Melaleucoides systenae, Schuh & C. Weirauch, 2010

Schuh, R. T. & C. Weirauch, 2010, Myrtaceae-Feeding Phylinae (Hemiptera: Miridae) From Australia: Description And Analysis Of Phylogenetic And Host Relationships For A Monophyletic Assemblage Of Three New Genera, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2010 (344), pp. 3-94 : 60-62

Melaleucoides systenae , new species Figure 29, map 5, plate 4

DIAGNOSIS: Males recognized in most specimens by the castaneous pronotum anterior lobe, scutellum, and posterior half of the endocorium; phallotheca with a very broad reflexed flange on the dorsal margin; left paramere very broad apically; endosoma with a ventral process associated with the secondary gonopore and no denticles distad of the gonopore. Except for rather variable coloration with the taxon, M. systenae is not easily confused with any other known species of Melaleucoides .

DESCRIPTION: Male: Body weakly to distinctly ovoid; mean total length 3.23, mean width pronotum 1.22. COLORATION (pl. 4): Head: Mostly dark with pale gula and posterior head margin; scapus unicolorous dark; pedicellus black at extreme base, remainder pale; labium generally infuscate, heavily so apically. Thorax: Pronotum usually with dark anterior lobe and contrasting lighter-colored posterior lobe; scutellum entirely dark; clavus pale, corium pale on anterior half, dark posteriorly; markings on cuneus present as a contrasting white basal fascia; membrane fumose, veins white or pale; hind femur nearly unicolorous dark; hind tibial spines dark with very small dark bases. Abdomen: Venter unicolorous dark. SURFACE AND VESTITURE: Dorsum with suberect or reclining black setae, without sericeous or woolly setae. STRUC- TURE: Head: Weakly projecting; interocular space relatively large; eyes leaving gena broadly exposed in lateral view. Antenna: Segment 2 weakly tapering, more slender at base; antennal fossa with ventral margin at ventral margin of eye. Labium: Just reaching onto abdomen. Thorax: Pretarsus: Pulvilli present, flaplike, covering about one third of ventral claw surface. GENITALIA (fig. 29): Endosoma: Primary strap apically elongate, angled dorsal relative to body of endosoma, without ornamentation; secondary endoso- mal strap fused with primary strap proximal to secondary gonopore, reaching only to level of secondary gonopore; spinelike elongate process arising near gonopore on dorsal surface absent; spinelike, elongate process near gonopore on ventral surface present, relatively short, recurved toward base of endosoma; bladderlike process distad of secondary gonopore present, elongate, and paralleling primary endosomal strap; secondary gonopore seen frontally (facing up) in lateral view of endosoma. Phallotheca: Nearly erect; dorsal surface with a curving, posteriorly directed, platelike projection; ventral surface with a projecting keel; apex simple. Left Paramere: Shaft at right angles to body; body spoon shaped; apex quadrate; anterior process triangular in lateral view; posterior process in the form of a short, straight, fingerlike projection; base of posterior process without conspicuous shoulder. Right Paramere: Body short and broad, lanceolate; apex with short fingerlike process.

Female: Slightly more ovoid than male; mean total length 3.51, mean width prono- tum 1.32. COLORATION (pl. 4): Paler than male, more strongly reddish, without the nearly castaneous quality of most males. GENITALIA: Posterior wall laterally with distinct crescent-shaped interramal sclerites; posteriorly without a sclerotized transverse band; posterolaterally with a distinct swelling covered with microtrichia; longitudinal fold on either side of midline along part of length; posterior margin of posterior wall without spicules and not reflexed dorsally; interramal lobes present and asymmetrical, reclining, overlapping, and heavily ornamented with spicules; vestibulum with medial plates sclerotized and readily observed, small, nearly symmetrical, triangular, with sclerotized guide present as short heavily sclerotized tube on left side.

ETYMOLOGY: Named for the host species, Melaleuca systena (Myrtaceae) .

HOSTS: Melaleuca laetifica Craven [ms. name] (pl. 5B), Melaleuca systena Craven , Melaleuca urceolaris Benth. , Melaleuca viminea Lindl. , and Phymatocarpus porphyrocephalus F. Muell. (Myrtaceae) .

DISTRIBUTION (map 5): Relatively widespread in Western Australia, with localities ranging from the Nullabor Plain in the southeast to Kalbarri National Park in the north.

HOLOTYPE: AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: 8.2 km E of Indian Ocean Rd on Coorow-Greenhead Rd, Lesuer National Park, 30.04767uS 115.0551uE, 30 m, 06 Nov 2004, Cassis, Weirauch, Tatarnic, Symonds, Melaleuca systena Craven (Myrtaceae) , det. Perth 6990401, 1 - (AMNH_PBI 00368603) ( WAMP).

PARATYPES: AUSTRALIA: Western Australia: 8.2 km E of Indian Ocean Rd on Coorow-Greenhead Rd, Lesuer National Park, 30.04767uS 115.0551uE, 30 m, 06 Nov 2004, Cassis, Weirauch, Tatarnic, Symonds, Melaleuca systena Craven (Myrtaceae) , det. Perth6990401, 2 - (00368602, 00368604), 3 U (00368606–00368608) ( AM), 2 - (00368600, 00368601), 3 U (00368609–00368610, 0036- 8613) ( AMNH) 2 U (00368617, 00368618) ( UNSW), 3 U (00368614–00368616) ( WAMP). Brand Hiway 45.9 km S of Dongarra Road, 29.57703uS 115.1348uE, 100 m, 31 Oct 1996, Schuh and Cassis, Phymatocarpus porphyrocephalus F. Muell. (Myrtaceae) , det. Perth 05879264, 2 - (00130029, 00130030), 3 U (00130031–00130033) ( AMNH). Cervantes, 30.49902uS 115.0684uE, 3 m, 10 Dec 1997, Schuh, Brailovsky, Melaleuca viminea Lindl. (Myrtaceae) , det. Perth 05879205, 1 - (001- 30601), 4 U (00130602–00130605) ( AMNH), 3 U (00130606–00130608) ( WAMP). Frank Hann National Park, 37 km E of Lake King, 33.07753uS 120.0918uE, 400 m, 05 Nov 1996, Schuh and Cassis, Melaleuca sp. (Myrtaceae) , det. Perth 05236908, 1 - (00087405), 1 U (00087406) ( AM). Kalbarri National Park, 22.9 km E Kalbarri, 27.75408uS 114.3711uE, 500 m, 29 Oct 1996, Schuh and Cassis, 6 U (00135367–00135372) ( WAMP). Kalbarri National Park, 37.7 km E Kalbarri, 27.8482uS 114.4746uE, 500 m, 29 Oct 1996, Schuh and Cassis, Melaleuca laetifica Craven ms ( Myrtaceae ), det. Perth 05054540, 2 - (00135064, 00135065), 5 U (00368631–0036- 8632, 00368635–00368636, 00368638) ( AM), 6 - (00135059–00135063, 00135066), 11 U (00368629–00368630, 00368633–00368634, 00- 368637, 00368639–00368644) ( AMNH), 2 - (00135067, 00135068), 4 U (00368625–0036- 8628) ( WAMP).

OTHER SPECIMENS EXAMINED: AUSTRA- LIA: Western Australia: 1 km S of Lillian Stoke Rock, 33.07681uS 120.0982uE, 380 m, 21 Nov 1999, R.T. Schuh and G. Cassis, Verticordia chrysantha Endl. (Myrtaceae) , det. Perth 05672023, 1 U (00371784) (AM). 4.5 km S of Jurien on Indian Ocean Rd, 30.33667uS 115.069uE, 18 m, 06 Nov 2004, Cassis, Weirauch, Tatarnic, Symonds, Melaleuca systena Craven (Myrtaceae) , det. Perth6987567, 1 U (00371783) (AM). 8.2 km E of Indian Ocean Rd on Coorow-Greenhead Rd, Lesuer National Park, 30.04767uS 115.0551uE, 30 m, 06 Nov 2004, Cassis, Weirauch, Tatarnic, Symonds, Melaleuca systena Craven (Myrtaceae) , det. Perth 6990401, 4 nymphs (00368619, 00368621, 00368623– 00368624) (AM). 11 km S of Eneabba on Brand Hiway, Eneabba Reserve, 29.91094uS 115.1175uE, 100 m, 21 Oct 2004, Cassis, Wall, Weirauch, Symonds, Melaleuca urceolaris Benth. (Myrtaceae) , det. Perth 6986919, 5 U (00371778–00371782) (AM). Cervantes, 30.49902uS 115.0684uE, 3 m, 10 Dec 1997, Schuh, Brailovsky, Melaleuca viminea Lindl. (Myrtaceae) , det. Perth 05879205, 1 nymph (00372247) (AM).