Skip to main content

Yunnan harlequin bug (Dindymus albonotum) named for yellowish-white thorax

NEWS - Researchers report a new species, Dindymus albonotum, from specimens collected from a forest near the Wanmu tea plantation in Puer, Yunnan, China. The species has a body shape and coloration similar to Dindymus brevis Blöte (1931) and Dindymus flavinotum Stehlík (2013), but is easily distinguished.

Yunnan harlequin bug (Dindymus albonotum) named for yellowish-white thorax

The researchers from Nanning Normal University in Nanning, the Chinese Academy of Forestry in Beijing, China Agricultural University in Beijing and the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences in Haikou named the species in reference to the yellow posterior lobe of the pronotum. The Latin noun albonotum means "yellowish-white thorax".

Yunnan harlequin bug (D. albonotum) is red with black and milky white markings. The antennae are black and the base of the first segment is red. The labia are blackish brown and the first segment is red. The posterior pronotal lobe is milky white.

The leura and sterna of the thorax are black, the posterior edge of the pleura and the posterior edge of the acetabula are milky white. The legs are black, the apical part of the femur and the base of the tibia are red. The abdomen is black. The posterior edge of the fifth abdominal sternum, the sixth and seventh abdominal sternites are milky white.

The body is oval. The pronotum and forewings are widened transversely. The head is less than wide, the eyes protrude laterally. The anterior and posterior lobes of the pronotum are narrow. The anterior edge of the pronotum is not wider than the head, and is less than 1/2 the distance between the lateral pronotal angles.

The posterior border of the anterior pronotal lobe is convex anteriorly. The posterior pronotal lobe is rarely perforated. The costal border of the corium is widened laterally and is smooth, the corium (except the costal border) and clavus are tightly perforated.

The body length is 14.78 mm and the maximum width of the abdomen is 7.13 mm. The head is 2.78 mm long and 2.61 mm wide. The length of the synlipsis is 1.39 mm. The length of the antennal segments I-IV = 4.35, 2.61, 1.91, 3.48 mm. Length of labial segment I-IV = 2.52, 2.52, 2.09, 1.22 mm.

Length of pronotum 2.86 mm. Width of pronotum 4.96 mm. Length of anterior pronotal lobe 1.22 mm. Length of posterior pronotal lobe 1.74 mm. Length of scutellum 2.73 mm and length of hemelytron 12.17 mm.

Until today Pyrrhocoridae (Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Pyrrhocoroidea) has 525 species in 49 genera spread throughout the world. Dindymus was first officially described by Carl Stål (1833-1878) in 1861 in Ofvers, VetensAkad, Förh, Stockholm, 18. This genus has five synonyms, four subgenera and incertae sedis with more than 45 species.

Original research

Zhao P, Ou M, Cao L, Liu H, Wang J (2024). One new species and two new records of Pyrrhocoridae (Hemiptera, Heteroptera) from China. ZooKeys 1210: 273-286, DOI:10.3897/zookeys.1210.125457

Popular Posts

Redflower ragleaf (Crassocephalum crepidioides)

Sintrong or ebolo or thickhead or redflower ragleaf ( Crassocephalum crepidioides ) are plant species in Asteraceae, terma height 25-100 cm, white fibrous roots, generally grow wild on the roadside, yard gardens or abandoned lands at altitude 200- 2500 m. C. crepidioides has erect or horizontal stems along the soil surface, vascular, soft, non-woody, shallow grooves, green, rough surface and short white hair, aromatic fragrance when squeezed. Petiole is spread on stems, tubular and eared. Single leaf, spread out, green, 8-20 cm long, 3-6 cm wide, longitudinal or round inverted eggshell with a narrow base along the stalk. Pointed tip, flat-edged or curved to pinnate, jagged rough and pointed. The top leaves are smaller and often sit. Compound flowers grow throughout the year in humps that are arranged in terminal flat panicles and androgynous. Green cuffs with orange-brown to brick-red tips, cylindrical for 13-16 mm long and 5-6 mm wide. The crown is yellow with a brownish red...

Bengal trumpet (Thunbergia grandiflora)

Bengal trumpet ( Thunbergia grandiflora ) is a species of plant in the Acanthaceae, herbaceous, climbing, up to 20 meters long, long root system with deep taproot. The leaves are opposite, petiolate, rough surface and variable size. The leaves are triangular or oval or 7-cornered and the margins are serrated or wavy or plain. The length and width of the leaves are up to 20 cm. The flowers are blue and mauve in color, up to 9 cm wide and the tube is 4 cm long. The pods contain seeds that scatter up to several meters when ripe. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Lamiales Family: Acanthaceae Subfamily: Thunbergioideae Tribe: Thunbergieae Genus: Thunbergia Species: Thunbergia grandiflora

Li chun horned toad (Boulenophrys lichun) makes mating calls in spring from rock crevices in Ningde City

NEWS - Researchers report Li chun horned toad ( Boulenophrys lichun sp. nov.) from the coastal hills of eastern Fujian Province, China, that differs from all known relatives by a combination of morphological character differences and genetic divergence in the mitochondrial 16S + CO1 gene pool. During a field survey in eastern Fujian, researchers collected a series of Boulenophrys specimens Fei, Ye & Jiang, 2016. Initial morphological examination indicated that the specimens differed from their known relatives by a series of distinct characters. Subsequent molecular analysis further revealed that these specimens represent a separate evolutionary lineage, showing significant differences from their known relatives. Therefore, the researchers describe it as a new species. B. lichun is small in size (SVL 33.5–37.0 mm in 5 adult males, SVL 47.1 mm in 1 adult female); rostra canthus well developed, tongue not notched posteriorly; tympanum distinct; vomerine ridge and vomerine teeth pres...