Caffrocysta magnus, Guilbert, 2020

Guilbert, Eric, 2020, New species of Tingidae (Insecta: Heteroptera) from Madagascar, Zootaxa 4759 (3), pp. 391-404 : 392-393

Caffrocysta magnus sp.nov. ( Figs 1 , 2 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:1DD46F70-10B5-4BF9-B7A0-9D7300236A74

Type material. Holotype male, Atsimo-andrefana, Toliara, 14/III/2006, arboretum d’Antsokay , 24 m, 23°21’S 43°40’E, 14.III.2006, E. Guilbert coll, PBZT.

Paratypes, 1 male, 2 females, same data as for holotype (1M, 1F in MNHN; 1 F in PBZT) .

Diagnosis. Body wide, with costal area biseriate, the areolae large and subquadrate, paranota forming a huge cyst concealing the head and pronotum, including the hood but not the posterior process.

Description. Female (N=1): body length, 5.00; width, 3.00; pronotum width, 3.00; Male (N=1): body length, 4.50; width, 2.50; pronotum width, 3.00. Body glabrous. Body and legs light brown. Head, antennae, transverse veinlets on paranota, main hemelytral veins and transverse costal veins, and body beneath dark brown.

Head armed with five long, spiny tubercles directed upwards, frontal tubercles separated by twice their base width; antennae long and slender, first antennal segment stouter and twice as long as second, third very long, fourth fusiform and relatively short, antennal segment measurements: I, 0.20; II, 0.10; III, 1.67; IV, 0.47; bucculae short and narrow, meeting in front; rostrum long reaching posterior margin of metasternum.

Pronotum with three raised narrow long carinae, median carina continuous from posterior end to hood, uni- seriate, areolae rectangular and large; lateral carinae shorter, ending at base of calli, curved outwardly, uniseriate, areolae as large as on median carina; collar narrow erected on top, forming an upwardly elongate cyst, five areolae high, areolae coarse, polygonal and large, front edge straight, not surpassing collar base, extended posteriorly; paranota strongly developed, extending much higher than hood, reflexed inward as to partly cover pronotum, meeting in front, open at top and behind, nine areolae wide, areolae larger than on carinae and hood, polygonal, with tiny denticles on margins; rostral sulcus narrow, laminae uniseriate, straight and parallel, open posteriorly.

Hemelytra longer than abdomen, slightly raised anteriorly and slightly widening posteriorly; costal area irregularly uni- to biseriate, areolae of irregular form and size; subcostal area sloping downward, narrower than costal area, with three row of areolae, two inner rows of large areolae, areolae round and much smaller than on costal area, outer row of areolae smaller than on inner rows; discoidal area oval and elongate, with areolae same size as inner rows of subcostal area, R+M and Cu veins keel-like; sutural area six areolae wide, areolae same size as on discoidal area.

Small and round subgenital plate present on ninth female abdominal tergite.

Etymology. The species name refers to its size, which is much larger than C. aliwalana Duarte Rodrigues

Comments. Caffrocysta previously contained only a single species occurring in South Africa, C. aliwalana ( Duarte Rodrigues, 1981) . This species differs from C. aliwalana by its general habitus, and particularly by the much higher hood and the paranota, the costal area mostly biseriate which is mostly uniseriate in C. aliwalana .

The genus Caffrocysta resembles Calotingis Drake by the general habitus but differs by the much narrow and elevated hood, the much developed paranota and concealing the hood, the wider lateral carinae, the shorter hemelytra. In addition, Calotingis is known only from Australia, Mexico and the USA (Texas).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Dorsal habitus of Caffrocysta magnus sp. nov.

FIGURE 2. Lateral habitus of Caffrocysta magnus sp. nov.