Parastalius, Matesco, Viviana Cauduro, Grazia, Jocélia & Campos, Luiz Alexandre, 2007

Matesco, Viviana Cauduro, Grazia, Jocélia & Campos, Luiz Alexandre, 2007, Description of new genus and species of Ochlerini from Central America (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae: Discocephalinae) ¹, Zootaxa 1562, pp. 63-68 : 64

Parastalius gen. nov.

Type species: Stalius trisinuatus Rolston, 1992 .

Description. Medium-sized (8.3–11.0 mm). Head wider than long, declivous; dorsal surface wrinkled with 1+1 shallow longitudinal furrow from anterior margin of ocelli to anterior limit of eyes. Lateral margins of juga parallel attaining or weakly surpassing apex of tylus, lateral margins emarginated, sinuate, deflected. Apices of tylus and juga rounded; basal third of juga and apical third of tylus depressed. Antennifer tubercle with lateral process covering base of first antennal segment. Antenna five-segmented, segment I widest, surpassing apex of juga. Bucculae elevated, evanescent posteriorly, almost attaining base of head. Rostrum long and slender, segment I rising before an imaginary line tangential to anterior margin of eyes and attaining prosternum, II attaining mesocoxae, IV reaching at least middle of urosternite V.

Pronotum wrinkled, about twice as wide as long, declivous before humeral angles. Anterior margin shallowly concave, anterolateral margins sinuate, emarginated. Anterolateral angles produced laterad as small spines, just exceeding limit of eyes. Cicatrices triangular, placed close to anterior pronotal margin and bordered by an unpunctured area. Scutellum constricted at end of frena, lateral margins strongly impressed before constriction, apex narrowly rounded. reaching apex of corium and at least posterior margin of sixth connexival segment. Hemelytra slightly exceeding abdominal apex; membrane infuscate with eight to ten parallel veins. Radial vein with yellowish macula apically. Prosternum and metasternum flat, mesosternum with longitudinal carina. Evaporative area black, limited to narrow stripe next to posterior margin of mesopleura, and occupying anterior half and almost basal third of metapleura’s width. Ostiolar ruga auricular, covering half of metapleural evaporative area width. Tibiae dorsally sulcated. Spiracles at urosternites II to VII. Trichobothria placed ectad of an imaginary line tangential to spiracles.

Female. Gonocoxites 8 wider than long, contiguous at midline; posterior margins sinuous. Laterotergites 8 triangular, spiracle at basal angles. Mesial margins of laterotergites 9 convex, not covering apex of proctiger and gonocoxites 9.

Male. Pygophore quadrangular to trapezoidal; dorsal rim mesially concave. Posterolateral angles rounded, weakly produced. Ventral rim sinuous. Genital cup with 1+1 processes laterad to proctiger. Parameres scythelike, depressed; apex directed towards posterolateral angles.

Distribution: Costa Rica and Panama.

Diagnosis. Parastalius is the sister-group of a clade that includes Stalius ( Campos & Grazia, 2006) ; characteristics of the general morphology and of genitalia distinguish these genera. Parastalius has better developed antennifer tubercles, and the anterolateral angles of its pronotum are produced laterad as spines rather than anteriorly as acute triangles as in Stalius . Another evident difference is the length of scutellum, which in Parastalius reaches the apex of the corium whereas in Stalius , it clearly surpasses the corium. The sinuous ventral rim, the processes on the genital cup, and the parameres (shape and direction) characterize the pygophore of Parastalius . The female genitalia of Parastalius have wider gonocoxites 8 with sinuous posterior margins not covering the base of laterotergites 9; and gonocoxites 9 are partially obscured by gonocoxites 8.