Indonaucoris minutus, Sites, 2022

Sites, Robert W., 2022, Phylogeny and revised classification of the saucer bugs (Hemiptera: Nepomorpha: Naucoridae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 195, pp. 1245-1286 : 1279-1281

INDONAUCORIS MINUTUS SP. NOV.

Z o o b a n k r e g i s t r a t i o n: u r n: l s i d: z o o b a n k. org:act: 4AD885CF-C005-4D25-B099-D97897F2A4C8

Description: See generic description; only additional details given here. Colour medium brown with yellowish markings. Head mostly yellow, with brown punctures ( Fig. 24a ). Pronotum yellow with brown punctures; transverse band in posterior third with irregular longitudinal stripes ( Fig. 24a ). Scutellum yellowish, hemelytra brown with subtle mottling most evident on corium and membrane. Legs mostly yellowish, except brown protarsus ( Fig. 24b ) and tarsomere 3 of hindleg ( Fig. 24g ). Abdominal terga mostly yellowish and sterna light brown. Hindwing extending to posterior half of tergum VIII. Mensural features (in mm) as follows: body length 5.08, width 2.76; head length 0.90, width 1.61; synthlipsis 0.66; labrum length 0.28, width 0.44; rostrum 0.38; antenna 0.44 (segments 1–4 0.04, 0.12, 0.14, 0.14, respectively); pronotum length 1.00, width 2.58; scutellum length 0.50, width 1.60; hemelytron (chord measurement) 3.44; embolium 0.48; foreleg: femur 1.02, tibia 0.68, tarsus 0.18; mesoleg: femur 1.10, tibia 0.84, tarsomere 1 0.10, tarsomere 2 0.14, tarsomere 3 0.18; hindleg: femur 1.22, tibia 1.36, tarsomere 1 0.12, tarsomere 2 0.26, tarsomere 3 0.27.

Proctiger nearly twice as long as wide, brush of long setae along lateral margins, apex broadly rounded. Pygophore (sternum IX) conical posteriorly (basally), with thick brush of hairs around lateral and posterior margins, anterior margin broadly rounded ( Fig. 24c, d ). Aedeagus long and slender, slightly arcuate, with subapical membranous area on right side; parameres strongly asymmetrical, criss-crossing in basal half (Fig.

PHYLOGENY OF NAUCORIDAE ( HEMIPTERA ) 1281

24d); left paramere overlapping right, with pronounced truncate lobe on left margin ( Fig. 24e ); right paramere slenderer, more arcuate, with elongate sulcus in distal half to embrace aedeagus ( Fig. 24e ).

Etymology: This is one of the smallest species that would have been formerly placed in the genus Naucoris . Therefore, the Latin epithet minutus , small, is in reference to its relatively small size.

Material examined: Holotype. Macropterous male: India: Maharashtra, Mulshi , 18º26.655’N, 73º25.654’E, 9/28/2004.

Repository: The holotype is currently housed in the Enns Entomology Museum , University of Missouri, and will be transferred to the United States National Museum of Natural History ( USNM) .

Comments: Only a single specimen was available to me at the time of this writing. The damage incurred during muscle extraction is regrettable, but the taxonomic importance of this specimen was not foreseen. My colleague Shruti Parapatyadar in Pune, India, has sampled at the type locality, but unfortunately she has not re-collected this species, although she provided a recent photo of the habitat ( Fig. 25 ). She noted that this is a seasonal stream that is subject to complete drying, especially after the 2004 construction of a retention wall that cuts off water flow shortly after the monsoon season ends.

Figures

Figure 24. Indonaucoris minutus gen. nov., sp. nov.: dorsal habitus (a), ventral habitus (b), genital capsule (c), genital capsule with terga IX and X removed (d), left and right parameres (e), dorsal and ventral views of mesothoracic leg (f), dorsal and ventral views of metathoracic leg (g). Sizes are not proportional among figures.

Figure 25. Tamhini stream, the presumed type locality of Indonaucoris minutus gen. nov., sp. nov., in December 2019. Photo courtesy of Shruti Paripatyadar.