Paloniella ovata, 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 : 35-37

Paloniella ovata sp. nov.

Description

Female. Length 2.02. Maximum width across hemelytra 1.68. Head width across vertex 0.50; dorsal length 0.16; facial length 0.46; facial width 0.70. Anterior inter­ocular space 0.22, posterior space 0.58. Dorsal width of eye 0.12; maximum width 0.22; height 0.30. Height of gena 0.14. Ocellus width 0.02; inter­ocellar space 0.16. Maximum width of pronotum 1.28; median length 0.44. Scutellum length 0.72; width 0.66. Cuneus length 0.48; width 0.42. Rostrum 0.96. Antennae I 0.12; II 0.42; III 0.28; IV 0.14.

Strongly ovate (figure 6). Head strongly appressed, inclined forwards; from above 3.13x as broad as long; in front more or less quadrate (figure 7), about 1.52x as broad as high. Frons tumid towards apex, margin convex, finely carinate. Gena high, about 0.47x as high as eye; broadly arcuate with margin finely carinate, forming prominent concavity on either side of frons. Entire head disk transversely rugose punctate, pubescent with very short reclining somewhat sericeous hairs; mostly golden to yellow­brown, vertex behind ocelli paler; genae dark red to black laterally. Eyes reddish, pubescent with obscure very short erect hairs. Ocelli deep red, surrounding annuli brighter red; about 8x width of each apart. Antennal segment I dark red, about 0.33x as thick as long, sparse with semi­erect hairs. II dark red, yellow­brown tinged with reddish along the middle; somewhat recurved, subequal in thickness at base to I, 1.5x thicker towards apex; pubescent with reclining golden yellow hairs shorter than segment thickness. III yellow­brown, linear, 0.5x as thick as I; pubescent with semi­erect golden yellow hairs generally longer than segment thickness. IV fusiform, similarly pubescent as III, black with apex whitish. Rostrum with segment I red, II pale reddish, III and IV dark­red; extending to sixth abdominal sternite.

Pronotum about 2.90x as broad as long; lateral margins strongly arcuate and explanate, posterior deeply bisinuate. Scutellum slightly longer (1.09x) than broad.

Dorsum generally strongly shiny; transversely rugose punctate, more coarsely so on pronotum; distinctly pubescent with short reclining golden yellow to dark golden hairs.

General colouration ochraceous with extensive dark reddish areas as follows: broad somewhat crescent­shaped blotch covering most of pronotal disk, mesoscutum, scutellum excluding whitish tip, clavus and ental band on corium between radial vein and claval suture. Clavus at base ridged; embolium strongly explanate; costal margin broadly arcuate, forming open angle with cuneus.

Venter largely reddish, mesosternum mostly dark red; propleura, lateral band on abdominal sternites II to VIII, ovipositor shaft and sternite IX, all ochraceous. Generally punctate except sternite IX impunctate, punctures more coarse and somewhat rugose on propleura. Abdominal sternites pubescent with short reclining golden yellow hairs; these on IX intermixed with medium sized semi­erect ones. Legs with coxae, fore­femora, mesofemora red to dark reddish; base and apex of fore­femora somewhat paler; metafemora, tibiae reddish­brown with tibiae paler towards apex; tarsi pale whitish.

Male. Unknown.

Comments

This new species is the first record of Paloniella Poppius in the Middle East. It is a relatively small species with a more extensive ochraceous dorsum than the generally observed dark chocolate­brown to dark­red in previously known species of the genus, with the only exception of P. flavicolor Akingbohungbe from South Africa. However, the latter is generally much lighter coloured than the new species, and it is much larger, being 2.60 in length. In terms of size, the new species shows some affinity with I. niger Linnavuori from the Sudan; but that species differs from it in several respects: head darkened with occipital margin strongly contrasting whitish; rostrum considerably more elongate, extending to ninth abdominal sternite; antennal segment II much less (1.25x compared to 1.5x) as long as III etc.

HOLOTYPE: female, Yemen: Sana’a, 12km NW Manakhah, 27 March to 5 May, 2002, van Harten (LC).