Thaumastocoris hackeri Drake and Slater, 1957

Noack, Ann E., Cassis, Gerasimos & Rose, Harley A., 2011, Systematic revision of Thaumastocoris Kirkaldy (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Thaumastocoridae), Zootaxa 3121, pp. 1-60 : 32-33

Thaumastocoris hackeri Drake and Slater, 1957

(Figures: 4C,D; 18E,F)

Thaumastocoris hackeri Drake and Slater 1957: 367 (description); Rose 1965: 144 (diagnosis); Slater 1973: 155 (taxonomy); Cassis and Gross 1995: 393 (catalogue); Cassis, Schuh and Brailovsky 1999: 29 (diagnosis; host plants).

Holotype: 3, QUEENSLAND, Bunya Mt. III-1931 H. Hacker. ( USNM)

Other material examined. 13, NEW SOUTH WALES, Upper Williams River October 1926, AM Lea and FE Wilson, Paratype Thaumastocoris hackeri Drake and Slater ( SAMA).; 1Ƥ, Horton’s Creek, near Clouds Creek, 28.viii.1961, CN and AS Smithers, K157186 (AM); 1Ƥ [K157190], 13 [K157191], approx. 3 km N Lansdowne via Taree, 2 November, 1990 G and T Williams, ex Schizomeria ovata blossoms (AM); 13 [K157192], approx. 3 km N Lansdowne via Taree, 6 November 1990, G and T Williams, ex Schizomeria ovata blossoms (AM). QUEEN- SLAND: 13, Brisbane, 1.xi.1964, HA Rose (QM); 13, Brisbane, 26.xi.1964, HA Rose (QM); 1Ƥ, Brookfield, 1- xi-1926, H Hacker (QM); 13, Hidden Canyon, W slope Bluff Range, near Biggenden, 12 August 1975, H Frauca ( ANIC); 13, Kuranda State Forest, 28.1 km N of Kuranda, 16°40’25”S 145°30’08”E, 28 April 1998, G Cassis, locality code Q98-L18-H17, Rubiaceae (Det. Royal Bot Gard. NSW) (AM); 13, Southport, 24-x-1926, H Hacker (QM).

Diagnosis. Thaumastocoris hackeri is recognised by the combination of the following characters: body elongate; eyes strongly pedicellate; mandibular plates weakly concave and moderately expanded laterally; labium elongate, reaching posterior region of prosternum; corium laterally expanded beyond claval commissure; abdomen laterally expanded and visible dorsally visible beyond costal margin of hemelytra ( Figure 4 C,D); paramere elongated into a hornlike projection apically ( Figure 18 E,F). Thaumastocoris hackeri can be distinguished from T. roy , a species with a similar body shape and elongate labium, by the paramere (cf. Figure 19 D). The paramere of T. roy forms a keel apically and is not hornlike. In addition, T. hackeri is much larger in size than T. roy .

Redescription. Submacropterous. Male length 2.96–3.24, width 0.98–1.23; female length 3.24–3.36, width 1.23–1.35. Females slightly larger in size and darker in colouration. Colouration. Dorsum straw-coloured to yellowish brown, with contrasting dark brown markings ( Figure 4 C,D). Head: mostly straw-coloured; sublateral margins darker; gula dark brown. Antennae: mostly straw-coloured; apical half of AIII and all excluding basal eight of AIV dark brown to fuscous. Labium: mostly yellowish brown; LIII and LIV darker brown. Pronotum: mostly yellowish brown; pronotal disc yellowish cream, medially with dark brown. Thoracic pleura and sterna: mostly yellowish brown, propleura yellowish brown paler dorsally; prosternum fuscous; mesosternum dark brown, paler laterally. Scutellum : straw-coloured, anterior margin yellowish brown. Hemelytra: mostly straw-coloured, medial margin of corium often darker; membrane straw-coloured, medially infused with dark brown ( Figure 4 C,D). Legs: mostly yellowish brown, second tarsomere light brown. Abdomen: uniformly yellowish brown. Texture. Dorsum moderately polished, with shallow to deeply set setose punctures. Head: irregularly punctuate ; vertex mostly impunctate, with three transverse puncticulate rows, punctures shallow; epicranial suture with irregular distribution of fine punctures; mandibular plates with regular distribution of punctures, bare anteriorly. Pronotum: callosite region irregularly punctate, punctures shallow, midline with fine dense punctures, anterolateral angles with sparse shallow punctures; disc densely and regularly punctate, punctures deep, posterolateral angles impunctate. Thoracic pleura and sterna: pleura with uniform dense shallow punctures; mesosternum strongly polished medially. Scutellum : densely and regularly punctate, punctures deep, midline polished posteriorly. Hemelytra: clavus and corium with uniform moderate distribution of deep punctures, larger than on pronotal disc. Abdomen: impunctate, moderately polished. Vestiture. Dorsum with uniform distribution of setose punctures, setae short and straw-coloured. Lateral aspects of body uniformly clothed with short straw-coloured, erect setae. Ventral surface with short sparse setae, becoming bare medially. Antennae: AII–AIII with uniform distribution of fine, erect setae; AIV with same seta on lateral margins, sparse on dorsal and ventral surface. Male genitalia: pygophore clothed in fine setae; pygophoral lock with dense setae apically; paramere with setae medially, horn nude ( Figure 18 E,F). Structure. Head: mandibular plates elongate, surpassing clypeus by less than clypeal length, contiguous medially, weakly flared anteriorly, weakly concave dorsally, anterolateral margins weakly recurved; genae swollen; bucculae strongly arcuate; gula weakly concave. Eyes: strongly pedicellate, recurved ( Figure 4 C,D). Antennae: AI to AIII cylindrical; AIV weakly dorsoventrally flattened. Labium: elongate, reaching towards posterior margin of prosternum. Pronotum: weakly constricted medially; callosite region shorter than disc, disc broader; anterolateral angles weakly arcuate; lateral margin of disc weakly arcuate; disc slightly raised above callosite region ( Figure 4 C,D). Thoracic sterna and pleura: prosternum moderately expanded ventrally; propleura concave medially, posterolateral margins reduced. Hemelytra: at rest extending to abdominal TIX; corium expanded beyond claval commissure, medial margin of corium weakly excavate distally, apex of corium at membrane narrowed, medial margin more than 45° to costal margin ( Figure 4 C,D). Legs: forecoxal separation less than coxal width; fore and mesofemora strongly incrassate; fossula spongiosa elongate, reaching distal margin of second tarsomere; 15–20 foretibial teeth, 12–18 mesotibial teeth, 5–6 metatibial teeth. Male Genitalia: pygophoral lock elongated, expanded apically; paramere ovate with horn like projection apically ( Figure 18 E,F).

Measurements. See Table 2.

Distribution. This species is distributed from temperate to tropical eastern Australia ( Figure 20 A); from just north of Sydney to Kuranda.

Host plant. Thaumastocoris hackeri has been collected from a wide range of host plants, and among thaumastocorids shows some of the widest phylogenetic diversity in plant families ( Table 3 ). It has been collected in Kuranda from an unidentified plant in the Rubiaceae . Near Landsdowne in New South Wales it was found on the blossoms of Schizomeria ovata (Cunoniaceae) . Rose (1965) also collected it from Elaeocarpus obovatus (Elaeocarpaceae) .

Remarks. The paramere of Thaumastocoris hackeri has an apical hornlike projection which is unique to this species and quite elaborate in comparison to other species of Thaumastocoris .

Figures

FIGURE 4. Habitus, dorsal view. A and B Thaumastocoris freomooreae. C and D Thaumastocoris hackeri. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 18. Male genitalia. A. Thaumastocoris australicus, ventral view B. Thaumastocoris busso, ventral view C. Thaumastocoris freomooreae, ventral view D. Thaumastocoris majeri, ventral view E. Thaumastocoris hackeri, ventral view F. Thaumastocoris hackeri, dorsal view G. Thaumastocoris ohallorani, ventral view H. Thaumastocoris ohallorani, dorsal view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 19. Male genitalia. A. Thaumastocoris nadeli, ventral view. B. Thaumastocoris peregrinus, ventral view C. Thaumastocoris petilus, ventral view D. Thaumastocoris roy, ventral view E. Thaumastocoris safordi, ventral view F. Thaumastocoris slateri, ventral view. Scale bar = 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 20. Distribution map. A. Thaumastocoris australicus, T. busso, T. freomooreae and T. hackeri B. Thaumastocoris kalaako, T. majeri, T. macqueeni and T. nadeli.