Meschiidae, a new family of Lygaeoidea (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) from India and Australia, with descriptions of a new genus and two new species
Author
Malipatil, M. B.
text
Zootaxa
2014
3815
2
233
248
journal article
45493
10.11646/zootaxa.3815.2.4
85c40e93-e700-4f32-af94-8a55b691097c
1175-5326
252242
7905A2A8-97FE-424F-8FD0-C5090FFF8401
Meschia woodwardi
Scudder
(
Figs. 13–21
)
Meschia woodwardi
Scudder 1957b
: 25
–28.
Material examined:
Paratype
male, Carnarvon Gorge, South Queensland,
29.v.1954
, T.E. Woodward, QM.
Redescription.
The following are additions to the original description by
Scudder (1957b)
:
Colouration
: Head with antennifers ventrally paler and smoother than laterally and dorsally; tip of labium fuscous; legs with bases of tibiae with small dark spot, tibia lacking fuscous bands or rings; pronotal posterior margin with 6 (not 4 as noted in original description) vague irregular fuscous or dark spots or patches; dark or dark brown markings on corium and clavus faint or less distinct than those mentioned in original description. Hemelytron with dark brown stripe laterally (
Fig. 13
).
Structure:Body
: Length including wings 4.23; maximum width 1.65.
Head
(
Figs. 13, 14
): Length 0.71; width across eyes 1.35; interocular space 0.88; interocellar space 0.46; eyeocellar space 0.18; eye length 0.32; eye width 0.27. Labium thin tube-like, extending to abdominal segment VI, length of segments: I 0.55; II 0.92; III 0.62; IV 0.73. Labrum length 0.16. Antennae (
Fig. 15
) with 1st segment slightly more incrassate than uniformly thickened 2nd and 3rd segments, 4th segment slightly fusiform; length of segments: I 0.25; II 0.80; III 0.50; IV 0.67.
Thorax
: Pronotum (
Fig. 14
), median length 0.98; width at posterior margin 1.70. Scutellum (
Fig. 13
) length 0.70; width 1.0 3. Length of hemelytra 2.71; length of corium 1.70; claval commissure 0.19.
Abdomen
: Tergum almost uniformly coloured fuscous (
Fig. 16
); posterolateral areas of each connexivum fuscous; other areas slightly lighter; connexival areas particularly outer margin with short setae borne on fine bases; tergum III with a few, IV and V with several, large coarse irregularly sized punctures medially as in
Fig. 16
.
Male genitalia
: Pygophore as in
Fig. 18
. Paramere sickle-shaped (
Fig. 19
). Aedeagus (
Figs. 20, 21
), with a pair of spatulate membranous lobes near apical end of conjunctiva.
Other details as in
Meschia pugnax
.
Distribution.
Queensland.
Notes.
As discussed by
Scudder (1957b)
, this species differs from the
type
species
M. pugnax
Distant
in lacking a Y-shaped fuscous fascia on head and pronotum, and from the only other previously described species of the genus,
M. quadrimaculata
, by the 6 vague irregular fuscous or dark spots or patches on the pronotal posterior margin, as well as fuscous spots on the hemelytra.