Eastern Arc Mountains in Tanzania: Hic sunt Aenictopecheidae. The first genus and species of Afrotropical Aenictopecheidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Enicocephalomorpha)

Pavel Štys,Petr Baňař

doi:10.14411/eje.2013.091

Abstract

A new genus and species of Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Enicocephalomorpha: Aenictopecheidae: Aenictopecheinae, Ulugurocoris grebennikovi gen. et sp. n., based on micropterous females from Tanzania, Uluguru Mts, Budunki, is described and differentiated. The males are probably macropterous. Some general aspects of morphology of U. grebennikovi are discussed in a broader context, such as presence of cephalic trichobothria (suggested to be a groundplan character of Heteroptera), presence of gular sulci (suggested to have an ecdysial function), lack of cephalic neck (symplesiomorphy with other Hemiptera), presence of posterior lobe of pronotum associated with the epimeroid (a new term for so called proepimeral lobe), and presence of notopleural sulcus on the propleuron. Diagnostic characters of the Aenictopecheinae are summarized and distribution of their seven genera is reviewed. Ulugurocoris grebennikovi is the first representative of the basal family Aenictopecheidae in the Afrotropical Region. The type locality is situated in the Eastern Arc Mountains (Tanzania), a recently identified hotspot of Afrotropical diversity characterized by a high degree of endemism caused by high rates of speciation combined with low rates of extinction. A brief characterization of the area is provided.

Highlights

The Aenictopecheidae (Enicocephalomorpha), Thaumastocoridae (Cimicomorpha) and Colobathristidae (Pentatomomorpha) are essentially pantropical families of Heteroptera but none of them has been recorded from the Afrotropical Region
In this paper we provide a description of the new genus and species with much new data important to the morphology of Heteroptera
We stress the features of general importance; some of them may be shared by other enicocephalomorphans

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The Aenictopecheidae (Enicocephalomorpha), Thaumastocoridae (Cimicomorpha) and Colobathristidae (Pentatomomorpha) are essentially pantropical families of Heteroptera but none of them has been recorded from the Afrotropical Region. In spite of extensive material of African Heteroptera accumulated in collections over the decades and numerous expeditions undertaken, the first Afrotropical aenictopecheids turned up only recently. Their discovery has been made possible owing to increased attention paid to the understudied forest litter fauna and by exploration of the only recently identified hotspot of Afrotropical diversity – the inland mountain islands of the East Arc Mountains in Kenya and Tanzania. In this paper we provide a description of the new genus and species with much new data important to the morphology of Heteroptera. We keep the comparative part simple since more data ( concerning the terminalia of both sexes, pterygopolymorphism and larvae) and a new key to aenictopecheine genera will be included in a study of newly discovered taxa from the Oriental and Madagascan regions (Baňař & Štys, unpubl.)

MATERIAL AND METHODS

DISCUSSION