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INTRODUCTION
Rhyparochromidae Amyot & Serville, 1843 is a family of small heteropterans, with white, black, brown and opaque coloration. This group is one of the most diversified within Lygaeoidea (Schuh & Slater, 1995); comprising 1850 species classified in 372 genera (Henry, 2009). This taxon was formerly treated as a subfamily of Lygaeidae, until Henry (1997), who gave it a family status. Actually the group remains classified as a family within the Lygaoidea sensu stricto (Faúndez, 2014). Within the Rhyparochromidae, several species are known by having coleopteroid hemelytra (e.g. with reduced or absent membrane and corium fused with the clavus). The purpose of this contribution is to give new records of two coleopteroid Rhyparochromids in Patagonia.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
In classification we follow Slater (1964) and Henry (1997). Photos were taken with a high resolution digital camera adapted to a stereoscopic microscope. All examined material is deposited in the Heteroptera Reference Collection of the Centro de Estudios en Biodiversidad CEBCh.
RESULTS
RhyparochromidaeAmyot & Serville, 1843
Lethaeini Stål, 1872
Stictolethaeus inerme (Berg, 1883) (Fig. 1) = Stictolethaeus slateri O’Donnell, 1991 (syn. by Dellapé & Coscaron, 2004).
Material examined: ARGENTINA: Neuquén Province, 16km NE of San Martín de los Andes 40°07’S-71°06’W 700m s.n.m. 13-I-1988, Ashworth, Fuglseth & Maliscke leg. 1tf (micropterous), Patagonian steppe Umbelliferae/Compositae/ Poaceae, pitfall trap.
Remarks. This species is known from Argentina and Uruguay. In Argentina it has been recorded from Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Cordoba, Chubut, Entre Ríos, Mendoza, Santa Fé (Dellapé et al. 2015). Here we provided the first record of this species in the Neuquén Province, extending its distribution to the East in the southern edge of its distribution.
Udeocorini Sweet, 1967
Astemmoplitus nitidus (Blanchard, 1852) (Fig. 2).
Material examined: CHILE: Los Lagos Region, 5km W of Ensenada, Llanquihue, 18- IX-1977, 19, Ashworth, Hoganson & Mooers leg. Los Lagos Region, Futaleufú, 26/29-I-2015, 1tf19 A. Luer leg.
Remarks. This species is known in Chile only from the type localities “Concepción y Araucanía” given by Blanchard (1852). Besides of that, it has only been cited in Río Negro, Argentina by Dellapé et al. (2010). The records here provided extend the presence of this species to Palena Province in Chile. Prado (2008) list this species as a junior synonym of Astemmoplitus gayi (Spinola, 1852) without justification. In the case of a synonymy, A. nitidus has precedence (i.e. page 150) over A. gayi (i.e. page 157) in the same text (Spinola & Blanchard, 1852). However, A. gayi is distributed in the North-Central part of the country (with Coquimbo Region as type locality); whereas A. nitidus ranges from Bío Bío to Los Lagos regions. Furthermore, the type of A. gayi is lost and there is not enough material available to further study the synonymy of both species. Therefore, we prefer to treat them as different taxa until more material is available for study.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
The scarce amount of records of these species seems to be related to lack of collecting. The case of S. inerme is interesting because it reach the Andes limit, however it has been never found in Chile. Therefore, further prospection may extend its presence to Chile; as it has been occurring recently with many heteropterans recorded for the first in the south of Chile or Argentina respectively (Faúndez & Rider, 2016). Moreover, the new locality data of A. nitidus fill the distributional gap between Southern Chile and Argentina; thus showing a classical Andean pattern. Futaleufú becomes the southernmost record known for this species.
