Zemacrosaldula kapekape, Larivière, Marie-Claude & Larochelle, André, 2015

Larivière, Marie-Claude & Larochelle, André, 2015, Zemacrosaldula, a new genus of Saldidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) from New Zealand: taxonomy, geographic distribution, and biology, Zootaxa 3955 (2), pp. 245-266 : 257-258

Zemacrosaldula kapekape new species

Zemacrosaldula kapekape Larivière & Larochelle , new species. Holotype: male (NZAC) labelled “ NEW ZEALAND OL Mt [=Mount] Aspiring NP [=National Park], Cameron Flat 300m 4429 S 16848 E 17.III.2006 Larivière, Larochelle / Stonygravelly streambank: bare silty soil; on stones near water / HOLOTYPE [male symbol] Zemacrosaldula kapekape Larivière & Larochelle, 2015 (red label). Paratypes: 7 males (1 CMNZ, 1 LUNZ, 1 MONZ, 4 NZAC) and 8 females (1 CMNZ, 1 LUNZ, 1 MONZ, 5 NZAC) with same data as holotype, bearing blue paratype labels.

Description. Body length 4.51–5.53 (5.04) mm; elongate-ovate ( Fig. 2 ). Dorsal colour largely black, with uniformly dark lateral margins of pronotum and several individual (not coalesced) whitish markings on hemelytra; frequently with a combination of a pair of semilunate or irregularly shaped marks in basal third of corium and moderate to large irregularly shaped medial mark at about midlength on exocorium. Facial colour ( Fig. 8 ) slightly to moderately contrasted. Head, pronotum and scutellum moderately shiny, contrasting moderately against mostly dull hemelytra. Dorsal pubescence short, reclined to semi-erect, whitish, sometimes more sparse than in Z. australis but still rather evenly distributed. Dorsal microsculpture rugulose on head, pronotum and scutellum. Head black. Face ( Fig. 8 ) pubescent. Transverse swelling whitish yellow to yellowish brown; lateral portions separated by a narrow to rather wide dark gap or, sometimes, almost contiguous (nearly touching) near facial midline. Mandibular plates whitish yellow to yellowish brown. Maxillary plates whitish yellow. Anteclypeus and labrum whitish yellow to yellowish brown; anteclypeus often marked with brown basally and dark brown to black along margins; labrum often margined with dark brown to black. Antennae 4.07–4.33x longer than pronotum + collar medially, largely dark; segment I whitish yellow to yellowish brown, with ventral and dorsal sides dark brown to black (usually striped); segment II dark brown to black, often shortly paler subapically, 2.16–2.17x longer than segment I; segments III–IV dark brown to black. Thorax. Lateral margins of pronotum subrectilinear to very slightly convex, uniformly dark. Underside black, with sharply contrasting broadly pale acetabula I–II (acetabulum II sometimes narrowly pale), acetabulum III narrowly to very narrowly pale (rarely completely dark), and partially pale (posterior half) to almost completely pale lateral margins; pubescence rather dense, silvery, appressed (except for glabrous lateral margins). Legs moderately dark; fore femora striped with dark brown to nearly black on ventral and dorsal sides, along part or entire length; mid and hind femora thickly marked with brown on ventral and lateral sides, otherwise whitish yellow with some brown spots, or, nearly completely black; tibiae with dark brown to black dorsal stripe over most of length and black subapical annulus, otherwise whitish yellow with dark spines; hind tibiae 2.71–2.87x longer than tarsal segments II+III combined; tarsal segment II slightly darkened or not apically, otherwise yellowish brown, segment III completely dark brown to black (often paler in basal half of hind tarsus); pretarsal claws rather short, about a third of the length of tarsal segment III. Scutellum black, 1.82–1.96x longer than pronotum + collar medially. Hemelytra: corium ( Fig. 12 ) largely black with several irregular, individual (not coalesced), whitish markings; endocorium with a line of four pale spots along R vein, a few additional spots subapically along membrane, sometimes with a spot about middle (rarely an irregular longitudinal mark); exocorium without coalesced irregular markings on basal third to three-quarters (as opposed to Z. australis ), with a number of individual markings, a moderate to large irregularly shaped medial mark at about midlength, and usually a smaller irregular medial mark subapically; colour pattern in female consistent with that of male but often paler overall with broader markings; pale markings in darker individuals reduced in size but hardly in numbers, with line of four visible spots not significantly reduced in size; corium in darkest individuals never almost entirely black with a few speckles; corium and clavus largely pruinose; basal pale spot of clavus present or absent; subapical pale spot of clavus present; membrane dark brown to black basally with a pale mark near tip of clavus, brown medially within cells and along margin, pale within cells on each side of brown medial mark, and with dark brown to black veins. Abdomen. Venter black, with posterior margin of some or most segments narrowly pale (generally more broadly pale in female). Pubescence rather dense, silvery, appressed in both sexes. Male parandria as in Z. australis (see Fig. 19 ). Male paramere ( Fig. 16 ) without distinct processus sensualis; instead, with flat cuticular surface bearing less than 10 setae; processus hamatus narrowly rounded and subrectilinear at tip. Apical half of male aedeagus, in lateral view, with 3 main visible sclerites as in Z. australis (see Fig. 21 ). Male filum gonopori coiled 1.5 times as in Z. australis (see Fig. 24 ). Female subgenital plate (segment VII, ventrally) black with apical half pale or plate largely pale. Other characters as in generic description.

Geographic distribution ( Fig. 26 ). Southernmost areas and west coast of the South Island.

Material examined. A total of 223 specimens including types, from the following localities. South Island.

CO —Clutha River ( LUNZ); Clutha River, junction with Highway 8A, 9 km SE of Luggate ( NZAC); Danseys Pass (N of) ( CMNZ); Nevis Crossing ( LUNZ). DN —Otekaieke, Otekaieke River ( NZAC). FD —Hunter Mountains, South Borland River ( NZAC). MK —Lake Pukaki, Whale Stream ( NZAC). OL —Glenorchy, Buckler Burn ( NZAC); Lake Hawea ( AMNZ); Mount Aspiring National Park, Cameron Flat ( NZAC). SC —Hakataramea, Hakataramea River ( NZAC); Aparima River (14 km S of Mossburn ( NZAC); 4.2 km S of Wreys Bush ( NZAC)); Dipton West, Oreti River ( NZAC); Winton, Oreti River ( NZAC). WD —Harihari, Wanganui River mouth ( CMNZ); Junction of Wanganui River & Highway 6 ( NZAC); Lake Mapourika ( MONZ); Lake Moeraki ( NZAC); Omoeroa River, S of Franz Josef ( AMNZ); Totara River, near Moorhouse Road ( NZAC).

Biology. Altitudinal range. Lowland (mostly) to lower montane. Not usually coastal; may be present in predominantly freshwater habitats located near the mouth of rivers that also harbour inland populations. Habitat. Occurs along stony-gravelly (or shingled) riverbanks, riverbeds or, less frequently, lakeshores; saxicolous, found mainly on gravel, stones or boulders near the water’s edge, usually within 0.5 to 3 m from the waterline, as well as on stones or boulders emerging from the water; mostly in sandy environments, also in slightly silty or clayish situations; primarily near moderate to fast running water, also near calmer water (e.g., side river channels or temporary backwaters). Sometimes found on bare ground patches between stones or boulders near the waterline. Nymphs live in the same habitat, on the ground surface between and under stones or among gravel. Seasonality. Adults collected from October to March; mating pairs observed in March; newly emerged adults (tenerals) and nymphs found in March. Food. Predator or scavenger. Behaviour. Jumps from stone to stone, flies short distances (usually less than 2 m), dashes quickly into the space between stones or into water when disturbed. Heliophilous; hides under and between stones, in cloudy or rainy weather.

Remarks. The species name is from the Maori word ‘kapekape’, meaning west-south-west. It refers to the South Island west coast and southernmost distribution of this species and to it being the west-south-west counterpart of Z. australis .

The external morphology and male genitalia of Z. kapekape closely resemble those of Z. australis from which it can be difficult to distinguish. The eunomy falls somewhere between that of Z. whakarunga and darker forms of Z. australis . The configuration of the male paramere is also reminiscent of the condition observed in Z. australis but differs mainly in the shape of the processus hamatus which is more bluntly rounded and straight at the tip in Z. kapekape . In addition, this species usually lacks the coalesced hemelytral markings seen in the basal third to threequarters of the exocorium in Z. australis and it has a shorter second segment of the antenna. See also Remarks under Z. australis .

Figures

FIGURE 26. Collecting localities of Zemacrosaldula species, New Zealand.

FIGURES 1 – 4. Dorsal views of Zemacrosaldula species (legs and antennae omitted). Scale bar = 1 mm. (1) Z. australis, (2) Z. kapekape, (3) Z. whakarunga, (4) Z. pangare.

FIGURES 5 – 10. Facial views of Zemacrosaldula species. (5 – 7) Z. australis, (8) Z. kapekape, (9) Z. whakarunga, (10) Z. pangare.

FIGURES 11 – 12. Eunomy (left corium), with more frequently observed pigmentation patterns indicated by an asterisk (*). (11) Zemacrosaldula australis (cl = clavus, en = endocorium, ex = exocorium), (12) Z. kapekape.

FIGURES 15 – 24. Schematic views of male genitalia. (15 – 18) Paramere, ventral view. (15) Zemacrosaldula australis, (16) Z. kapekape (ph = processus hamatus), (17) Z. whakarunga (ps = processus sensualis), (18) Z. pangare. (19 – 20) Parandria, posterior view. (19) Z. australis, (20) Z. whakarunga. (21 – 22) Anterior half of aedeagus, lateral view. (21) Z. australis, (22) Z. whakarunga. (23) Sclerites of aedeagus, Z. australis, ventral view. (24 – 25) Filum gonopori, lateral view. (24) Z. australis, (25) Z. whakarunga.