ZOOTAXA

ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition)

ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition)Copyright © 2014 Magnolia Press

Zootaxa 3884 (6): 561–566

www.mapress.com/zootaxa/Article

http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3884.6.4

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:CD850912-8B81-4E72-9A53-55DE44D4009B

Description and DNA barcoding of Ochetostethomorpha secunda,

a new species of the South African endemic burrower bug genus

(Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Cydnidae) from Namibia

JERZY A. LIS1,4, BARBARA LIS1, DARIUSZ J. ZIAJA1 & ROLAND DOBOSZ 2,3

1Department of Biosystematics, Opole University, Oleska 22, 45-052 Opole, Poland2Natural History Department, Upper Silesian Museum, Jana III Sobieskiego 2, 41-902 Bytom, Poland3University of Silesia, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, Department of Zoology, Bankowa 9, 40-007 Katowice,

Poland4Corresponding author. E-mail: cydnus@uni.opole.pl

Abstract

Ochetostethomorpha secunda sp. nov. from Namibia, the second species of the South African endemic genus is described,

illustrated, and compared with O. nollothensis Schumacher, 1913. The new species is the third of the subfamily Sehirinae

known from Namibia. Moreover, a DNA barcode sequence was generated for this new species (827 bp of cytochrome

oxidase I) and was deposited in GenBank.

Key words: Sehirinae, Ochetostethomorpha, taxonomy, endemic genus, Mopane savanna, Namibia, DNA barcode

Introduction

Thirteen species of the family Cydnidae (sensu Pluot-Sigwalt and Lis 2008) have been recorded from Namibia

(Hesse 1925; Linnavuori 1993; Lis 1999, 2000, 2011; Robertson 2009; Lis and Ziaja 2014), including a single

species of the subfamily Amaurocorinae, i.e., Angra ciliata Schumacher; two species of the subfamily

Cephalocteinae, i.e., Cephalocteus punctipennis Stål and Heissocteus ernstii J.A. Lis; nine species of the subfamily

Cydninae, i.e., Aethus hirsutus (Hesse), A. perosus Stål, Fromundus difficilis (Stål), Geocnethus plagiatus

(Signoret), Lactistes falcipes Hesse, Macroscytus brunneus (Fabricius), M. reflexus Signoret, Microporus

lautipennis (Stål), M. pallidipennis (Reuter); and a single Sehirinae species, i.e., Legnotus melaleucus (Thunberg).

The genus Ochetostethomorpha was described for a single species new to the science, i.e., O. nollothensis from

Port Nolloth, Namaqualand in the Republic of South Africa (Schumacher 1913). A redescription of this genus and

species (based on the six originally collected specimens), as well as the lectotype designation was provided by

Linnavuori (1993). Subsequently, this species were reported also from Chad (Lis 1996) based on three females

collected during the French Chari-Lac Tchad 1902–1904 expedition. No other specimens of this genus have been

reported since that time.

In its crucial generic characters, i.e., evaporatoria (Linnavuori 1993), metathoracic wing venation (Lis and

Heyna 2001), cephalic chaetotaxy (Lis and Pluot-Sigwalt 20002), trichobothrial pattern (Lis and Hohol-

Kilinkiewicz 2002), as well as tibial and coxal combs (Lis and Schaefer 2005; Lis 2010), the genus

Ochetostethomorpha is very similar to species of the genus Ochetostethus Fieber, 1860.

However, both genera are easily separable by the shape of the prosternal carinae

(Ochetostethomorpha—prosternal carinae high, ending posteriorly in a horn-like process, Fig. 1a;

Ochetostethus—prosternal carinae narrow, posteriorly rounded, Fig. 1b).

During field studies carried out by the fourth author (RD) in Ovamboland (Namibia), two male specimens of

the genus Ochetostethomorpha were collected; they appeared to represent a new species of this endemic genus.

Accepted by D. Rider: 24 Oct. 2014; published: 19 Nov. 2014 561

Material and methods

Collecting site. Both specimens of a new species were collected in the Ogongo Campus (the Ogongo Agricultural

Campus), which accommodates the Crop Science Department of the Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources,

and is the largest campus (ca. 4 000 hectares) within the University of Namibia (UNAM). It is situated about 60 km

west of Oshakati in the Oshana Region, and includes accommodation sites, fields and experimental cultivations, a

farm and a large game reserve (the Ogongo game park, a protected area without human habitation, ca. 2 500

hectares). The most prevailing type of woodsy vegetation in the study area is the Mopane Savanna with Mopane

trees Colophospermum mopane (Kirk ex Benth.) Kirk ex. J. Léonard (Okitsu 2005; Mapaure and Ndeinoma 2011).

The specimens were collected from the area adjacent to the UNAM staff accommodation sites (Figs. 3–4) covered

mainly with Mopane trees (Colophospermum mopane), Leadwood trees (Combretum imberbe Wawra), and

different Accacia species (i.e., A. erioloba (E. Mey.) P.J.H. Hurte, A. hebeclada D.C., and other Accacia spp.); they

were sifted from the litter samples taken from under a Leadwood tree (C. imberbe) (Fig. 4).

DNA barcoding procedure. Genomic DNA was isolated from tissues rich in mitochondria; a leg from the

holotype specimen, and thoracic muscles of the paratype were utilized for DNA extraction using the Extractive

DNA Tissue Kit (Blirt, DNA Gdańsk) according to the manufacturer’s procedure (as recommended for DNA

isolation from insect tissue).

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was carried out to amplify the target fragment of the cytochrome oxidase

subunit I (COI) gene using the following primers: reverse primer TL2-N-3014 (Simon et al. 1994, 2006) and

forward primer C1-J-2183 (Damgaard et al. 2000). PCRs were performed in 25-μl reaction volumes containing 1

μl of DNA, 1x reaction buffer (Novazym), 0.5 μM of each primer (GENOMED) and 200 μM of dNTP mix (DNA

Gdańsk). Reactions were incubated in an Eppendorf Master Thermocycler. After a “hot start” step with 2 min of

initial denaturation at 93 ºC, the reaction was paused and 0.02 U/μl of HiFi Taq DNA Polymerase was added, run

for 38 cycles consisting of a 1 min denaturation at 95 ºC, 1 min annealing at 48 ºC and a 45 s extension at 72 ºC,

with an initial denaturation step of 95 ºC for 2 min and a final extension step of 72 ºC for 5 min.

Amplicons were electrophoresed on a 1% agarose gel. The positive samples (~850 bp) were purified by using

the ExoSAP-IT for PCR clean-up (Affymetrix). All analyses were performed at the Center for Biodiversity Studies,

Department of Biosystematics, Opole University; purified products were sequenced in the Health Care Center

GENOMED, Warsaw, Poland.

In order to ensure that our results were not a contaminant, the resultant sequences were verified using a

BLAST search (in GenBank); they showed a high similarity to the sequences of other pentatomoidean species.

Both sequences were identical along the length of the 827 bp; they differed only at the nucleotide position 52 (A in

the holotype sequence, C in the paratype sequence). Both these 827-bp long sequences were deposited in GenBank.

Results

Ochetostethomorpha secunda J.A. Lis & B. Lis, new species

(Figs. 1a, 2b, 5a, 6a, 7a)

Diagnosis. The two specimens of the new species differ morphologically from those of O. nollothensis by their

different body sizes (body length/width ratio about 1.6–1.7 in O. secunda, about 1.9 in O. nollothensis; pronotum

width/length ratio about 1.95 in O. secunda, about 2.14 in O. nollothensis), their ocular index (2.0 in O. secunda,

2.13–2.25 in O. nollothensis), and the shape of the membrane (margins distinctly narrowing in O.

nollothensis—Fig. 2a; margins broadly rounded in O. secunda—Fig. 2b).

Because both species are known only from a limited number of specimens, their morphological variability has

not been characterized. Therefore, as usual for Cydnidae, the most reliable characters separating both species are

those relating to male genital structures.

These two species differ by the shape of the genital capsule (O. nollothensis—Fig. 5b, O. secunda—Fig. 5a;

dorsal view), the shape of the paramere (sensory lobe apically broadly rounded in O. nollothensis—Fig. 6b,

apically narrowed in O. secunda—Fig. 6a; hypophysis digitate, almost straight in O. nollothensis—Fig. 6b, claw-

like, apically recurved in O. secunda—Fig. 6a), the shape of the conjunctival appendages of aedeagus (first

LIS ET AL.562 · Zootaxa 3884 (6) © 2014 Magnolia Press

conjunctival appendage in O. nollothensis—Fig. 7b, in O. secunda—Fig. 7a; second conjunctival appendage

apically sharpened in O. nollothensis—Fig. 7b, apically with two distinct teeth in O. secunda—Fig. 7a).

Description. Body almost black with blackish brown tinge (Fig. 2b); lateral parts of its dorsal surface, the

antennae and tarsi brown. Head 1.19 times as broad as long, its dorsal surface densely punctured; paraclypei

distinctly longer than clypeus and joined in front of it; rostrum short, reaching the prosternum, lying in a deep

sulcus between prosternal carinae; eyes blackish brown with reddish tinge, ocular index 2.0; ocelli very small,

almost indistinct, reddish brown; antennae five-segmented, 3rd segment 1.43 times longer than the 2nd. Pronotum

1.95 times as broad as long, puncturation and sculpture of its dorsal surface as in O. nollothensis, but transverse and

longitudinal depressions slightly deeper than those of the preceding species; callal area slightly elevated. Scutellum

1.2 times as long as broad; its sculpture and puncturation as in O. nollothensis. Mesocorium with ovate ochraceous

spot; membrane whitish with pale brown marks, veins blackish brown, distinctly visible. Legs blackish brown, tarsi

brown. Male genitalia: paramere with apically narrowed sensory lobe and claw-like, apically recurved, broadened

basally hypophysis (Fig. 6a); first conjunctival appendage of aedeagus almost the same width along its entire

length (Fig. 7a), the second conjunctival appendage of aedeagus with two distinct teeth apically (Fig. 7a); shape of

the genital capsule as in Fig. 5a.

FIGURES 1–4. 1. Prosternal carinae in lateral view; 1a. Ochetostethomorpha secunda, a horn-like process indicated by the

arrow; 1b. Ochetostethus opacus (Scholtz), posterior margin without a horn-like process indicated by the arrow. 2. general

habitus in dorsal view; 2a, Ochetostethomorpha nollothensis, lectotype male, RSA; 2b, O. secunda, holotype male, Namibia;

2c, Ochetostethomorpha female, Chad. 3. Collecting site in the Ogongo Agricultural Campus, in the area adjacent to the

UNAM staff accommodation sites. 4. Litter samples taken from under of a Leadwood tree (C. imberbe) by RD. Photographs

1a-b and 2a-b by B. Lis, the photograph 2c by M. A. Mazur, photographs 3-4 by R. Dobosz.

Zootaxa 3884 (6) © 2014 Magnolia Press · 563OCHETOSTETHOMORPHA SECUNDA N. SP. FROM NAMIBIA

FIGURES 5–7. Male genitalia. 5a, 6a, 7a, Ochetostethomorpha secunda; 5b, 6b, 7b, O. nollothensis; 5a–b, genital capsule,

dorsal view, arrows show different shape of the outer margin; 6a–b, left paramere, ventral view; 7a–b, conjunctival appendages

of aedeagus (first appendage, at the top; second appendage, at the bottom), arrows show different shapes of their apical parts.

Photographs by B. Lis.

Measurements (in mm). Body length 3.35; body width 2.00; head length 0.76; head width 0.90; pronotum

length 1.00; pronotum width 1.95; scutellum length 1.40; scutellum width 1.18; antennal segments (I–V): 0.16:

0.14: 0.20: 0.24: 0.32.

Material examined. Holotype male: Namibia, Ovamboland, Ogongo Campus, 17o 40' 35.6'' S, 15o 17' 33.6'' E,

29.i.2012, 1100 m, savanna: trees, shrubs, herbaceous vegetation; sifting, leg. R. Dobosz & G. Kopij (in the

collection of the Natural History Department, Upper Silesian Museum, Bytom, Poland); Paratype male: the same

data as the holotype (in the collection of the Department of Biosystematics, Opole University, Opole, Poland).

Etymology. The name is given to show it is the second species of the genus.

GenBank accession numbers. KJ830720 (for the holotype sequence); KJ830721 (for the paratype sequence).

Distribution. Namibia, Chad? (see the notes below).

Ochetostethomorpha nollothensis Schumacher 1913

(Figs. 2a, 5b, 6b, 7b)

Type material examined. Three paralectotypes (two males, one female): South Africa, Klein-Namaraland, Porth

Nolloth; IV. 1905, L. Schulze (housed in the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany).

Distribution. Republic of South Africa.

Notes on the specimens collected in Chad. Three females representing the genus Ochetostethomorpha,

LIS ET AL.564 · Zootaxa 3884 (6) © 2014 Magnolia Press

collected during the French Chari-Lac Tchad 1902-1904 expedition and housed at the Muséum national d'Histoire

naturelle in Paris, were identified by Lis (1996) as O. nollothensis. We had a chance to verify whether they actually

represent the type species of the genus; yet, they appeared to be more similar to O. secunda than to O. nollothensis

(Fig. 2c). However, because males are required for the proper species identification in this genus, and these females

also might represent the other unknown species, we decided not to include the females from Chad into the type-

series of the newly described species.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Dr. Jürgen Deckert (Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin, Germany) for sending us three

paralectotypes of O. nollothensis for personal examination, and to Drs. Eric Guilbert (Muséum national d'Histoire

naturelle, Paris, France) and Miłosz A. Mazur (Department of Biosystematics, Opole University, Opole, Poland)

for their help in solving the problem of the identity of the Ochetostethomorpha specimens collected in Chad.

Moreover, the fourth author (RD) wishes to thank Dr. Grzegorz Kopij (Department of Integrated Environment

Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Namibia) for his help and hospitality during

a stay in Namibia. The study was supported by the Opole University Grant No. 1/KBI/13-S.

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