A new species of Triatominae from Tamil Nadu, India.
A new species of the genus Linshcosteus Distant, 1904 (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) is described from specimens collected near Kalakkadu, Tamil Nadu state, southern India. Specimens were found in deep crevices between rocks, in a region of semi-arid scrub jungle. The distinctiveness of the new species was demonstrated by a morphometric analysis including the five previously described species of Linshcosteus, all from India. Nine measurements of the head were used in an isometric size-free principal component analysis. In terms of discrete morphology the new species, Linshcosteus karupus sp.n. Galvão, Patterson, Rocha & Jurberg differs from the most similar one, L. kali Lent & Wygodzinsky, 1979, by its very prominent anterolateral projections of the pronotum, by the length to width ratio of the pronotum, by the pilosity of the head and several other characters, including phallic structures. A revised key is presented for the six species of the genus.
Galvão
C
C
Laboratório Nacional e Internacional de Referência em Taxonomia de Triatomineos, Departamento de Entomologia, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Patterson
J S
JS
Da Silva Rocha
D
D
Jurberg
J
J
Carcavallo
R
R
Rajen
K
K
Ambrose
D P
DP
Miles
M A
MA
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D010802:Phylogeny; D013045:Species Specificity; D014225:Triatominae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification*