Biromiris tomokunii, Duwal, Ram Keshari, Yasunaga, Tomohide & Hirowatari, Toshiya, 2017

Duwal, Ram Keshari, Yasunaga, Tomohide & Hirowatari, Toshiya, 2017, First record of Biromiris from the Oriental region, with a new species from Philippines (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Miridae, Phylinae), ZooKeys 677, pp. 89-95 : 90-93

Biromiris tomokunii sp. n. Figures 1, 2

Type material.

Holotype male. PHILIPPINES, Palawan, Matalangao, 10.33°N, 119.25°E, 450m, 29.viii.1985, M. Tomokuni (NSMT) (AMNH_PBI 00380531).

Diagnosis.

Recognized by small size; brownish general coloration; wide vertex; slender (not terete) antennal segments III and IV; dark bunch of suberect setae on apex of the clavus; white transverse fascia and/or macula on the anterior and posterior corium; prominent spot on the inner corner of cuneus (Fig. 1); and unique form of male genital structures (Fig. 2).

The new species is distinguished from all congeners by its small size; slender antennal segments III and IV; anterior transverse white fascia continuous on clavus but narrow and not reaching claval commissure; distinct white macula on posterior corium at level of apex of clavus; and prominent white spot on inner corner of cuneus (Fig. 1A).

Description.

Male. Coloration (Fig. 1 A–D): Body including dorsum basically brown. Head: yellowish brown with dark basal margin on vertex; mandibular and maxillary plates, and ventral side of head tinged with red; clypeus same coloration as frons, with dark apex. Antenna: dark brown, with pale base on segment I and white on basal ½ of segment III. Labium: yellowish, tinged with red on segment I, apical segment darker. Thorax: pronotum and scutellum dark brown; thoracic pleura brown with ivory or white surface on metepisternum dorsal laterally to scent gland evaporatory area (Fig. 1D); peritreme of scent gland evaporatory area white and dark (Fig. 1D). Legs: entire procoxa, distal half of meso- and metacoxae pale, extreme apices tinged with red, and remaining proximal regions brown; all trochanters pale (or white); all femora yellowish, except for brown distal half of hind femur; entire protibia, proximal half of mesotibia and extreme base and apical 1/5 region of metatibia pale, and remaining regions dark; tarsal segments pale. Hemelytron: brown with dark brown on anterior regions of clavus and corium, and on apex of the clavus; anterior corium with distinctly white transverse fascia margined with dark posteriorly, reaching middle of clavus (Fig. 1A); posterior corium with white fascia at about apex of radius; posterior lateral region of corium red; cuneus brown, laterally tinged with red, and with prominent white spot on inner corner of cuneus; membrane grayish brown.

Surface and vestiture: Head: shiny and weakly shagreen; dorsally covered with pale or yellowish semi-erect simple setae, and ventrally with dark erect setae. Antenna: covered with appressed pale setae. Thorax: pronotum and scutellum weakly shagreen and impunctate; pronotum uniformly distributed with dark or black semi-erect setae. Hemelytron: weakly shagreen and impunctate with several reflecting patches; corium with mixed vestiture, semi-erect black and yellow or golden simple setae; clavus with dark erect setae at the apex; cuneus with dark setae only. Legs: all legs covered with appressed pale or dark setae; and hind tibia with two rows of sub-erect dark spines. STRUCTURE: macropterous, body elongate-oval. Head: triangular, clypeus barely observed from dorsal view; vertex weakly concave, with carinate basal margin; eyes relatively small. Antenna: antennal fossae not continuous with inner margin of eyes, segment II clavate and relatively thick, and segments III and IV not terete. Labium: reaching apex of metacoxae. Thorax: pronotum convex and trapezoidal, with narrow collar-like margin lies underneath vertex, and lateral sides of the anterior pronotum with narrow carina; mesoscutum obscurely exposed; scent gland evaporatory area more or less triangular, with distinctly elevated peritreme. Hemelytron: posterior corium (anterior to cuneus) splayed out; cuneal fracture distinctly incised; cuneus small and triangular. Legs: all femora long and sub-parallel except for narrow extreme apex; tarsal segment I and II sub-equal, and segment III relatively longer. GENITALIA (Fig. 2 A–I): Pygophore: trapezoidal, with bunch of stiff bristles sub-apically on ventral side (Fig. 2A). Left paramere: small, with elongated posterior process, and distinctly short and narrow anterior process (Fig. 2D). Right paramere: leaf like, with a short and blunt apical process (Fig. 2E). Phallotheca: wide base and narrow apex as in Figure 2 B–C. Endosoma : simple, weakly S-shaped, with small weakly sclerotized apically placed secondary gonopore (Fig. 1 F–I).

Female. Unknown.

Measurements: 1♂: Total body length 2.21; length from apex of clypeus to cuneal fracture 1.90; width of head across eyes 0.51; width of vertex 0.28; length of antennal segments I–IV? (broken); basal width of pronotum 0.70; length of pronotum 0.42; width across hemelytron 0.78; length of metafemur, tibia and tarsus 0.74, 1.14, 0.20.

Etymology.

Named after Dr. Massaki Tomokuni (Curator Emeritus, Department of Zoology, NSMT), collector of the specimen.

Distribution.

Philippines (Palawan).