Zelus korystos Hart, 1986

Zhang, Guanyang, Hart, Elwood R & Weirauch, Christiane, 2016, A taxonomic monograph of the assassin bug genus Zelus Fabricius (Hemiptera: Reduviidae): 71 species based on 10,000 specimens, Biodiversity Data Journal 4, pp. 8150-8150 : 8150

Zelus korystos Hart, 1986

Zelus korystos Hart, 1986, p. 303-304, figs. 25-27, orig. descri., note, fig. and key; Maldonado, 1990, p. 328, cat.

Materials

Type status: Holotype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00008000 ; occurrenceRemarks: Genitalia dissected; recordedBy: Aug Busck; sex: Adult Male; Taxon: scientificName: Zeluskorystos; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Hart, 1987; Location: country: TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO; stateProvince: Caroni; locality: Montserrado ; verbatimElevation: 101 m; decimalLatitude: 10.41666; decimalLongitude: -61.35; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2012; Event: eventDate: 1929-06-01; Record Level: institutionCode: USNM Type status: Paratype. Occurrence: catalogNumber: UCR_ENT 00017230 ; sex: Adult Male; Taxon: scientificName: Zeluskorystos; family: Reduviidae; genus: Zelus; scientificNameAuthorship: Hart, 1987; Location: country: GUYANA; stateProvince: Cuyuni-Mazaruni Region; locality: Bartica, or 'Kartabo-Bartica' ; verbatimElevation: 1 m; decimalLatitude: 6.4; decimalLongitude: -58.6166; georeferenceSources: GeoLocate Software; Identification: identifiedBy: G. Zhang; dateIdentified: 2012; Event: eventDate: 1922-04-08; Record Level: institutionCode: AMNH

Description

Figs 112, 113, 114

Male: (Fig. 112) Medium-sized, total length 10.42-11.55 mm (mean 10.98 mm, Suppl. material 2); slender. COLORATION: Head dark brown; inconspicuous yellowish patch between eye and ocellus; medial, yellow stripe on postocular lobe; ventral surface yellowish-brown, lighter than dorsum. Pronotum and scutellum dark brown. Abdomen yellowish-brown. VESTITURE: Sparsely setose. Dorsum of head with moderately dense, short, recumbent setae and sparse, short, erect, somewhat spine-like setae; ventral surface with sparse, short, recumbent setae and few moderately long, erect, fine setae. Pronotum with very sparse, short, erect setae over dorsal surface, some setae curved apically, appearing recumbent; moderately dense, short to moderately long, recumbent setae on lateral surface and pleura, intermixed with semi-erect or erect setae. Scutellum with sparse, semi-erect and recumbent setae. Legs with sparse setation on femora and moderately dense setation on tibiae. Corium and clavus with mix of sparse, short, recumbent and erect setae. Abdomen with moderately dense, short, erect setae, intermixed with sparse, long, erect setae. Apical half of dorsal surface with moderately dense, medium-length, semi-erect setae. STRUCTURE: Head: Cylindrical, L/W = 2.27. Postocular lobe long; in dorsal view distinctly narrowing through anterior 2/3, posterior 1/3 constant, tube-like. Eye prominent; lateral margin much wider than postocular lobe; dorsal and ventral margins removed from surfaces of head. Labium: I: II: III = 1: 2.0: 0.4. Basiflagellomere diameter larger than that of pedicel. Thorax: Anterolateral angle bearing small, somewhat acute projection; medial longitudinal sulcus evident throughout, deepening posteriorly. Posterior pronotal lobe with rugulose surface; disc distinctly elevated above humeral angle; humeral angle armed, with spinous processes. Scutellum moderately long; apex angulate, very slightly projected upward. Legs: Slender. Hemelytron: Slightly surpassing apex of abdomen, not more than length of abdominal segment seven; quadrate cell small, elongate; Cu and M of cubital cell subparallel. GENITALIA: (Fig. 113) Pygophore: Elongate ovoid; lightly sclerotized expansion below paramere; not expanded laterally in dorsal view. Medial process cylindrical; slender; moderately long; laterally compressed towards apex; anterior surface towards apex ridged; minute spicules on posterior surface; posteriorly directed; curved at middle; apex in posterior view acute, with small hooklike projection. Paramere: Cylindrical; moderately long, not reaching medial process; directed posteriad; basally slightly narrower; slightly curved ventrad; apical part not enlarged. Phallus: Dorsal phallothecal sclerite somewhat ovoid; sclerotization reduced (yet not absent) on dorsal surface close to posterior margin of foramen; expansion of lateral margin at about mid-portion small; apical portion of phallothecal sclerite gradually tapering, distinctly keeled medially; apex acute; posterior margin of foramen concave. Struts attached to dorsal phallothecal sclerite; apically separate, connected by bridge; basally separate. Basal plate arm robust; basally fused; in lateral view nearly straight, very slightly curved; bridge extremely short; extension of basal plate expanded laterally onto arm, covering more than 1/2 of arm, curved.

Female: Unknown.

Diagnosis

Recognized by the nearly uniformly dark brown dorsum; the abdomen light-colored, pale yellowish-brown; the posterolateral rim with lightly sclerotized expansion between paramere and medial process; the medial process curved at middle; the anterior surface of the medial process carinate; the apex of the medial process hooklike, the curvature of paramere small; the dorsal phallothecal sclerite with strong carination at apical part, the lateral expansion close to basal arm. Most similar to Z. filicauda , but the medial process is shorter and not as strongly curved and the paramere curvature is weaker.

Distribution

South America and adjacent islands of the Caribbean (Fig. 114). Countries with records: Ecuador, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago.