Cyanolicimex Carpintero, Di Iorio, Masello & Turienzo

Iorio, Osvaldo Di, Turienzo, Paola, Masello, Juan & Carpintero, Diego L., 2010, Insects found in birds’ nests from Argentina. Cyanoliseus patagonus (Vieillot, 1818) [Aves: Psittacidae], with the description of Cyanolicimex patagonicus, gen. n., sp. n., and a key to the genera of Haematosiphoninae (Hemiptera: Cimicidae), Zootaxa 2728, pp. 1-22 : 4-6

Cyanolicimex Carpintero, Di Iorio, Masello & Turienzo gen. n.

Diagnosis. Cimicidae with the following combination of characteristics: rounded posterolateral angles of the pronotum ( Figs. 3–4 ); absence of distinguishable Lb1 ( Figs. 3–4 ); row of lateral bristles of the pronotum, prolonged towards the posterior margin ( Figs. 3–4 ); A2 clearly longer than the anterior and posterior interocular space ( Fig. 2 , Table 1); longer forelegs; tibiae with long and wide bristles ( Fig. 6 ); long and slightly curved left paramere, exceeding the margin of the genital segment ( Fig. 7 ).

TABLE 1

Measurements in specimens of Acanthocrios furnarii (including Cimex passerinus ), Ornithocoris toledoi, Psitticimex uritui and Cyanolicimex patagonicus . b, broken bristle. References: [1] Cordero & Vogelsang (1928); [2] Moraes (1939); [3] Lent & Abalos (1946); [4] Usinger (1966); [5] Di Iorio et al. (2008); [6] Turienzo & Di Iorio (2010); [7] Present work.

Large species (5.7 mm length in slide-mounted specimens). Body suboval, dorsally smooth. Dorsal bristles long, more dense on head, antennal segments I and II ( Fig. 2 ), sides of pronotum (continued towards the posterior margin) ( Figs. 3–4 ), hemelytral pads, and at apical half of each abdominal segment; these intermixed with very short setae. Lb2 distinguishable by its greater length and its more internal base ( Figs. 3– 4 ). Venter with more sparse and shorter bristles, with a long hair at the latero-apical angle of each ventrite. Legs with long and thick bristles ( Fig. 6 ). Females with a very small and reduced apical tuft of hairs on front tibiae and absent in middle tibiae; males with apical tufts of hairs in front and middle tibiae.

Clypeus strongly widened, subquadrangular, more than 1/2 as wide as interocular space, with many long setae ( Fig. 2 ). Head disk rugose, with a few bristles on each side near eyes and at middle. Eyes small, separated from the anterior margin of pronotum by a distance subequal to their width ( Fig. 2 ). Antennae about equal to width of head; second segment longest, greater than interocular space (Table 1, Fig. 2 ), I and II thick, and III and IV slender, these ones slightly shorter than segment II and subequal among them. Rostrum reaching middle of front coxae; first and third segments subequal, second slightly shorter and wider.

Pronotum nearly 3 times as wide as long, and about 3/5 again as wide as head; sides extremely arcuate, rounded; posterolateral angles rounded; anterior margin concave; posterior margin slightly convex; sides with a series of marginal long bristles ( Figs. 3–4 ).

Hemelytral pads short; twice as wide as long, contiguous only at base; broadly rounded at sides and convergent posteriorly; sides depressed before margins, with sparse long bristles ( Figs. 3–4 ). Legs long and thin. All tibiae with long and wide bristles ( Fig. 6 ).

Male genital segment slightly sloping to left; paramere thin and slightly curved, exceeding the margin of genital segment ( Fig. 7 ). Female spermalege between fifth and sixth segments, nearly in median area; hind margin of fifth and sixth segments bisinuate and bent forward medially ( Fig. 5 ).

Etimology. The generic name refers to the Psittacidae genus Cyanoliseus related to Cimex , the type-genus of the family. The gender is masculine.

Taxonomic discussion. The most distinctive characters of Cyanolicimex were summarized in the generic diagnosis. In Cyanolicimex, A2> pIS> aIS is clearly longer than the A 2 in Psitticimex ( Fig. 2 and Fig. 16 respectively). Affinities of Cyanolicimex are unclear, because some characters are shared with other South American genera: the absence of the apical tufts of hair in the middle tibia of the females ( Ornithocoris ); A2> aIS (Psitticimex); the maximum width of the pronotum in the middle of its length (Acanthocrios and Psitticimex); the shape of the spermalege, extended anteriorly (Psitticimex); and one species of Psittacidae as a host (Psitticimex). On the other hand, Cyanolicimex shows some similarities with Hesperocymex List, 1925 from the Nearctic Region. In this latter genus, the pronotum has very long bristles at the lateral margins, the posterolateral angles of the pronotum are rounded, and the apical tufts of hair are absent in the front and middle tibiae of the females ( Usinger 1966). Hesperocymex was considered as a more derived genus in the Nearctic Region ( Ueshima 1966), and Cyanolicimex seems to be its counterpart in the Neotropical Region.

The phylogeny of the Haematosiphoninae , first proposed by Usinger (1966), and later modified by Di Iorio et al. (2008) and Poggio et al. (2009), should be modified again with the tentative incorporation of Cyanolicimex as the sister genus of Psitticimex ( Fig. 8 ). A further cytogenetic study of C. patagonicus will confirm if its chromosome number and sexual mechanism are similar to Psitticimex, as is suggested by its position in the phylogenetic tree ( Fig. 8 ).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Phylogeny of the Haematosiphoninae, with the incorporation of Cyanolicimex as the sister genus of Psitticimex.

FIGURES 2 – 7. Cyanolicimex patagonus: 2, antennae, head, and pronotum (female Holotype); 3 – 4, pronotal margin; 5, spermalege (female Holotype); 6, tibia III; 7, male genitalia (Paratype).

FIGURES 16 – 20. Psitticimex uritui: 16, antennae, head, and pronotum (female); 17, pronotal margin; 18, male genitalia; 19, female spermalege; 20, tibia III.