Cyrtopeltocoris cubanus Poppius, 1914

Wyniger, Denise, Schuh, Randall T. & Henry, Thomas J., 2023, Revision of the North American Hallodapini (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae: Phylinae), American Museum Novitates 2023 (3994), pp. 1-48 : 24-25

Cyrtopeltocoris cubanus Poppius

Figures 1 , 6

Cyrtopeltocoris cubanus Poppius, 1914: 257 (original description); Hernández and Stonedahl, 1997: 23 (list); Hernández and Henry, 2010: 121 (diagnosis).

DIAGNOSIS: Recognized by the disjunct transverse white band on the clavus and corium (fig. 1), with corial portion narrowly disjunct and set forward at claval suture; the large quadrate white mark at the apex of the corium; the high conical scutellum nearing the height of the pronotum in lateral view, the reddish-brown ostiolar area, and the uniformly brown middle coxa. Head, pronotum, left hemelytron, abdomen, and most legs missing in holotype, the only known specimen. Most similar to C. gracilentis (fig. 2) in having a distinctly conical scutellum, but the latter differs in having a straight, continuous band across clavus and corium and a narrower, elongate, white marking at apex of corium, a white ostiolar area, and middle coxae white with only the bases brown.

REDESCRIPTION: Male: Head, antennae, labium, and pronotum missing [because of the poor condition of the holotype and only known specimen, we have not measured this specimen]. COLORATION: Undersurface of thorax and ostiolar evaporative area reddish brown; mesoscutum and scutellum reddish brown; clavus reddish brown, white just past middle, brown apically; corium reddish brown, white band on clavus and corium narrowly disjunct at claval suture, with corial area set anteriorly above claval mark; apex of corium with a relatively narrow, rectangular, white mark anterior to cuneus not reaching inner margin adjacent to membrane; cuneus reddish brown; membrane fuscous; thorax reddish brown; forelegs missing, middle leg, including coxa and trochanter reddish brown; hind coxae white, remainder of legs missing. Abdomen missing. STRUCTURE: Scutellum swollen, conical; hemelytron weakly concave at middle. GENITALIA: Not examined.

DISTRIBUTION: Known only from Cuba.

DISCUSSION: We found what clearly is the holotype from “Cayamas, Cuba ” among material determined as C. albofasciatus (det. by J.C.M. Carvalho) in the USNM collection. Although the specimen is in poor condition, it does have the right hemelytron and scutellum intact. Based on the distinctly conical scutellum, C. cubanus is close to C. gracilentis Knight , which has a similar white band and is the only other species of the genus with a high conical-shaped scutellum (except for C. illini with an apically acute rather than round scutellar process). However, in C. cubanus , the white band across the clavus and corium is distinctly disjunct and the mark at the apex of the corium is much broader and more quadrate than in C. gracilentis . We also note that the ostiolar evaporative area in C. cubanus is reddish brown, whereas in C. gracilentis it is white, a character difference that appears consistent among all taxa having either reddishbrown or white evaporative areas.

HOLOTYPE male: CUBA: Granma: Cayamas: Cayamas, 9.1, E.A. Schwarz ( AMNH _ PBI 00286405 ) ( USNM).

Figures

FIG. 1. Dorsal habitus and lateral view images of Cyrtopeltocoris spp., C. ajo–C. cubanus.

FIG. 6. Distributions of Cyrtopeltocoris spp.