Jewel Bugs of Australia (Insecta, Heteroptera, Scutelleridae)
Author
Gerry Cassis
Author
Loren Vanags
text
Denisia
2006
19
275
398
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.12996779
12996779
Austrotichus rugosus
GROSS
1975
(
Figs 3a
,
4
,
5
,
6
,
Table 4
)
Austrotichus rugosus
GROSS
1975: 582
(n.sp.);
MCDONALD
&
CASSIS
1984: 544
,
Figs 17-22
(description, ♂ & ♀ genitalic illustrations);
CASSIS
&
GROSS
2002: 582
(catalogue)
Diagnosis:
Austrotichus rugosus
is recognised by the following combination of characters: body strongly convex dorsally; dark grey-brown (
Fig. 3a
); heavily punctate (
Fig. 3a
); AII(a) short; AIV longest segment; labium extending to posterior margin of abdominal sterna IV; and, genitalia as in generic description (
Fig. 5
).
Fig. 6
: Distribution of Australian
Elvisurinae
species.
Description: Body moderately large, males 10.03-12.22 mm, females 11.10-12.66 mm.
Colouration.
Body mottled yellow-brown to most often dark grey-brown (
Fig. 3a
), punctures black, with scattered polished yellow regions on callosite region of pronotum. Head: darker brown on clypeal margins extending to posterior margin of vertex; antennae dark-brown, sometimes AI proximally yellow; labium uniformly fuscous. Pronotum: calli with dark brown outline. Scutellum: anterolateral foveae black. Thoracic pleura: yellow-brown. Pregenital Abdomen: venter mostly mottled yellow-brown, spiracular-trichobothrial region polished yellow; posterior angles of SIV-VIII with anterior 1/2 yellow, posterior 1/2 fuscous (
Fig. 3a
).
Texture.
Body densely punctate, punctures irregularly distributed often coalesced.
Vestiture.
Dorsum almost glabrous; antennae: AI almost glabrous, sometimes AII(a,b) also glabrous or nearly so, AIII-AIV with moderate distribution of short semierect setae; genae pilose; abdominal venter moderately pilose, more so on lateral margins, sternal sutures and terminalia.
Structure.
Antennae: AI relatively elongate, just surpassing lateral margins of head; AII(a) short; AII(b) and AIV roughly subequal in length; AIII longest segment. Labium: reaching between posterior margin of abdominal sternite IV; LII longest segment; LIV shortest segment. Abdominal Venter: posterior angles of SIV-VII expand-ed (
Fig. 3a
). Male genitalia as in generic description (
Fig. 5
).
Measurements.
Table 2.
MCDONALD & CASSIS (1984)
did not provide measurements for this species.
Type material examined:
Holotype
: ♂,
Port Lincoln
,
South Australia
(
SAMA I
20,400)
.
Paratypes
:
1♀
, same data as holotype (
SAMA I20,402
)
;
1♀
,
Keith
,
South Australia
, ex leaf litter,
June 1952
, MG coll. (
SAMA
I20
, 404
;
paratype
seen)
;
1♀
,
23 mi.
E
Ravensthorpe
,
Western Australia
(
SAMA I20,600
)
; 1♂,
Wembley Park
,
8 mi.
N Perth
,
Western Australia
,
4-xi-1935
,
RE Turner
, BM 1935-240 (
BMNH
)
;
1♀
,
Dedari
,
40 mi.
W
Coolgardie
,
ii-21
-i-1936,
RE Turner
BM 1936-28 (
BMNH
).
Other material examined:
Victoria
:
1♀
,
Little Desert National Park
,
Stans Camp Track
, 36°35.211’S 138°33.732’E,
173 m
,
RT Schuh, G Cassis, MD Schwartz & R Silveira
,
6 November 2002
, ex
Allcasuarina pusilla
(
AM
)
;
Southern Australia
:
1♀
,
Scorpion Springs Conservation Park
, 35.626S 140.867E
100m
,
G Cassis, RT Schuh and R Silveira
,
10 November 1998
, site 98-40, ex
Allocasuarina pusilla
(
AM
)
;
Western Australia
: 3♂♂
5♀♀
,
17 km
W of Brand Highway
on
Green Head Road
, 30.05S, 115.133E,
350m
,
G Cassis and RT Schuh
,
1 November 1996
, site 96-53, ex
Allocasuarina humilis
(
AM
)
;
1♀
,
Madfish Bay
,
William Bay National Park
, 35.017S, 117.25E,
100 m
,
G Cassis
,
RT Schuh
and
R Silveira
,
1 December 1999
, site 99-54, ex
Allocasuarina humilis
(
AM
)
;
2♀♀
,
Eneabba
,
RP McMillan
,
12-viii-1978
(
WAM
).
Table 4
:
Austrotichus rugosus
: diagnostic measurements in millimetres. N = sample size.
|
Male
|
Female
|
|
N
|
Mean±SD
|
Range
|
N
|
Mean±SD
|
Range
|
| Length |
9 |
11.08±0.59 10.03-12.22 |
4 |
12.03±0.66 11.10-12.66 |
| Pronotal width |
9 |
7.65±0.36 |
6.96-8.23 |
4 |
8.32±0.70 |
7.35-8.96 |
| Width between eyes |
9 |
2.39±0.19 |
2.14-2.78 |
4 |
2.51±0.15 |
2.34-2.63 |
| Antennal segment length |
| I |
17 |
1.04±0.08 |
0.93-1.23 |
8 |
1.19±0.06 |
1.10-1.27 |
| II(a) |
17 |
0.59±0.05 |
0.51-0.69 |
8 |
0.66±0.04 |
0.59-0.71 |
| II(b) |
16 |
1.23±0.07 |
1.10-1.35 |
8 |
1.25±0.09 |
1.13-1.40 |
| III |
7 |
1.38±0.07 |
1.27-1.47 |
7 |
1.32±0.06 |
1.25-1.40 |
| IV |
3 |
1.25 |
1.18-1.35 |
4 |
1.26±0.01 |
1.25-1.27 |
| Labial segment length |
| I |
9 |
1.92±0.06 |
1.84-2.01 |
4 |
1.90±0.02 |
1.86-1.91 |
| II |
9 |
2.08±0.13 |
1.96-2.25 |
4 |
2.06±0.07 |
1.96-2.13 |
| III |
9 |
1.38±0.11 |
1.23-1.52 |
4 |
1.43±0.06 |
1.35-1.47 |
| IV |
9 |
1.26±0.11 |
1.18-1.54 |
4 |
1.27±0.05 |
1.23-1.35 |
Distribution:
Austrotichus rugosus
is broadly distributed in temperate Australia, from Western Australia to Victoria, including South Australia (
Fig. 6
). This work includes new records from Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia. The species exhibits a significant distributional disjunction, between southwest Western Australia and the southern region of the Murray-Darling basin.
Host plants and biology: The Green Head Road specimens of
Austrotichus
rugo-sus
were found on the sheoak species,
Allo-casuarina
humilis
(
Casuarinaceae
); a monoe-cious shrub commonly found in heath habi-tats in southwest Western Australia. Both sexes were collected on the female seed cones, in association with the true bug species
Laryngodus australis
HERRICH-SCHA-EFFER
(
Rhyparochromidae
: Udeocorini) and
Cermatulus nasalis
(WESTWOOD)
(Pentato-midae). Despite their large size, these jewel bugs are surprisingly cryptozoic, with their mottled colouration blending closely with the dark brown colour of the female cones. Similarly, the South Australian specimen was collected on the female seed cones of another species of
Allocasuarina
,
A. pusilla
. We have not made direct observations of feeding behaviour, although their presence on seed cones is suggestive of seed-predation, as opposed to sap-feeding proposed by
CASSIS
&
GROSS
(2002)
.
GROSS
(1975)
in describing this species, documented that one of the paratypes was found in leaf litter. This is consistent with other jewel bugs, such as
Choerocoris paganus
, which are known to be pre- and post-dispersal seed predators.
Remarks:
GROSS
(1975)
described this species from a handful of specimens from South Australia and Western Australia. He also provided a habitus illustration and detailed description of non-genitalic characters.
MCDONALD
&
CASSIS
(1984)
described the male and female genitalia and first recognised that the peritreme of the metathoracic glands is distinctively short. The male genitalia are largely invariant across its distributional range.