Cottothucha minor, Guilbert, Eric, 2006

Guilbert, Eric, 2006, New species and new records of Tingidae (Insecta: Heteroptera) of New Guinea, Zootaxa 1117, pp. 37-68 : 39-41

Cottothucha minor sp. n. ( Figs. 3, 4 )

Material examined: 4F, New Guinea, SE, Louisiade Archipelago, Yela Is., Mt Rossel, 300–710m, 16–17. III.1979, Freycinetia Gaud. (Pandanaceae) , W.C. Gagné, BPBM Acc. #1980.2.

Description: Body small and narrow, shiny, whitish to yellowish, areolae hyaline, with veinelets yellowish to brown. Body length, 2.16; width, 0.68.

Head small, armed with three spines, two occipital, long, slender, and divergent, and one median, slender and very short; eyes small; bucculae short, three areolae wide, closed in front; antennae long and slender, antennal segments measurements: I, 0.08; II, 0.07; III, 0.64; IV, 0.31; rostral sulcus narrow, open behind, laminae wide, foliate, and uniseriate; rostrum reaching second abdominal segment.

Pronotum long, and narrow, a little gibbose, tricarinate, median carina slightly raised, partly uniseriate, and continued upwards by prolongation of the inflated hood; lateral carinae foliate, raised, uniseriate, areolae large and subquadrate, slightly higher than median carina and bottom of hood prolongation; collar narrow, with a row of tiny areolae, inflated on top to form a hood; hood inflated, covering head and most of pronotum, prolonged and connected posteriorly with median carina, twice longer than high, with large polygonal areolae; paranota short, made of two large areolae opposite calli and top of pronotum, not reaching humeri, raised and appressed onto the hood.

Hemelytra long and narrow; costal area straight, uniseriate, areolae large, slightly sloping upward; subcostal area almost indistinctly separated from discoidal area, very narrow, uniseriate, areolae small; discoidal area shorter than half the length of hemelytra, four areolae wide at widest part, areolae size intermediate between those of costal and subcostal areas; sutural area large, four areolae wide at widest part, areolae as large as on costal area.

Etymology: The name refers to the size, which is smaller than that of the other species of the genus.

Comments: This species differs from C. oceanae Drake & Poor by its smaller size, clearer color, by the much smaller paranota, and the entirely uniseriate costal area. Also, it is very similar to Alloiothucha Drake species. The pronotum is very similar to that of A. chaera Drake , but the costal area is uniseriate whereas it is triseriate in A. chaera (and also in A. philippinensis Drake ). Cetiothucha Drake and Ruhoff is very similar to Alloiothucha but lacks lateral carinae. This species differs from the other genera cited above by its uniseriate costal area, whereas the other species have three to five areolae across the widest part of the costa. Cottothucha was previously known by a single species restricted to New Guinea (Daradae), and the Philippine and Amboina islands ( Drake & Ruhoff 1965). The new species described here is found on the eastern islands of New Guinea, close to the Solomon Islands.

Figures

FIGURES 3 – 4. Cottothucha minor sp. n., 3 — habitus, 3 — profile. Scale 1 mm.