Micronecta (Micronecta) skutalis Nieser & Chen, 1999

Chen, Ping-ping, Nieser, Nico & Lapidin, Johnny, 2015, A review of Bornean Micronectidae (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Nepomorpha) with descriptions of two new species from Sabah, Malaysia 1, ZooKeys 501, pp. 27-62 : 42-45

Taxon classification Animalia Hemiptera Micronectidae

Micronecta (Micronecta) skutalis Nieser & Chen, 1999 Figs 19, 28, 39, 40, 48, 55, 63, 71, 84, 85, 95

Micronecta skutalis Nieser & Chen, 1999: 86-87 (original description).

Type material examined.

Holotype macropterous male (RMNH), MALAYSIA: Sabah, 60 km W of Lahad Datu, Danum Valley Field Centre at junction of Sungai Segama and Sungai Palum Tambun, bridge of Segama, 4°58'N, 117°48'E, 750m a.s.l., edge of untouched lowland rainforest, 14 march 1987, at light, 18.20-22.30h leg. Van Tol & Huisman. Paratypes, same data as holotype 12male 11 females (RMNH).

Additional material examined.

MALAYSIA: Borneo: Sabah: 60 km West of Lahad Datu: Danum Valley Field Centre, at junction of Sungai Segama and Sungai Palum Tambun, 4°58'N, 117°48'E, 150 m a.s.l., 14.iii.1987, 18.20-22.30 hr., edge of untouched evergreen lowland forest, leg. J. van Tol & Huisman, 5 males, 14 females. (RMNH, 2 males, 2 females NCTN); 75 km West of Lahad Datu, confl. S. Sabran, S. Danum, S/N, 4°57'N, 117°41'E, 200 m, 23.x.1987, leg. J. Huisman & R. de Jong, 1 male, 2 females; 10 km SE of Ranau, Kg. Nalapak, Sungai Kananapun, 5°58'N, 116°47'E, 7.ii.1987, leg. J. Huisman, 2 females (RMNH). All macropterous, collected at light.

Redescription

(based on dry specimens mounted on carton). Macropterous form (Fig. 19). A small (length 1.5-1.7 mm), light to medium-brown species; hemelytra smooth, with a variable number of small pegs scattered over their surface.

Dimensions. Length, male 1.52-1.57, female 1.53-1.70; width, male 0.63-0.70, female 0.62-0.70; diatone, male 0.53-0.56, female 0.51-0.55; width of pronotum, male 0.56-0.61, female 0.57-0.59; ocular index, male 1.44-1.61, female 1.57-1.86. Body length 2.3-2.6 the maximal width. Pronotum slightly wider than head, synthlipsis wider than the posterior width of an eye (S/E 0.23/0.17).

Colour. Frons and vertex sordid yellow, eyes grayish. Pronotum and hemelytra sordid yellow to light brown; hemelytra with an often indistinct, transverse medium to dark brown band at middle (Fig. 28), left membrane medium to dark brown. Venter: thorax sordid yellow, laterally infuscate; abdomen grayish brown, medially variably lighter. Legs pale yellow.

Pronotum dorsally convex, 2-2.5 times as wide as long (W/L 2.1-2.7, Fig. 19). Hemelytra beset with spinules arranged in longitudinal rows and along membranal suture. Spines laterally on abdominal segments: V with two short and one long stout spine; VI with two short and one or two longer spines; VII with two short and two long stout spines; VIII with five short spines and two long hair-like bristles.

Legs. Length of leg segments: fore leg: male: femur 0.31, tibia 0.15, pala 0.21; female: femur 0.32, tibiotarsus 0.32; middle leg: male: femur 0.53, tibia 0.19, tarsus 0.26, claw 0.19; female: femur 0.50, tibia 0.18, tarsus 0.26, claw 0.15; hind leg: male: femur 0.32, tibia 0.28, tarsus I 0.25, tarsus II 0.12, claw 0.09; female: femur 0.33, tibia 0.29, tarsus I 0.27, tarsus II 0.12, claw 0.09. Palmar bristles 15-19 in upper row, about 14-17 in lower row.

Male. Fore femur (Fig. 39) with a pair of pegs on proximal third, and two or three small pegs distally; tibia with two to three small spines near dorsal margin; pala (Fig. 40) with three long dorsal hairs. Claw simple, clavate. Dorsum of abdomen: prestrigilar flap (Fig. 48) with a short apex; strigil (Fig. 55) small, sub-oval, one comb with about 60 teeth; free lobe of left part of tergite VIII (Fig. 71) more or less parallel-sided, softly curved, with a rounded apex and about10 apical bristles. Mediocaudal lobe of sternite VII (Fig. 63) short, acute, with four larger bristles. Left paramere (Fig. 85) parallel-sided, apically rounded, with an indentation at the base of the shaft; right paramere in lateral view (Fig. 84) apically dilated, basal lobe with about eight stridulatory ridges.

Female. Fore femur with the same general arrangement of pegs and setae as in male. Seminal capsule of spermatheca ovate (Fig. 95).

Comparative notes.

Its small size separates this species from other Bornean species of Micronecta , except for Micronecta lumutensis (see that species).

Habitat.

The specimens all have been collected at light near a stream.

Distribution.

Malaysia: Sabah ( Nieser and Chen 1999).