Zelus umbraculus Zhang & Hart

Zhang, Guanyang, Hart, Elwood R & Weirauch, Christiane, 2016, A taxonomic monograph of the assassin bug genus Zelus Fabricius (Hemiptera: Reduviidae): 71 species based on 10,000 specimens, Biodiversity Data Journal 4, pp. 8150-8150 : 8150

Zelus umbraculus Zhang & Hart sp. n.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00047973 ; recordedBy: E. I. Schlinger & E. S. Ross; sex: Adult Male; otherCatalogNumbers: CAS Type No. 12717; Taxon: scientificName: Zelusumbraculus; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang and Hart, 2016; Location: country: PERU; stateProvince: Lambayeque; locality: 94 mi E of Olmos ; decimalLatitude: -5.98497; decimalLongitude: -78.3751; georeferenceSources: Google Earth; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: 1955-01-18; Record Level: institutionCode: CAS Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00017041 ; recordedBy: L. E. Peña; sex: Adult Male; Taxon: scientificName: Zelusumbraculus; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang and Hart, 2018; Location: country: ECUADOR; stateProvince: Orellana; locality: Coca (on Rio Napo) ; decimalLatitude: -0.4183; decimalLongitude: -76.9857; georeferenceSources: GeoLocate Software; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: 1965-05-01; Record Level: institutionCode: AMNH Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00006067 ; recordedBy: E. I. Schlinger & E. S. Ross; sex: Adult Male; Taxon: scientificName: Zelusumbraculus; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang and Hart, 2016; Location: country: PERU; stateProvince: Lambayeque; locality: 94 mi E of Olmos ; decimalLatitude: -5.98497; decimalLongitude: -78.3751; georeferenceSources: Google Earth; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: 1955-01-18; Record Level: institutionCode: CAS Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00019692 ; recordedBy: E. I. Schlinger & E. S. Ross; sex: Adult Male; Taxon: scientificName: Zelusumbraculus; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang and Hart, 2019; Location: country: PERU; stateProvince: Lambayeque; locality: 94 mi E of Olmos ; decimalLatitude: -5.98497; decimalLongitude: -78.3751; georeferenceSources: Google Earth; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: 1955-01-18; Record Level: institutionCode: CAS Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00019694 ; recordedBy: E. I. Schlinger & E. S. Ross; sex: Adult Male; Taxon: scientificName: Zelusumbraculus; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Zhang and Hart, 2020; Location: country: PERU; stateProvince: Lambayeque; locality: 94 mi E of Olmos ; decimalLatitude: -5.98497; decimalLongitude: -78.3751; georeferenceSources: Google Earth; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2013; Event: eventDate: 1955-01-18; Record Level: institutionCode: CAS

Description

Figs 199, 200, 201

Male: (Fig. 199) Moderately large, total length 14.03-14.72 mm (mean 14.48 mm, Suppl. material 2); robust. COLORATION: Entire surface greenish-brown; lateral surfaces lighter; anterior portion of membrane of hemelytron darkened. VESTITURE: Sparsely setose. Head with short, erect and some short spine-like setae dorsally, and short, recumbent and long, erect setae ventrally. Posterior pronotal lobe with sparse, scattered, erect and recumbent setae. Abdomen with short, recumbent and short to long, erect setae. STRUCTURE: Head: Cylindrical, L/W = 2.06. Postocular lobe relatively short; in dorsal view distinctly narrowing through anterior 1/2, posterior 1/2 constant, tube-like. Eye prominent; lateral margin much wider than postocular lobe; dorsal margin removed from postocular transverse groove, ventral margin attaining ventral surface of head in lateral view. Labium: I: II: III = 1: 1.43: 0.31 Basiflagellomere diameter subequal to that of pedicel. Thorax: Anterolateral angle rounded, without projection; medial longitudinal sulcus evident only on posterior 1/2, deepening anterior to transverse sulcus of pronotum. Posterior pronotal lobe with rugulose surface; disc distinctly elevated above humeral angle; humeral angle armed, with short spinous processes. Scutellum moderately long; apex blunt, slightly projected upward. Legs: Moderately robust, femoral diameters subequal. Hemelytron: Slightly surpassing apex of abdomen, less than half length of abdominal segment seven; quadrate cell moderately sized; Cu and M of cubital cell converging towards R. GENITALIA: (Fig. 200) Pygophore: Rounded; not expanded laterally in dorsal view. Medial process cylindrical; base broad; moderately long; straight; apex in posterior view rounded, with small sharp lateral projections. Paramere: Cylindrical; moderately long, not reaching apex of medial process; directed posteriad; basally constricted; not distinctly curved. Phallus: Dorsal phallothecal sclerite elongated; lateral expansion arising close to base; apical portion of phallothecal sclerite not distinctly tapered, slightly convex; apex rounded; posterior margin of foramen broadly concave. Struts attached to dorsal phallothecal sclerite; apically separate, connected by bridge; basally mostly separate, moderately fused. Basal plate arm moderately robust; separate; slightly converging; in lateral view very slightly curved; bridge short; extension of basal plate small, marginally expanded onto arm.

Female: Unknown.

Diagnosis

Recognized by the body surface greenish-brown; the area of hemelytron adjacent to the quadrate cell dark brown, inversely V-shaped in appearance; the head short and stout (L/W=<2.1); the ocellus situated on conspicuous elevation (the same set of characters are also present in Z. umbraculus ). Zelus umbraculus can be separated from Z. umbraculoides by several characters listed below (Figs 8, 9). Zelus umbraculus : (1) Disc of the posterior pronotal lobe slightly bulging, nearly flat; (2) paramere moderately robust, apical 1/2 greater; (3) apex of the dorsal phallothecal sclerite rounded; and (4) basal plate arms apically separate. Zelus umbraculoides : (1) Disc of the posterior pronotal lobe clearly bulging; (2) paramere relatively slender; (3) apex of the dorsal phallothecal sclerite truncate, and (4) basal plate arms apically touching. The disc of the pronotal lobe is best observed from a posterior angle with the head facing down.

Etymology

The specific epithet is from Latin "umbra", referring to the shadow in the anterior part of the membrane.

Distribution

South America (Fig. 201). Countries with records: Ecuador and Peru.