Presence of uradenia in male adults of the genus Dismegistus (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Parastrachiidae)
Pluot-Sigwalt Dominique, Lis Jerzy A.
Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 58(1): 187-193, 2018
Published online: 20th June 2018
Published in print: 15th August 2018
Views: 1434
Abstract: Uradenia, often referred to as paragenital glands, are usually voluminous paired
exocrine glands located ventrally in the abdomen mostly on the intersegmental
membrane between abdominal segments (= urites) VII–VIII or VIII–IX,
depending on sex or the taxon. They have been previously recorded from eight
pentatomomorphan families belonging to Coreoidea, Lygaeoidea and Pyrrhocoroidea
(Hemiptera: Heteroptera), found either in males, females or both sexes, and were
thought to be absent in Pentatomoidea. We report here the first instance of
uradenia in a pentatomoid genus, the African Dismegistus Amyot & Serville,
1843 (Parastrachiidae). Only the male adult possesses uradenia located on the
intersegmental membrane of segments VIII–IX. The only other genus of the
family, Parastrachia Distant, 1883, as well as other examined genera belonging
to pentatomoid families possibly related to Parastrachiidae (Cydnidae,
Thyreocoridae), do not possess uradenia. The uradenia of Dismegistus exhibit the
same fundamental structure as in other trichophoran families but differ by their
dorso-lateral position (instead of ventral), and also by the paired orifices
(instead of unpaired and median). The implications of the presence of uradenia
within member of a pentatomoid genus are briefly discussed.
Key words: Hemiptera, Heteroptera, Pentatomoidea, Parastrachiidae, Dismegistus, Parastrachia, morphology, abdominal segment VIII, ectodermal gland, uradenia