Lerida incerta, (Schouteden, 1909)

Kment, Petr, Jindra, Zdeněk & Rider, David A., 2014, New synonymies and new records of Afrotropical and Madagascan Pentatominae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), Zootaxa 3866 (3), pp. 371-397 : 383

Pseudolerida incerta (Schouteden, 1909)

( Figs 8–10 )

Lerida incerta Schouteden, 1909b: 372 −373 (description). Lectotype: ♀, Cameroon, Mundame (MRAC). Designated by Linnavuori (1982: 71) as ‘type’ (see note below).

Lerida incerta: Schouteden (1909a) : 50−51, Pl. II: Fig. 6 (description (as new species), figure of habitus, faunistics); Kirkaldy (1909): 366 (catalog).

Pseudolerida incerta : Schouteden (1957): 281 (faunistics); Schouteden (1958): 172 (new combination, faunistics); Villiers (1967): 1795 (faunistics); Linnavuori (1982): 9, 90, 101−103, Figs 122a, 143d −f, 149a,b, 150c (inadvertant lectotype designation; key; figures of head, pronotum, metapleuron, pygophore, and paramere; faunistics); Robertson (2009): 166 −167 (catalog).

Material examined. CAMEROON: Batanga, ii.1911, 1 ♂, A. I. Good lgt., C.M. Acc. 4366 ( DARC); B. Cameroons, Kumba, 28. x.1949, 1 ♀, H. Oldroyd lgt. ( BMNH).— DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: Sud Kivu: Kivu: Lukando (Bunyakiri), 1959−1960, 1 ♀, J. Hecq lgt. ( MRAC). Équateur: Tshuapa: Ikela, 1955, 1 ♂, 1956, 1 ♀, R. P. Lootens lgt. ( MRAC, NMPC).— EQUATORIAL GUINEA: Bioko Island: Fernando Poo Isl., Musola, 500–800 m a.s.l., i.–iii.1902, 1 ♀, L. Fea lgt., Mus. Civ. Genova ( MRAC).— REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO: Dimonika (Mayumbe), i.1964, 1 ♂, Mission A. Descarpentries et A. Villiers 1963–1964 ( MNHN); Mbila (Mts. du Chaillu), xii.1963, 2 ♀♀, Mission A. Descarpentries et A. Villiers 1963–1964, A. Villiers det. ( MNHN); Odzala, x.1963, 1 ♀, Mission A. Descarpentries et A. Villiers 1963–1964 ( MNHN).— TANZANIA: Tanganyika: Urw. [= primeval forest] Moera, 1910, 1 ♀, Grauer lgt. ( NHMW).— UGANDA: Kalinza F. [= Kalinzu Forest Reserve], 10-37, 1 ♀, T. H. E. Johnson lgt., Brit. Mus. 1965- 274 ( BMNH).

Variability. This species seems to be considerably variable in several important characters: i) Mandibular plates slightly longer than clypeus, apically rounded, not meeting in front of clypeus ( Fig. 9 ), or mandibular plates distinctly longer than clypeus, apically pointed, meeting in front of clypeus ( Fig. 8 ). Linnavuori (1982: Fig. 143d) figured an intermediate situation with mandibular plates apically rounded, meeting in front of clypeus. ii) Humeral angles of pronotum short, apically acutangulate ( Fig. 9 ) to produced into a long sharp spine ( Figs 8, 10 ). iii) Pronotum typically pale with narrow transverse dark stripe consisting of dense black punctures between humeral angles ( Figs 8, 10 , see also Linnavuori 1982: Fig. 143d), however, there are specimens with the black transverse stripe very narrow and less distinct ( Fig. 9 ) or pronotum heavily punctured with black punctures, therefore appearing dark, with only a narrow yellowish callose stripe in front of the nearly indistinct dark transverse stripe between humeral angles (♀ from Bioko Isl.). As the extreme forms in our material are represented only by females we are unable to check the male genitalia characters and therefore prefere the hypothesis of a single variable species for the time being.

Distribution. Cameroon ( Schouteden 1957, Linnavuori 1982; this paper), Democratic Republic of the Congo ( Linnavuori 1982; this paper), Equatorial Guinea: Bioko Island (new record), Republic of the Congo ( Villiers 1967), Rwanda ( Schouteden 1957), Tanzania: Tanganyika (new record), Uganda (new record).

Note. Schouteden (1909b) did not mention any types or type locality. Schouteden (1909a) indicated that he was not certain of the type locality, either Congo or Cameroon. Schouteden (1957) wrote that the species was described from Cameroon. Linnavuori (1982) indicated that he examined a ‘type’: ‘ Cameroon: Mundame, 1 ♀, type, coll. Schouteden.’ (see Fig. 10 ); we accept this action as designation of lectotype by asumption of ‘holotype’ or ‘type’ (see ICZN 1999: 74.6).

Figures

FIGURES 8 – 11. 8 – 10 — Pseudolerida incerta (Schouteden, 1909: 8 – 9 — two ♀♀ from Republic of Congo, Mbila, both 9.0 mm; 11 — ♀, lectotype, Cameroon, Mundame (MRAC). 11 — Pseudolerida bitalensis Schouteden, 1958, ♀, holotype, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kivu, Bitale (MRAC). (Photo: P. Kment).