From "insect soup" to biodiversity discovery: taxonomic revision of Peloridinannus Wygodzinsky,1951 (Hemiptera: Schizopteridae), with description of six new species

Abstract

With only about 320 described species, Dipsocoromorpha is currently one of the smallest and least studied infraorders of Heteroptera (Hemiptera). Specimens are small (often 1 – 2 mm), live in cryptic habitats, are collected using specialized techniques, and curated material in natural history collections is scarce. Despite estimates of vast numbers of yet to be described species, species discovery and documentation has slowed compared to peak taxonomic activity in the mid-20th century. We show, using the genus Peloridinannus Wygodzinsky, 1951 (Hemiptera: Schizopteridae) as an example, that curating specimens from bulk samples already housed in natural history collections is an effective way of advancing our understanding of the biodiversity of this charismatic group of true bugs. Peloridinannus Wygodzinsky was described as a monotypic genus, known only from two female specimens from Costa Rica. Based on examination of 59 specimens from Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, and Peru, six new species of Peloridinannus are described, Peloridinannus curly sp.n., Peloridinannus larry sp.n., Peloridinannus laxicosta sp.n., Peloridinannus moe sp.n., Peloridinannus sinefenestra sp.n., and Peloridinannus stenomargaritatus sp.n. Further, males are documented for the first time for this genus. The holotype and paratype of Peloridinannus margaritatus Wygodzinsky are shown to belong to different species, and the paratype is transferred to Peloridinannus stenomargaritatus sp.n. Male and female genitalic characters, as well as wing venation and wing structure characters are documented using digital images including scanning and confocal micrographs. This taxonomic revision and morphological documentation will also provide a foundation for any future investigations into the enigmatic taxonomic position of Peloridinannus within the Schizopteridae.