Leptopus scitulus Drake 1954

Khazaei, Zohreh, Polhemus, Dan A. & Tahami, Mohadeseh S., 2020, A new species of Leptopus (Heteroptera: Leptopodidae) from caves in Iran, with notes on other cavernicolous Iranian Heteroptera, Zootaxa 4763 (2), pp. 246-258 : 251

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4763.2.7
publication LSID	urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:3515C2C5-F905-4280-9D2B-AC9326E6525F
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3806438
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03F2C940-FF8C-FF82-FF4E-0FEDFCD628DE
treatment provided by	Carolina
scientific name	Leptopus scitulus Drake 1954
status

Treatment

( Fig. 8 View FIGURES 7, 8 )

Leptopus scitulus Drake 1954: 111 .

Material examined. INDIA, Uttarakhand: 1 male, 5 females, Dehra Dun, U. P. [Uttar Pradesh, later subdivided to create Uttarakand], 20 September 1951, R. N. Kuthari (holotype and paratypes, USNM ex Drake).

Discussion. This species has a striking and distinctive coloration, with the head, pronotum and scutellum brown, suffused with dark yellow on the frons and tylus, anterior pronotal lobe, and extreme apex of the scutellum; the hemelytra contrastingly pale white, with a broad dark bifasciate marking posteriorly in the form of an ‘H’ laid on its side, with the upper fascia traversing the central part of the corium and the apex of the clavus, connected by a dark confluent patch beyond the claval apex to a second transverse fascia covering the extreme posterior part of the corium and base of the wing membrane; and the distal portion of the wing membrane pale, traversed longitudinally by narrow, dark brown veins ( Fig. 8 View FIGURES 7, 8 ). Postocular spots are usually absent, and at best only weakly developed. The central tumescence on the vertex is roughly circular and only moderately developed, with a longitudinal carina leading anteriorly from it to the near the anterior margins of the eyes, where it bifurcates above the frons. In general form and coloration, this species is closest to L. hispanus , and differs from L. gakalae in having a more elongate, parallel-sided form, and being fully macropterous.

The holotype is a point-mounted male in moderately good condition, with all appendages present except for antennal segment IV on the right side. It has not been dissected.