Limnocoris pectoralis Montandon, 1897

Rodrigues, Higor D. D. & Sites, Robert W., 2023, Notes on the morphology of two species of Limnocoris Stål (Heteroptera: Naucoridae) from South America, Zootaxa 5264 (1), pp. 137-142 : 140-141

Limnocoris pectoralis Montandon, 1897

( Figs. 3A–F )

Discussion. Limnocoris pectoralis was described based on material from Salta, Argentina. In the original description, Montandon (1897) did not specify the number of specimens of the type series that he indicated were deposited in the “Musée Zoologique de Turin” and in his collection. Nieser & López-Ruf (2001) designated the lectotype of this species based on a male ( Figs. 3A–C ) from Montandon’s original series deposited at the Natural History Museum Vienna—NHMW. Recently, two female specimens from the type series of L. pectoralis were located in the Natural History Museum in London ( Figs. 3D–E ). One of these females also has a lectotype label ( Fig. 3D ); thus, two specimens were labelled as lectotypes by Nieser & López-Ruf. Because the original lectotype designation was based on the specimen from the NHMW, the only specimen mentioned in that paper (by Nieser & López-Ruf 2001), the two specimens at the BMNH are considered paralectotypes.

Nieser & López-Ruf (2001) described the female of L. pectoralis based on non-type specimens since they had access only to the male lectotype. The female described by them has the posterior margin of the subgenital plate rounded; however, all specimens examined by Rodrigues & Sites (2021) of L. pectoralis from Argentina, the country of the type locality of this species, have the posterior margin of the subgenital plate narrowed and produced medially. Thus, Rodrigues & Sites (2021) realized that the female of L. pectoralis described by Nieser & López-Ruf (2001) actually belongs to L. peruvianus , a morphologically similar species with the subgenital plate posterior margin broadly to narrowly rounded ( Fig. 3G ). Similarly, Rodrigues & Sites (2021) did not have the opportunity to examine females of the type series of L. pectoralis , but the association among females and males from Argentina (including the male lectotype) led them to identify the females with narrowed and medially produced subgenital plates as L. pectoralis . This observation was corroborated after examination of photographs of the female paralectotypes of L. pectoralis deposited in the BMNH.

Material examined. PARALECTOTYPES: ARGENTINA: Salta / Rep. Argentine Do A. Borelli / Montandon Coll. 1901-233/ Limnocoris pectoralis Montand. type 1897 (1♀ BMNH) ; same data, except: L. pectoralis Montd. co-type (1♀ BMNH) . NON-TYPES: PERU: Cusco Region, San Pedro , 1390 m, 13°03.29’S, 71°32.78’W, 08 IX 2013, WDS-A-1915, W.D. Shepard (7♁, 4♀ UMC) .

Figures

FIGURE 3. (A–F) Limnocoris pectoralis Montandon, (A) dorsal and (B) ventral habitus of male lectotype (NHMW), (C) lectotype labels, (D–E) female paralectotypes and their respective labels (BMNH), (F) terminal abdominal sterna of female from Cusco (UMC), subgenital plate highlighted. (G) Limnocoris peruvianus Melin, terminal abdominal sterna of holotype female from San Martín (NHRS).