Penottus Distant, 1903

Dang, Kai, Li, Chuanren & Bu, Wenjun, 2012, Four new species of Penottus Distant (Hemiptera: Tingidae) from China, Zootaxa 3346, pp. 29-42 : 29-30

Genus Penottus Distant, 1903

Penottus Distant, 1903: 254 . Type species by monotypy: Penottus jalorensis Distant, 1903 (= Monanthia monticollis Walker, 1873 ).

Penottus: Drake and Ruhoff, 1960: 75 ; Drake and Ruhoff, 1961: 178; Drake and Ruhoff, 1965: 321; Jing, 1981: 334; Péricart, 1986: 654, 1992: 67; Péricart and Golub, 1996: 52; Guilbert, 2007: 9.

Cetiocysta Drake and Poor, 1939: 205, (syn. Drake and Ruhoff, 1960: 44, 75). Type species by original designation: Diplocysta nimia Drake, 1927 .

Redescription. Head elongate, with five spines, two frontal ones short, stout, erect, tuberculiform. Bucculae anteriorly narrow and uniseriate, broadened posteriorly, there bi-, tri-, or quadriseriate. Antennae long, slender; first segment short, second smallest, third longest, pubescent.

Pronotum tricarinate. Hood of collar low. Median carina long, raised along pronotum, contiguous to hood; anterior lateral carinae greatly concealed by paranota. Paranota ( Figs. 3 , 4 ) greatly inflated, semisphere or cystiform, erected on pronotal disc, relatively high, and covering most of pronotum except posterior process, hood and collar. Apical part of pronotal posterior process areolate. Scent gland ostioles elongate.

Hemelytra wider and longer than abdomen. Costal area sinuate, anteriorly bent upwards, three to five areolae broad. Subcostal area three to five areolae broad, divided into two areas by a longitudinal vein, separating one row of areolae along costal area. Discoidal area eight to ten areolae broad. Hypocostal laminae uniseriate.

Diagnosis. Penottus can be recognized among other genera of Oriental Tingidae by the following combination of characters: head elongate; paranota greatly inflated, semisphere or cystiform, erecting on prontal disc, relatively high, and covering most of pronotum except posterior process, hood and collar; subcostal area divided into two areas by a longitudinal vein, separating one row of areolae along the costal area.

Notes. One of the most important diagnostic characters for distinguishing species within the genus Penottus is the shape of the paranota. A comparison of the outlines of the pronotum of different species is easier if an imaginary line is defined, connecting the anterolateral angle of the collar and the meeting point of the lateral margin of the paranotum and the posterolateral margin of the pronotum (this line is abbreviated as LAMP). The size and shape of the area at the two sides of this line is well suitable for distinguishing Penottus species ( Fig. 7 ).

The structure of the lateral carinae concealed by paranota in Penottus was first recorded and illustrated by Drake and Ruhoff (1961). This character is poorly studied in subsequent taxonomic works. Examination of this structure in the involved species (except P. monticollis ) by removal of the paranota showed that the lateral carinae have a sharp interspecific differences ( Fig. 6 ), and has diagnostic value within the genus.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Photographs of heads and paranota in lateral view. A. Penottus bisinuatus sp. n.; B. P. fujianensis sp. n.; C. P. cassideus sp. n.; D. P. tuberculiformis sp. n.; E. P. tibetanus Drake and Maa; F. P. monticollis (Walker). Each scale 1.0 mm.

FIGURE 4. Photographs of heads and paranota in dorsal view. A. Penottus bisinuatus sp. n.; B. P. fujianensis sp. n.; C. P. cassideus sp. n.; D. P. tuberculiformis sp. n.; E. P. tibetanus Drake and Maa; F. P. monticollis (Walker). Each scale 1.0 mm.

FIGURE 6. Illustrations of lateral carinae beneath the paranota in dorsal view (left paranotum removed). A. Penottus cassideus sp. n.; B. P. bisinuatus sp. n.; C. P. fujianensis sp. n.; D. P. tuberculiformis sp. n.; E. P. tibetanus Drake and Maa. Each scale 1.0 mm.

FIGURE 7. Illustrations of outline of pronotum with paranota in dorsal viewin dorsal view. A. Penottus bisinuatus sp. n.; B. P. fujianensis sp. n.; C. P. cassideus sp. n.; D. P. tuberculiformis sp. n.; E. P. tibetanus Drake and Maa; F. P. monticollis (Walker). Each scale 1.0 mm. LAMP = an imaginary line, connecting the anterolateral angle of the collar and the meeting point of the lateral margin of the paranotum and the posterolateral margin of the pronotum.