Cottothucha oceanae Drake and Poor, 1965

Runagall-Mcnaull, Aidan & Cassis, Gerasimos, 2013, Systematics of the lace bug genus Cottothucha Drake and Poor (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Tingidae) with description of the first Australian species and its exaggerated nymph, Zootaxa 3640 (3), pp. 395-408 : 406-407

Cottothucha oceanae Drake and Poor, 1965

Material examined. PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Morobe Province, below Gurakor, - 6.83330 ° S 146.63330 ° E, 475 m, 11 Oct 1978, J. L. Gressitt, 1 Ƥ (AMNH_PBI 00042476) (BPBM); Morobe Province, Garaina, - 7.88330 ° S 147.13330 ° E, 750 m, 29 Sep 1979, J. L. Gressitt, 1 3 (AMNH_PBI 00042477) (BPBM), 1 Ƥ (AMNH_PBI 00042478) (BPBM); Morobe Province, Wau, - 7.33330 ° S 146.71667 ° E, 1200 m, 16 Jan 1977, collector unknown, 1 3 (AMNH_PBI 00042485) (BPBM), 1 Ƥ (AMNH_PBI 00042484) (BPBM); Morobe Province, Wau, McAdam Park, 1200 m, 0 4 Sep 1971, W. C. Gagne, 2 3 (AMNH_PBI 0 0 0 42479, AMNH_PBI 00042480) (BPBM), 3 Ƥ (AMNH_PBI 0 0 0 42481, AMNH_PBI 0 0 0 42482, AMNH_PBI 00042483) (BPBM).

Diagnosis. medium size, males (BL 3.42–3.61), females (BL 3.23–3.78); dark brown to black colouration on head, thorax and abdomen, pale yellow brown on legs, pronotal structures and antennae; hemelytra yellow brown or grey brown; short, thick, vestigial frontal cephalic spines; pronotal cyst areolae arranged regularly either side of prominent medial vein, areolae with lattice like substructure; biseriate upwardly reflexed paranota; very narrow subcostal area; broad, uniseriate costal area; poorly differentiated discoidal and sutural areas.

Description. COLOURATION ( Fig. 4 ). Head: dark brown to black, bucculae black, labium yellowish brown. Antennae: yellowish tan. Pronotum: veins dark brown-black with beige membrane, areolae veins fuscescent. Thoracic pleura and sterna: black. Legs: yellowish tan. Abdomen: dark black-brown. Hemelytra: variegated, veins dark brown-black, lighter brown posteriorly, translucent or light brown membranes. VESTITURE. Antennae: AIV with thin setae. Pronotum: ( Fig. 9 e, f) lateral carinae covered in long, dense fur-like setae. STRUCTURE. Head: ( Fig.9 ) short thick frontal spines; antenniferous tubercles reduced. Pronotum: ( Fig. 2 e, f) pronotal cyst areolae with netlike substructure arranged either side of prominent medial vein; lateral carinae moderately enlarged, uniseriate, areolae subquadrate, covered by paranota ( Fig. 9 e, f); paranota enlarged, biseriate, areolae subquadrate. Hemelytra: ( Fig. 9 d) costal area uniseriate, broad, tapering anteriorly and terminating before anterior margin of wing, areolae large, quadrate; subcostal area very narrow, areolae small, mildly depressed laterally; discoidal and sutural areas poorly differentiated; areolae in sutural and discoidal areas moderately sized; R+M and hypocostal veins prominent, moderately depressed, carinate ventrally. Male genitalia: see ( Fig. 1 b, f). MEASUREMENTS. Measurements of 33 and 5Ƥ individuals are given in Table 1.

Remarks. Cottothucha oceanae is darker in colour than the other Cottothucha species, and can also be differentiated by its larger size and biseriate paranota.

Biology. This species has been found on the family Araceae .

Distribution (Fig. 3). This species is known from Amboina Island in the Moluccas (Drake and Poor, 1941), the Philippines (Froeschner, 2001), and the Morobe district of Papua New Guinea, at medium to high elevations (475–1200m)

Figures

FIGURE 1. Male genitalia of Cottothucha species. a, d: C. minor; c, e: C. kalathis n. sp.; b, f: C. oceanae. a, b, c: aedeagus, dorsal view. d, e, f: right paramere, dorsal view. Scale = 100 μm

FIGURE 2. Pronotal structure comparison of Cottothucha species. a: C. kalathis, body, lateral view (50 μm); b: C. kalathis, pronotal cyst, dorsal view (50 μm); c: C. minor, body, lateral view (50 μm); d: C. minor, pronotal cyst, view dorsal (50 μm); e: C. oceanae, body, lateral view (100 μm); f: C. oceanae, pronotal cyst, dorsal view (100 μm).

FIGURE 4. Habitus of Cottothucha species: C. kalathis n. sp., C. minor, C. oceanae. Scale = 1 mm.

FIGURE 9. Cottothucha oceanae Drake and Poor. a: head, anterior view (100 μm); b: head, lateral view (50 μm); c: head, ventral view (50 μm); d: hemelytra (100 μm); e: lateral carina, paranota removed (100 μm); f: lateral carina detail, paranota removed (50 μm).