less than 2.50x as long as III, compared to 2.78x in the new species.

HOLOTYPE: female, Yemen, Hadhramaut, Ghail Ba Wazir, November/December, 2002, van Harten and Hubaishnan (LC).

PARATYPE: female, Yemen, Ta’izz, Ta’izz­Al Turbah, 22 March, 1992, A. van Harten (LC).