Paramorphocoris Bai & Heiss

Cui, Jianxin, Bai, Xiaoshuan, Heiss, Ernst & Cai, Wanzhi, 2015, A new apterous genus of Carventinae (Hemiptera: Aradidae) from China, Zootaxa 3980 (1), pp. 143-146 : 143-144

Paramorphocoris Bai & Heiss , gen. n.

Type species: Paramorphocoris henanensis Bai & Heiss , sp.n.

Diagnosis. Apterous. Medium sized. Body elongate ovate. Dorsal and ventral surfaces partly covered by grayish incrustation of unique pattern, only lateral borders with few short bristles. Head longer than width across eyes; genae slender, produced over clypeus; antenniferous tubercles stout, conical, apically pointed; eyes small, semiglobose, with convex face; postocular lobes anterolaterally subparallel with some distinct tubercles, converging posteriorly to constricted neck; vertex and clypeus together forming a median ridge; antennae long and slender, first and third segments of subequal length, second shortest, first stout and clavate, second and third cylindrical, fourth fusiform; rostrum arising from a slit-like atrium, not reaching limits of rostral groove. Pronotum attenuated anteriorly, anterolateral angles protruding anteriorly beyond collar, disc with narrow medial groove. Meso- and metanota medially fused to narrow, high longitudinal ridge strongly constricted at middle and flanked by deep depressions, laterally separated by furrows, metanotum separated by furrows from mtg I, mtg II and triangular fused deltg I+II; lateral margins of thoracic segments incrassate, deeply cleft between pro-, meso-, and metanota. Mtg I separated from mtg II by a furrow. Tergal plate of fused mtg III-VI pentagonal. Tergite VII strongly elevated posteriorly ( Fig. 2 ) Thoracic sterna with processes pointing to coxae.

Legs long and slender, without spines trochanters fused to femora.

Distribution. China.

Etymology. The generic name reflects the similarity to Morphocoris,>para<(Latin) = near to.

Remarks. General habitus, head and thoracic structures of the new genus resemble those of the Oriental genus Morphocoris Kormilev 1980 ( Kormilev 1977(as Glyptomorpha ); Heiss 1982), which comprises 3 species from Thailand, Malaysia, and India. Compared with a male paratype of Morphocoros thailandicus in the collection of the co-author (EH) (no female specimen has ever been illustrated), the latter is distinguished from Paramorphocoris henanensis gen. et sp. nov. by a much wider and less constricted median ridge of meso- and metanotum without a longitudinal sulcus, by the very deep oval lateral excavations of metanotum, the deeper median depression of mtg I+II showing 2 longitudinal carinae at its bottom on mtg II, the straight anterior margin of the tergal plate, and the deep median excavation on mtg III in continuation of that of mtg I+II flanked by raised margins. The elevations and deep cavities cannot be recognized from Kormilev’s 1977 only illustration of this species (p.618, Fig. 19).

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. Paramorphocoris henanensis gen. nov., sp. nov. holotype female: (1) dorsal view; (2) lateral view; (3) thorax dorsal view; (4) head dorsal view; (5) head lateral view; (6) head ventral view. Scale bar 1 mm (1, 2, 3), 0.1 mm (4, 5, 6).