Description of Rhodnius marabaensis sp. n. (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) from Pará State, Brazil

Abstract

Rhodnius marabaensis sp. n. was collected on 12 May 2014 in the Murumurú Environmental Reserve in the city of Marabá, Pará State, Brazil. This study was based on previous consultation of morphological descriptions of 19 Rhodnius species and compared to the identification key for the genus Rhodnius. The examination included specimens from 18 Rhodnius species held in the Brazilian National and International Triatomine Taxonomy Reference Laboratory in the Oswaldo Cruz Institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The morphological characteristics of the head, thorax, abdomen, genitalia, and eggs have been determined. Rhodnius prolixus and Rhodnius robustus were examined in more detail because the BLAST analysis of a cyt-b sequence shows they are closely related to the new species, which also occurs in the northern region of Brazil. The most notable morphological features that distinguish Rhodnius marabaensis sp. n. are the keel-shaped apex of the head, the length of the second segment of the antennae, the shapes of the prosternum, mesosternum and metasternum, the set of spots on the abdomen, the male genitalia, the posterior and ventral surfaces of the external female genitalia, and the morphological characteristics of the eggs. Rhodnius jacundaensis Serra, Serra & Von Atzingen (1980) nomen nudum specimens deposited at the MCCFMaraba Cultural Center Foundation - were examined and considered as a synonym of Rhodnius marabaensis sp. n.

First report of Rhodnius montenegrensis (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) in the State of Acre, Brazil

“…On the abdomen, yellow spots interposed with dark spots were observed lengthwise over the ventral abdomen. Respiratory spiracles at the ventral abdomen are yellow for R. robustus, differing from those of R. montenegrensis, which are darker (11) .…”

“…It is believed that the insects may have been attracted by the light from the residence. The species R. montenegrensis has been described as occurring in palms of genus Attalea (10) and Orbignya (11) , similar to other species of the genus Rhodnius (2) (12) , demonstrating the ecological importance of palm trees for these triatomines.…”

“…These insects were initially identifi ed as Rhodnius robustus; however, subsequent studies showed that R. montenegrensis was a new species distinct from R. robustus (10) (11) .…”

“…The specimens were collected with permission from the The identifi cation of triatomines was conducted in the Laboratory of Biological Sciences of the Federal University of Acre (UFAC), Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil, based on criteria previously described by Rosa et al (11) . Feces from the specimens were diluted in saline solution, prepared on microscope slides, and then examined with an optical microscope (640× magnifi cation).…”

First report of Rhodnius stali (Hemiptera, Reduviidae, Triatominae) in the State of Acre and in the Brazilian Amazon

“…Later, the specimens were referred to the Insectarium of the Department of Biological Sciences of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, [Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP)], Araraquara, São Paulo, Brazil, where the identification of the specimens was confirmed, through the characteristics of the genitalia (11) and its comparison with R. pictipes from the same insectarium (CTA 71), collected in Belém, Pará ( Figure 1C and Figure 1D; Figure 2E and Figure 2F). Additionally, the specimens were similar to the description provided by Lent et al (10) .…”