Oblongiala zimbabwensis, a new assassin bug genus and species from Zimbabwe, with a key to the Afrotropical genera of Peiratinae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae) Author Liu, Yingqi Department of Entomology and MOA Key Lab of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, China Agricultural University, Yuanmingyuan Author Chen, Zhuo Department of Entomology and MOA Key Lab of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, China Agricultural University, Yuanmingyuan Author Webb, Michael D. Department of Life Sciences (Insects), The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW Author Cai, Wanzhi Department of Entomology and MOA Key Lab of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, China Agricultural University, Yuanmingyuan caiwz@cau.edu.cn text Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 2020 Acta. Ent. Mus. Natl. Pragae 2020-12-12 60 2 659 665 http://dx.doi.org/10.37520/aemnp.2020.047 journal article 10.37520/aemnp.2020.047 1804-6487 5178042 DA43D4C5-E9E0-4D69-A52F-EBC69725F8A0 Oblongiala zimbabwensis Liu & Cai , sp. nov. ( Figs 1–21 ) Type locality. Zimbabwe . Type material. Hඈඅඈඍඒඉൾ: J ( NHMUK ), ZIMBABWE : “HOLOTY- PE / Oblongiala zimbabwensis / Det. Yingqi Liu” // “ZIMBABWE: / A. Watsham B.M. / 1985-248” – “ Oct. 1984 ” on reverse // “ NHMUK 013588801”. Diagnosis. Body colour bright red with most of head, pleura and sterna black; legs blackish brown with yellowish white markings; hemelytron bright red and dark brown in large part, membrane with a white slender rectangular spot near middle of inner cell and a white stripe along base of costal margin. Male genitalia with median pygophore process hook-shaped in caudal view and nearly straight, slightly constricted at apical 2/ 5 in lateral view; parameres paddle-shaped, left paramere slightly longer than right paramere; length of basal plate bridge about 1.5 times longer than basal plate; dorsal phallothecal sclerite broad with apex rounded; endosoma with a patch densely covered with scale-like tubercles. Description. Male macropterous ( Figs 1–3 ), female unknown. Colouration. Bright red. Head black with ventral surface of labium, apical half of second visible labial segment and third segment brown ( Figs 5–7 ); antennal scape brown with base blackish brown, pedicel to distiflagellomere dark brown ( Figs 1–3 ). Anterior pronotal lobe orange-brown, posterior lobe bright red ( Fig. 5 ); scutellum black with scutellar process bright red ( Fig. 5 ); pleura and sterna black with marginal area diffuse brown ( Figs 6, 7 ). Legs with coxae blackish brown; trochanters dark brown ( Fig. 7 ); fore femur blackish brown, apical portion with a yellowish white spot on dorsal and lateral surface ( Fig. 8 ); middle femur blackish brown with base and apex dark brown, basal half with a yellowish white spot on dorsal and lateral surface ( Fig. 9 ); basal half of hind femur yellowish white with base dark brown, apical half blackish brown, apex brown with a yellowish white spot on ventral surface ( Figs 1, 3 ); fore and middle tibiae blackish brown, dorsal surfaces with a yellowish white stripe occupying 3/4 and 1/2 of tibial length respectively ( Figs 8, 9 ); hind tibia dark brown with most of base yellowish white ( Figs 1, 3 ); tarsi yellowish brown ( Figs 1, 3 ). Hemelytron with clavus dark brown except base bright red; most of corium bright red, area between Cu and Pcu dark brown; membrane dark brown, apical half paler, with a white slender rectangular spot near middle of inner cell and a white stripe along base of costal margin ( Fig. 10 ). Abdomen bright red except eighth abdominal sternite and pygophore blackish brown ( Figs 11, 12 ), parameres brown with mottled red markings ( Figs 12 , 16, 17 ). Figs 4–12. Oblongiala zimbabwensis sp. nov. , holotype, J. 4 – antennal pedicel, lateralview; 5 – anterior part of body with antennae and legs removed, dorsal view; 6 – same, lateral view; 7 – same, ventral view; 8 – left fore leg, ventral view; 9 – right middle leg, ventral view; 10 – right hemelytron, dorsal view; 11 – abdomen, ventral view; 12 – same, caudal view. Scale bar: 1.50 mm. Structure. Body slender, small sized. Surfaces of head, stripes on anterior pronotal lobe, anterior portion of posterior lobe of pronotum, pleura and sterna tuberculate ( Figs 5–7 ), surfaces of legs and abdomen coarsely textured. Head, pronotum, scutellum, femora and tibiae covered with brown, erect, long setae ( Figs 1–3 ); antennae densely covered with yellowish white, suberect, short pubescence ( Figs 1, 3 ), pedicel with several trichobothria on apical portion and one notably long trichobothrium near base ( Fig. 4 ); pronotum, pleura, sterna, legs, lateral margin of corium and abdomen densely covered with white to yellowish white pubescence of varying lengths ( Figs 1–3 ); corium densely covered with black, suberect, short setae ( Figs 1 , 10 ). Figs 13–21. Male genitalia of Oblongiala zimbabwensis sp. nov. , holotype. 13 – pygophore, ventral view; 14 – same, caudal view; 15 – same, lateral view; 16 – left paremere, outer ventrolateral view; 17 – right paramere, outer ventrolateral view; 18 – phallus, dorsal view; 19 – same, ventral view; 20 – same, lateral view; 21 – same, lateral view. Scale bar: 0.50 mm (Figs 13–15), 0.40 mm (Figs 16–21). Head moderately elongate, drop-shaped in dorsal view, anteocular part of head about 1.43 times as long as postocular part, postocular part ellipsoidal, somewhat swollen, interocular distance with a median, short, deep sulcus connecting to frontoclypeal sulcus ( Fig. 5 ). Eye large, reniform in lateral view, nearly reaching dorsal and ventral margins of head ( Fig. 6 ); transverse width of eye in dorsal view longer than half width of interocular distance ( Fig. 5 ). Ocelli elevated ( Fig. 6 ), separated from each other by more than one width of ocellus ( Fig. 5 ). Antenna gracile, scape thickest and shortest, apical three segments subequal in length ( Figs 1, 3 ). First and second visible labial segments thick, second segment longest, third segment tapered and shortest ( Figs 6, 7 ). Neck without 1+1 tubercles ( Figs 5, 7 ). Pronotum with collar process not prominent, apex obtuse-angulate, anterior margin nearly straight; anterior pronotal lobe with a median, longitudinal depression on posterior half, tubercles on anterior pronotal lobe arranged in stripes; anterior lobe about 1.26 times as long as posterior lobe; transverse sulcus of pronotum somewhat sinuate; lateral pronotal angle round, posterior margin of pronotum nearly straight in middle and oblique bilaterally ( Fig. 5 ). Scutellum triangular, Y-shaped ridges narrow, disc of scutellum flat, scutellar process slender and horizontal ( Figs 5, 6 ). Stridulitrum long with total-striate type of sculpture ( Fig. 7 ). Metapleural sulcus curved ( Fig. 6 ). Middle of mesosternum slightly carinate ( Fig. 7 ). Fore coxa elongated, middle coxae separated from each other by more than one width of coxa, hind coxae separated from each other by one width of coxa ( Fig. 7 ); fore femur slightly incrassate, ventral surfaces of fore and middle femora with a row of denticles respectively ( Figs 8, 9 ); fore and middle tibiae somewhat clavate, gradually incrassate to apex, with fossula spongiosa occupying only apex of ventral surfaces ( Figs 8, 9 ). Hemelytron distinctly surpassing tip of abdomen, length of hemelytron ( 7.76 mm ) nearly the same as body length ( 7.91 mm ); two cells on membrane elongate and narrow ( Fig. 10 ). Hind wing also distinctly surpassing tip of abdomen ( Fig. 11 ). Abdomen oval; connexivum not dilated, abdomen only 1.04 times wider than posterior lobe of pronotum; venter of abdomen with a median, longitudinal ridge running from anterior margin of second abdominal sternite to posterior margin of seventh abdominal sternite ( Fig. 11 ). Pygophore oval with anterior half somewhat quadrate in ventral view ( Fig. 13 ); median pygophore process hook-shaped, oblique to right side in caudal view, middle of ventral surface carinate ( Fig. 14 ), and nearly straight, slightly constricted at apical 2/ 5 in lateral view ( Fig. 15 ). Parameres paddle-shaped, apical half broad and round, left paramere ( Fig. 16 ) slightly longer than right paramere ( Fig. 17 ). Phallus with phallobase moderately sclerotized, basal plate bridge about 1.5 times longer than basal plate ( Fig. 18 ); pedicel nearly straight, only curved at base and length of pedicel subequal to length of basal plate ( Fig. 20 ). Dorsal phallothecal sclerite strongly sclerotized, broad with apex rounded ( Figs 18, 20, 21 ); lateral phallothecal sclerite weakly sclerotized, nearly membranous ( Figs 20, 21 ). Endosoma with a patch densely covered with scale-like tubercles ( Figs 18, 21 ). Measurements [in mm, J (n = 1)]. Body length 7.91; maximum width of abdomen 2.49; head length 1.30; length of anteocular part 0.50; length of postocular part 0.35; head width 0.98; eye width in dorsal view 0.27; width of interocular distance 0.45; width of interocellar distance 0.10; lengths of labial segments I: II: III = 0.54: 0.71: 0.33; lengths of antennal segments I: II: III: IV = 0.57: 1.60: 1.55: 1.50; length of anterior pronotal lobe 1.17; length of posterior pronotal lobe 0.93; width of anterior pronotal lobe 1.54; width of posterior pronotal lobe 2.40; scutellum length 1.10; maximum width of scutellum 1.21; hemelytron length 7.76. Etymology. The specific epithet is derived from the type locality ( Zimbabwe ) of this new species; adjective. Distribution. Zimbabwe (this paper). Remarks. In the Afrotropical Region, Oblongiala gen. nov. shares a number of characters with the Bekilya group (comprising Bekilya and Hovacoris , see Z*üൺඇǤ & Wൾං- *©ൺඎർ*ü 2011), such as head, pronotum, scutellum and legs with notably long setae, tuberculate stripes on anterior pronotal lobe and neck without 1+1 tubercles. In addition, males of Bekilya also have relatively well-developed wings, like those of Oblongiala gen. nov. Nevertheless, Oblongiala gen. nov. can be easily separated from the Bekilya group by the following external characters: anteocular part of head less than 1.5 times as long as postocular (vs. anteocular part of head slightly more than twice as long as postocular in Bekilya group); transverse sulcus of pronotum somewhat sinuate (vs. transverse sulcus of pronotum almost straight in Bekilya and clearly curved in Hovacoris ) and middle femur with denticles on ventral surface (vs. middle femur without denticles in Bekilya group). In addition, the following differences in the male genitalia can be used to separate Oblongiala gen. nov. from the Bekilya group, the latter described and illustrated by Z*üൺඇǤ & Wൾං*©ൺඎർ*ü (2011: Figs 3-H3, 3-J1, 3-J2, 3-J3 , 6 ): median pygophore process hook-shaped in caudal view (vs. median pygophore process bent and gradually tapered in caudal view in Bekilya group) and dorsal phallothecal sclerite broad with apex rounded (vs. apex of dorsal phallothecal sclerite sharply projected in Bekilya group). Oblongiala gen. nov. also differs from Bekilya in interocular distance longer than width of eye in dorsal view (vs. interocular distance much less than width of eye in dorsal view in Bekilya ); scutellar process slender and horizontal (vs. scutellar process short and knob-shaped in Bekilya ) and differs from Hovacoris in the posterior pronotal lobe being much wider and slightly shorter than the anterior lobe (vs. posterior pronotal lobe slightly wider and much shorter than anterior lobe in Hovacoris ); Y-shaped ridges of scutellum narrow (vs. Y-shaped ridges of scutellum laterally swollen in Hovacoris ). Another peiratine genus, Lestomerus Amyot & Serville, 1843 , also has denticles on the ventral surfaces of both fore femur and middle femur, as in Oblongiala gen. nov. , but the latter can be clearly distinguished from Lestomerus by the smaller body size, the brighter colouration, the longer and denser setation and the tuberculate stripes on the anterior pronotal lobe.