Heteroscelis Latreille 1829

Heteroscelis Latreille, 1829

Heteroscelis Latreille, 1829: 194 (not Latreille, 1828: 574, nor Latreille, 1829: 18); Laporte 1833: 86; Stål 1870: 31; Distant 1880: 33; Distant 1900: 55; Schouteden 1907: 18; Kormilev 1951: 40; Pirán 1954: 19; Pirán 1961: 84; Thomas 1992: 45; Grazia & Schwertner 2011: 713; Grazia et al. 2015: 686; Cazorla 2021: 10; Rider & Swanson 2021: 7; Castro-Huertas et al. 2022: 9.

Phyllocheirus Spinola, 1837: 306; Kirkaldy 1909: 30; Pirán 1961: 87 (syn.).

Phyllochirus Amyot & Serville, 1843: 80 (emendation); Stål 1862: 93; Stål 1870: 31 (syn.); Kirkaldy 1909: 30.

Agerrus Stål, 1859: 434; Stål 1862: 93 (syn.); Schouteden 1907: 19; Kirkaldy 1909: 30.

Bodetria Walker, 1867: 119; Walker 1868: 528; Stål 1870: 31 (syn.); Distant 1900: 63; Schouteden 1907: 19; Kirkaldy 1909: 30.

Heterosceloides Schouteden, 1907: 19; Kirkaldy 1909: 30 (syn.); McDonald 1966.

Type species: Heteroscelis servillii Laporte, 1833, by subsequent monotypy (ICZN 1999: Article 69.3)

Diagnosis. Head elongated, with lateral post-ocular projections; proportion of labiomeres: I<II>III<IV; pronotal depression anterior to the cicatrices forming a collar; humeral angles laterally projected, bifid, with the anterior portion longer than the posterior; pro-, meso- and metasternum covered by small setae; prosternum flat, mesosternum with a low longitudinal carina dilated anteriorly and posteriorly, metasternum slightly elevated with a shallow longitudinal groove.

Redescription

BODY: Elongated oval, with variable color patterns.

HEAD: Rectangular, longer than wide, longitudinally convex, slightly punctured; mandibular plates longer than clypeus, with the anterior margin rounded; bucculae low, rounded at apex and evanescent posteriorly; eyes separated from the anterolateral angles of pronotum by at least half the eye diameter; post-ocular lateral triangular projection contiguous to the eyes; antennomere I shorter and wider than II, which is thinner than the others; antennomeres III, IV and V similar in length and more setose than the others.

THORAX: Pronotum trapezoidal, uniformly and deeply punctured, twice as wide as long; scutellum uniform and shallowly punctured; frenal constriction width more than half the basal width, postfrenal lobe with parallel margins, broadly rounded at apex; coria with posterior margin sinuous; mesopleural evaporatoria occupying the entire posterior margin and the anterolateral mesopleural angle; metapleural evaporatoria surrounding the disc-shaped peritreme, occupying more than half of the metapleural width; ostiole guttiform in ventral view, laterally oriented; peritremal furrow extending more than half the length of the peritreme; dorsal and ventral foretibial expansions present, the dorsal expansion wider than the ventral.

ABDOMEN: Uniformly punctured; mid tubercle on urosternite III; posterior angles of urosternites III to VII ending in minute spine; male bearing ventrolateral glandular setose patches, extending from near the anterior margin of urosternite V to the anterior margin of urosternite VII.

Male

GENITALIA: Pygophore bowl-shaped, with setae on the entire surface, ventral rim slightly sinuous; inferior layer excavated; posterolateral angles rounded; segment X trapezoidal, with rounded apex, ventrally directed, dorsally sclerotized, setose on apex; pseudoclaspers concave, sculptured, each placed between the paramere and the lateral portion of the dorsal rim; parameres sculptured, head triangular, spatulate, occupying in dorsal view most of the space between the segment X and the posterolateral angles. Phallus: phallotheca divided in a basal theca and thecal shield; ejaculatory reservoir contained inside basal theca; basal foramen elliptical, reinforced by basal plates; thecal shield longer and wider than basal theca; vesica oval in dorsal and lateral view; ductus seminis with uniform diameter, running between filaments of vesica, ending on a secondary gonopore, ventrally directed; conjuntiva with: two ventral lobes with sclerotized apex, and one dorsal lobe; all lobes posteriorly directed.

Female

GENITALIA: Valvifers VIII longer than wide, subtriangular, posterior margins sinuous, sutural margins straight, juxtaposed; laterotergites VIII subtriangular; exposed portion of valvifer IX trapezoidal, wider than long, juxtaposed to the laterotergites IX; exposed portion of laterotergites IX digitiform, attaining the mediotergite VIII; segment X trapezoidal with posterior margin straight; thickening of vaginal intima elongated; pars intermedialis small, narrower than the median duct of vesicular area; capsula seminalis longer and wider than pars intermedialis.

Distribution: United States of America (Texas), Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador (new record), Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, French Guyana, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina (Fig. 1).