Desert Bugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Thaumastellidae): New records and review of the distribution and habitat of this relict group Author Kment, Petr Department of Entomology, National Museum of the Czech Republic, Cirkusová 1740, CZ- 193 00 Praha 9 - Horní Počernice, Czech Republic Author Jacobs, Dawid H. Oppenheimer Generations, Research and Conservation, P. O. Box 61631, Marshalltown, 2107, South Africa & Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, Hatfield, Pretoria 0002, South Africa Author Carapezza, Attilio University of Palermo; corresponding address: via Sandro Botticelli 15, 90144 Palermo, Italy Author Deckert, Jürgen Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute for Research on Evolution and Biodiversity, Berlin, Germany Author Rider, David A. Department of Entomology, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, USA Author Kóbor, Péter Plant Protection Institute, HUN-REN Centre for Agricultural Research, Martonvásár, Hungary text Zootaxa 2024 2024-11-26 5541 2 144 162 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5541.2.2 journal article 10.11646/zootaxa.5541.2.2 1175-5326 14240928 1937CADB-82C4-48E0-AAE9-E2CFB9F084DE Thaumastella new species ( Figs 9–10 , 13 ) Material examined. SOUTH AFRICA : Western Cape : about 45 km SSE of the town Beaufort West , 1 ♂ 1 ♀ , unbaited pitfall traps , D. Jacobs lgt. & det. ( DHJS ). This species has the general facies of Th. elizabethae , but the male genital capsule shows significant differences . Habitat. The locality where it was collected is more or less 400 km ESE of the type locality of Th. elizabethae . It is situated in the Gamka Karoo of the Lower Karoo Bioregion of the Nama Karoo Biome ( Mucina & Rutherford 2006 ). It is a dry part of the Karoo with an annual rainfall of about 170 mm . The vegetation of the area can be classified as Stony plains vegetation ( Fig. 8 ). This community occurs on stony footslopes away from mountains. Tall shrubs are sparsely scattered in a lower matrix of Karoo bushes. The canopy cover is sparse (about 30%). The cover is dominated by Ruschia spinosa [ Aizoaceae ] and Pentzia incana [ Asteraceae ]. Other characteristic species are Euphorbia stellispina [ Euphorbiaceae ], Hermannia desertorum [ Malvaceae ], Limeum aethiopicum [ Limeaceae ] and Pteronia adenocarpa [ Asteraceae ] (D. Jacobs, pers. observ.). Distribution ( Figs 9, 10 ). South Africa : Western Cape (this paper). Note. The new species will be described later by D. Jacobs.