Description of fifteen new species of the Hypoxys balteatus species group (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae)

Abstract

Hypoxys Amyot & Serville, 1843 (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae: Edessinae), for a long time considered a synonym or subgenus of Edessa Fabricius, 1803, was recently revised and reinstated to the generic rank. This genus comprises 17 described species divided in four species groups: H. quadridens, H. oxyacanthus, H. triangularis, and H. balteatus species group. Also, there is a large number of new species yet to be described. The H. balteatus species group is diagnosed by: pronotum with posterior stripe smoky brown to black with black punctures within, sometimes these punctures are surrounded by small dark spots; punctures of the pronotal disc smaller and paler than those of the posterior stripe; anterolateral margin of pronotum yellow; anterior half of scutellum with punctures large, sparse, and also on dark spots; connexivum uniformly green, without dark spots; thorax ventrally with two pairs of brown to black rounded spots; apex of pseudosutures with black to brown round spots. This species group included so far only H. balteatus (Walker, 1868). Here we describe and assign 15 new species to this group: H. amyoti sp. nov. (Suriname: Powakka; French Guiana), H. aspilogaster sp. nov. (Brazil: Minas Gerais, Espírito Santo and Rio de Janeiro), H. belenensis sp. nov. (Brazil: Pará), H. bergrothi sp. nov. (Venezuela: Amazonas; French Guiana: Saint-Elie), H. breddini sp. nov. (Bolivia: Santa Cruz and San Carlos), H. caquetensis sp. nov. (Colombia: Caquetá), H. favachae sp. nov. (Suriname: Sipaliwini; Brazil: Amapá and Pará), H. gaucho sp. nov. (Brazil: Rio Grande do Sul), H. hyalinofasciatus sp. nov. (Ecuador: Sucumbíos), H. immaculatus sp. nov. (Bolivia: Beni), H. nigroantennatus sp. nov. (French Guiana: Roura), H. santarensis sp. nov. (Brazil: Pará), H. servillei sp. nov. (Brazil: Mato Grosso and Goiás), H. stysi sp. nov. (Suriname: Coronie, Sipaliwini; French Guiana: Cayenne), and H. venustus sp. nov. (Bolivia: Cochabamba). Descriptions, measurements, photos of dorsal and ventral view of each species, and of external genitalia of both sexes, an identification key, and distributional maps are presented.