Bifurcipentatoma, Fan, Zhong - Hua & Liu, Guo - Qing, 2012

Fan, Zhong - Hua & Liu, Guo - Qing, 2012, species from China (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), Zootaxa 3274, pp. 14-28 : 15

Bifurcipentatoma gen. nov.

Type species. Bifurcipentatoma nigricornuta sp. nov., here designated.

Description. Body ochraceous or testaceous. Head narrowing towards apex, with lateral margins slightly convex. Mandibular plates equal to clypeus or only slightly longer than the latter but not meeting by the end. Antennae slim, antennomere 1 reaching the head apex, antenomere 2 and 3 subequal in length or the latter slightly longer. Pronotum with anterolateral margins finely and entirely denticulate, narrowly metallic green or black at edge. Humeral angle produced, usually elevated upwards, apex of which is bifurcate. Hemelytral membrane with 6–8 simple, parallel veins. Connexiva narrowly exposed, with external border alternately dark and yellow. Body beneath stramineous, at least one black spot on each thoracal pleuron near coxa. Venter smooth without punctures. Mesosternum carinate mesially. Peritreme in shape of groove type according to Kment & Vilímová (2010), which has the peritremal surface parallel with surrounding pleuron, median furrow is well developed in most of its length and apex of peritreme rounded, but shorter and not longer than 1/2 width of evaporatorium. Abdominal venter bearing a mesial tubercle or spine, projecting anteriorly between coxae.

Male genitalia. Ventral margin of pygophore (figs. 10–11, vm) deeply and simply excavated medially with the lateral margins oblique or vertical. Paramere with outer margin (figs. 12–13, om) round, thin, plate–like, with modifications of basal process (figs. 12–13, bp) or subapical process (figs. 12–13, sbp) on the inner side. Conjunctiva with a pair of sclerotized, short finger–like dorsal processes (figs. 14–15, dp). Apical conjunctival lobe (figs. 14–15, acl) distinct, membranous and well developed, often longer than the phallothca (fig. 15, ph). Ventral part of basal conjunctiva with two sclerotized areas which is sometimes elevated and appendage–like (fig. 14, va). Median penial plates (figs. 14–15, mpp) separated from each other, neither basally or apically united, mesial apical angles rounded. Vesica (fig. 14, v) only slightly protrudent.

Female genitalia. Gonocoxites 1 (fig. 26, 1st gc) thick, mesial margins (fig. 26, im) of which not quite touching each other, apices more or less rounded. Paratergites 8 (fig. 26, 8th pt) with apices blunt; paratergites 9 (fig. 26, 9th pt) digitiform with apices blunt and passing beyond the posterior margin of sternum 8.

Species included. Based on the above characters, five species are included in this new genus. Two are new, P. nigricornuta sp. nov. and P. parabrunnea sp. nov., and three new combinations, B. acuticornuta ( Zheng & Ling, 1983) , B. brunnea ( Zheng & Ling, 1983) , B. roseicornuta ( Zheng & Ling, 1983) , transferred from the genus Pentatoma .

Differential diagnosis. This new genus is different from Pentatoma s. str. by having humeral angles of pronotum bifurcate distally, anterolateral pronotal margins finely and entirely denticulate, aedeagus with dorsal processes present, median penial plate not surrounded or connected with any conjunctiva, and apical conjunctival lobe well developed and distinctly long.

It is also very different from the genus Ramivena Fan & Liu, 2010. In Ramivena, humeral angles of pronotum are more or less truncated apically, veins on hemelytral membrane are distinctly ramified, male pygophore has modifications (e.g. triangular processes at the ventral margin), apex of paramere is trifid, and conjunctiva of aedeagus has no fingerlike dorsal processes.

Etymology. The generic name is composed of the prefix bifurci–, referring to the bifurcate humeral angles of pronotum, and the name – Pentatoma , indicating its relationship with Pentatoma Olivier, 1789 . The gender is feminine.