Apronius fuliginosus ( Distant, 1902 ) Distant, 1902

Gil-Santana, Hélcio R. & Webb, Michael D., 2016, Transfer of the assassin bug Nitornus fuliginosus to the genus Apronius (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Stenopodainae), Zootaxa 4117 (1), pp. 141-145 : 142-144

Apronius fuliginosus ( Distant, 1902) , new combination

Figs. 1–4 .

Nitornus fuliginosus Distant, 1902: 177 –178 [description]; Barber, 1930: 236 [citation as a species not seen]; Maldonado Capriles (1990): 509 [catalog].

Diagnosis. Apronius fuliginosus can be easily separated from other congeners by the subacute distal expansions on apical angles of each segment of connexivum, which are smaller on first two visible (II–III) segments, thereafter becoming progressively bigger on segments IV–V, and progressively smaller thereafter to the last apical segment ( Figs. 1–2 ).

Redescription. Female. MEASUREMENTS: Total length: 21 mm; maximum width of abdomen: 6.5 mm. COLORATION: General color yellowish brown, legs somewhat lighter, with fuscous markings ( Figs. 1–3 ). Head with postocular portion a little darker than anteocular; eyes black; apex of second, third and fourth antennal segments darkened; labium yellowish with lateral portions of segment II (first visible), apex of segment III and segment IV dark brown; pronotum with a broad median, more or less distinct longitudinal darkened vitta; scutellum with a median basal darkened spot, lateral margins, pair of narrow longitudinal submedian narrow ridge and apex clear, almost whitish; femora and tibiae spotted with dark. Hemelytra: corium mottled with brownish and pale markings, with a subapical area luteous and a brownish spot near inner angle; membrane paler with a brownish stripe on most part of inner portion of outer cell. Connexivum darkened with scattered clear spots. Sternites mottled with brown. STRUCTURE: Body moderately elongate, approximately three times longer than maximum width; somewhat flattened, abdomen gradually expanding to segment V ( Figs. 1–2 ). Head: cylindrical with a well marked transverse sulcus; longer than wide; a little shorter than pronotum; eyes glabrous; lateral margins behind eyes not parallel but gradually converging towards collum; three pairs of simple setigerous spines on ventral surface, first pair asymmetrical; ventro-laterally behind eyes armed with a single row of simple setigerous spines; ocelli very little elevated; two anterior processes (jugae sensu Giacchi 1987; mandibular plate sensu Weirauch 2008) short and thick; anteocular portion approximately two times longer than postocular, the latter somewhat wider than the former; a pair of short spines on post-ocular portion, posteriorly; antenniferous tubercles with a small lateral acute protuberance; first antennal segment shorter than head, slightly curved and approximately as long as anteocular portion, enlarged, mainly toward apex; segment II the longest, straight; segments III and IV very slender. Labium moderately curved, segment II (first visible) moderately inflated, shorter than the two apical ones taken together, and approximately as long as segment III, which is thinner toward apex; segment IV slender, tapering, reaching stridulatory sulcus on anterior portion. Thorax ( Figs. 1–2 ): pronotum distinctly longer than wide (maximum width measured at posterior margin); anterolateral angles pronounced and acute; a lateral short smooth tubercle near transverse furrow on fore lobe; a shallow transverse furrow between anterior and posterior lobes of pronotum; three pairs of narrow ridges from posterior portion of fore lobe reaching anterior portion of hind lobe of pronotum, across transverse furrow; humeral angles shortly acute; posterior margins sinuate at median portion and laterally. Scutellum longer than wide, margins sinuate; with a pair of longitudinal submedian narrow ridges which ends at apex, which is an elevated spine; prosternum shorter than length of fore coxa, with two pair of short spines anteriorly; metasternum longer than mesosternum, which is larger than prosternum. Fore coxae inserted at hind margin of prosternum, contiguous in midline; mid coxae next to one another; hind coxae distant from each other; fore trochanters with two spines on ventral face. Fore femora strongly incrassate, at widest portion, somewhat more than twice as thick as mid and hind femora, fusiform, armed with a row of thick and short spines on midline, ventrally. Mid and hind coxae, trochanters, femora or tibiae without spines. Mid femora somewhat curved at median portion. Hind femora almost straight, slightly thickened sub-distally, not reaching apex of abdomen. Tibiae slightly curved; wedge-shaped spongy fossa on apex of fore tibia, approximately twice as long as greatest width of the tibia; spongy fossa absent on mid and hind tibia; tarsi of fore and mid legs three-segmented (missing from hind legs). Hemelytra not reaching apex of abdomen, with basal cell completely separated from M vein, discal cell hexagonal; basal half of Cu vein (emanating from discal cell) straight. Abdomen mostly enlarged at about distal third; connexival margins expanded, considerably wider than hemelytra towards their distal two-thirds, with subacute expansions on apical angles of each segment of connexivum, which are smaller on first two visible segments, become progressively bigger to segments IV–V, and progressively smaller thereafter to last apical segment ( Figs. 1–2 ). A well developed median longitudinal keel on segments II–V and basal portion of segment VI ( Fig. 2 ). VESTITURE: Integument relatively well covered with short, adpressed pubescence. Femora with longer erect dorsal fine setae and more numerous procumbent shorter lateral setae. Membrane of hemelytra and connexivum glabrous. Sternites covered with fine, short and scattered setae.

Material examined. Lectotype ♀ (here designated), [ BRAZIL]: “Iguarassu” [?], (opposite side of same label): 88 82 / fuliginosus Dist. / Type [rounded label with red circle] / ♀ / Syntype [rounded label with blue circle] / BMNH _ ENT, UCR _ ENT 0 0 0 18388 [QR CODE, University of California, Riverside] / BMNH (E) 1705808 [unique specimen number BMNH].

Remarks. This species was described from an unspecified number of specimens (syntypes, sex not given) from “ Brazil: Iguarassee”. This place name is probably a misspelling of the handwritten name “Iguarassu” on the locality label of the specimen ( Fig. 4 ). The latter is apparently the old spelling (more correctly, “Iguarassú”) of the municipality “Igarassu”, of the metropolitan area of Recife, the principal city of the state of Pernambuco, northeast of Brazil. In fact, a state decree-law of 1938 changed the spelling of “Iguarassú”, which had been used since 1550, to the current form Igarassu (IBGE 2016). The registration number (88 82) on the type specimen refers to the BMNH register entry for 1888.82, saying “Iguarassu purchased from Rev. T.C. Ramaga”.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 6. 1 – 4, Apronius fuliginosus (Distant, 1902), new combination, female lectotype (here designated) deposited in the BMNH, 1, dorsal view, scale bar 5.0 mm, 2, ventral view, 3, lateral view. 4, labels. 5 – 6, Nitornus lobulatus Stål, 1859, female holotype deposited in the ZMHB, 5, dorsal view, 6, labels.