Probergrothius sexpunctatus

Probergrothius sexpunctatus is a species of true bug found in West-Central Africa. The name has been misattributed for many decades to a related species, Probergrothius angolensis, a species that occurs farther to the south, and which feeds on the Welwitschia plant.[1]

Probergrothius sexpunctatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hemiptera
Family: Pyrrhocoridae
Genus: Probergrothius
Species:
P. sexpunctatus
Binomial name
Probergrothius sexpunctatus
(Laporte, 1832)
Synonyms
  • Odontopus sexpunctatus

P. sexpunctatus, as its name suggests, has six prominent black spots on its wings (3 per wing; 2 anteriorly and 1 posteriorly), distinguishing it from the visually similar P. angolensis where the two anterior wing spots are typically fused, making four wing spots (2 per wing; 1 anteriorly and posteriorly). P. sexpunctatus also typically has a reddish pronotum and legs, which are black (or almost black) in P. angolensis, however this character is less reliable.

References

  1. Sudakaran, Sailendharan; Retz, Franziska; Kikuchi, Yoshitomo; Kost, Christian; Kaltenpoth, Martin (2015). "Evolutionary transition in symbiotic syndromes enabled diversification of phytophagous insects on an imbalanced diet". The ISME Journal. 9 (12): 2587–2604. doi:10.1038/ismej.2015.75. PMC 4817627. PMID 26023876.
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