Buninotus Maldonado Capriles, 1981

Gil-Santana, Hélcio R. & Oliveira, Jader, 2024, First record of Buninotus Maldonado Capriles and B. palikur Castro-Huertas, Forero & Melo from Brazil, with taxonomic notes (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Emesinae) and an updated key to the genera of Saicini of the New World, ZooKeys 1213, pp. 29-39 : 29-39

Buninotus Maldonado Capriles, 1981

Remarks.

In 1981, Maldonado Capriles described Buninotus as a monotypic genus, designating B. niger as its type species. He outlined the following as the main characteristics of the genus: the body is mostly black, shiny, and predominantly glabrous; a subglobose posterior lobe on the head; only the first [visible] segment of the labium is spined; scutellum with a long inclined spine; mesoscutum with a short, broad, spinelike elevation. The fore coxa, femur, and tibia are spined, with the tibia curved. The forewing exhibits four closed cells.

Some characteristics recorded in Maldonado Capriles’s (1981: 404, 406) description of the genus being a female, deserves to be mentioned, such as: the “ tylus ” [clypeus] as “ ending in a sharp spine that slightly surpasses [the] apex of [the] jugae. ... Legs: forecoxa with a strong “ s-spine near base on anterior side, 3 strong s-spines on rear of inner face; trochanter with four s-spines along inner-lower surface, femur ... with 5 s-spines along upper surface ...; lower inner surface with 5 s-spines of nearly equal size ...; tibia strongly curved on lateral aspect ..., four long s-spines on inner side, the basal the shortest ... ”

Castro-Huertas et al. (2023) stated that Buninotus could be characterized by the first and second visible labial segments with a pair of spiniform setae and strong setae, respectively; the anterior lobe of pronotum with four protuberances [“ humps ”], a pair on each anterior and posterior region. The humeral angles project into long spines; scutellum has a long and inclined process. The forelegs exhibit coxae, femora and tibiae with long spiniform setae; protibiae are curved. The meso and metafemora each have a pair of apically located spiniform setae. Additionally, the forewing is characterized by three closed cells.

Comments. Although the venation of the wings is considered excellent for taxonomic characteristics at the generic and tribal levels in Emesinae ( Wygodzinsky 1966) and has been extensively used to diagnose and / or separate supra-specific taxa, potential intra-specific variation might happen ( Gil-Santana and Marques 2005) such as in the intra-specific variation in the number of cells in the forewing of Mayemesa lapinhaensis (Wygodzinsky, 1950) ( Emesini ) ( Gil-Santana et al. 1999).

In regard to the number of closed cells in the forewing, there is a discrepancy between Castro-Huertas et al. (2023) statement, noting three closed cells, and the description and figure by Maldonado Capriles (1981), which indicate four closed cells. Other authors, such as Gil-Santana et al. (2020), have adhered to the original description in their key for Saicinae genera. Castro-Huertas et al. (2023: 50) justified their observation by stating that they “ examined an image of the holotype of B. niger , and it is very difficult to see the forewing vein structure without removing the forewings from the body because of the semi-hyaline to brown coloration. Using additional specimens of both B. niger and B. palikur , ” they removed the forewings and found three closed cells in both species. However, it is possible that, due to the deep blackish coloration of the holotype of B. niger , the specimens examined by them as such may belong to a different species with a brownish general coloration (see below).

Examination of both the holotype and paratype of B. niger (Figs 6 , 7 , 14 ) confirms that the veins near the base of the forewing are not united, thereby not forming a closed basal cell. Consequently, the forewing has only three closed cells in all specimens of Buninotus examined, supporting the observations of Castro-Huertas et al. (2023).

A striking characteristic of Buninotus described and illustrated by Maldonado Capriles (1981: fig. 7), but in need of confirmation, is a spine on the apex of the clypeus (“ tylus ”). This feature was not mentioned or questioned by Castro-Huertas et al. (2023) when discussing the characteristics of the genus. According to our observations, this spine is completely absent in both the holotype and paratype (Figs 2–4 , 11 ). It is possible that the whitish apical portion of the labrum of the holotype of B. niger , which projects slightly forward (Figs 2–4 ), may have caused confusion for Maldonado Capriles when describing the specimen. Clearly, it is definitive that there is no apical sharp spine on the clypeus, as described by Maldonado Capriles (1981).

The presence of a pair of spiniform setae and strong setae on first and second visible labial segments, respectively, is confirmed in the holotype of B. niger (Fig. 3 ) and on a specimen of B. palikur from Brazil examined here (Fig. 17 ). In the paratype of B. niger the setae of the second visible labial segment is not visible (Fig. 11 ); they may have broken off, but it was not possible ascertain if the insertion hole of these setae are present or not because the head is covered by hyphae of mold (Figs 10–12 ).

Some portions of the type specimens and the specimen from Brazil are broken or missing, mainly on the legs, but, taking into account the remaining portions and the previous descriptions ( Maldonado Capriles 1981; Castro-Huertas et al. 2023) and the examination of these specimens, the number and location of spiniform / strong setae of fore legs could be added to characterization of the genus in more detail as follows: fore coxae with a dorsobasal and three ventral spiniform setae; fore trochanters with four spiniform setae, midventrally; fore femora with two rows of five spiniform setae, one row on anterodorsal portion and other on anteroventral region; fore tibiae with four anterodorsal spiniform setae, the most basal being shorter than the following ones.

Distribution.

Brazil (new record), French Guiana and Panama.

Figures

Figures 6–8. Buninotus niger Maldonado Capriles, 1981, female holotype deposited in NMNH 6, 7 forewings, dorsal view 6 basal two thirds 7 basal third 8 labels. Scale bars: 0.5 mm (6, 7).

Figures 9–15. Buninotus niger Maldonado Capriles, 1981, female paratype deposited in NMNH 9, 10 dorsal view 10, 11 head 11, 12 lateral view 11 except upper surface 12 head and anterior portion of thorax 13, 14 dorsal view 13 pronotum 14 basal half of forewings 15 labels. Scale bars: 2.0 mm (9); 1.0 mm (14) 0.5 mm (12); 0.2 mm (10, 11, 13).

Figures 1–5. Buninotus niger Maldonado Capriles, 1981, female holotype deposited in NMNH 1, 2 dorsal view 3–5 lateral view 2, 3 head 4 head, anterior portion of prothorax and fore coxa 5 upper portion of hind lobe of pronotum and meso- and metathorax. Scale bars: 2.0 mm (1); 0.5 mm (2–5).

Figures 16–21. Buninotus palikur Castro-Huertas, Forero & Melo, 2022, female specimen from Brazil 16 dorsal view 17 anterior portion of head, prothorax and some portions of the legs, lateroventral view 18, 19 lateral view 18 anterior portion of prothorax 19 spine of mesoscutum and scutellum 20, 21 dorsal view 20 hind lobe of pronotum and forewings 21 left fore tibia. Scale bars: 3.0 mm (16); 1.0 mm (20) 0.5 mm (17, 19, 21); 0.2 mm (18).