Mahea andriai ( Cachan, 1952 )

Kment, Petr, 2005, Revision of Mahea Distant, 1909, with a review of the Acanthosomatidae (Insecta: Heteroptera) of Madagascar and Seychelles, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae (suppl.) 45, pp. 21-50 : 28-30

Mahea andriai ( Cachan, 1952)

( Figs. 8-10 , 42)

Muschalea Andriai Cachan, 1952: 312-313 , Figs. 193 -194 (p. 311), 13 (Pl. XIV, p. 439) (description, figures).

Mahea andriai: KUMAR (1974) : 43 -44 (diagnosis, taxonomy).

Type locality. South-east Madagascar, valley of Iantara by Ivohibe.

Type material. HOLOTYPE: ♀, ‘ Valleé de l’Iantara [hw] / Inst. Scient. Madagascar [p] / 10-XI- 50, A. R. [hw] // TYPIS [p, pink label] // Muschalea / andriai / Cachan [hw] // face side : HOLOTYPUS / Muschalea / andriai / Cachan 1952 / reverse: P. Kment 2005’ [hw, red label] ( MNHN). Holotype pinned; left antennomeres 3-4 and left middle and hind legs missing.

Redescription. Female (holotype) (Fig. 42). Body yellowish ochraceous. Length 9 mm, width of pronotum between humeral spines 6 mm.

Head yellowish ochraceous, margins and antenniferous tubercles laterally darkend; punctures on the head finer than in other species, slightly contrasting, their coalescence hardly intimated; slightly shorter than wide, less than 0.33 times as wide as pronotum. Mandibular plates sinuated before eyes, meeting in front of clypeus. Eyes black. Antennae dark brown, antennomeres 3-4 slightly paler; antennomere 2 with short pubescence (ca half of its diameter); length ratio of antennomeres – 1: 5: 2.25: 2. Head ventrally ochraceous, with coarse and thick dark punctures; apex of rostrum blackened, reaching base of abdomen.

Pronotum coarsely and thickly punctate, punctures brown, darker on margins; anterior and posterior margins slightly concave; antero-lateral margins concave; each humeral angle prominent, produced gradually into sharp, conical, black spine directed laterad and somewhat raised ( Figs. 8-9 ). Scutellum triangular, with sparse concolorous punctures, basal angles slightly blackened; proximal part convex, apical part depressed laterally, with vague median carina; apex narrowly rounded, with black spot. Hemelytra with coarse concolorous punctation, membrane hyaline, translucent, apically distinctly surpassing abdominal apex.

Thorax yellowish brown similar to upper surface; pleura with dispersed small brown punctures. Legs ochraceous.

Abdomen ventrally without apparent punctures, with small black roundish spots near middle on each side of sterna 3-6; median carina on abdominal venter nearly obsolete; connexival spines as in Fig. 10 .

Differential diagnosis. Mahea andriai differs from both M. sexualis and M. durrelli sp. nov. by having the lateral pronotal angles conically produced and gradually tapering to a spinose apex. From M. parvula , it differs by the larger body, more prominent lateral pronotal angles, and relatively narrower head. From M. distanti sp. nov. it differs by the following characters: Body almost uniformly yellowish ochraceous with small dark punctures (except darkened lateral corners of pronotum, apex of scutellum, antennae and paired black spots laterally on abdominal venter). Head with only indicated impressed rows of pale punctures. Apex of scutellum more broadly rounded. Sternum without black punctures. Hairs on antennomere 2 shorter than its diameter. Thorax not swollen. Lateral connexival spines as in Fig. 10 .

Bionomy. Unknown.

Distribution. South-east Madagascar. Known only from the type locality ( CACHAN 1952).

Figures

Figs. 8-10. Mahea andriai (Cachan, 1952). 8 – pronotum, dorsal view; 9 – pronotum, posterior view; 10 – abdomen, ventral view.

Figs. 1-5. Mahea sexualis Distant, 1909. 1 – head, dorsal view; 2 – pronotum, dorsal view; 3 – pronotum, posterior view; 4 – abdomen of male (lectotype), ventral view; 5 – abdomen of female (paralectotype), ventral view.