Formal Assignation of the Kissing Bug <i>Triatoma lecticularia</i> (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae) to the Genus <i>Paratriatoma</i>
Vinicius Fernandes de Paiva,
Jader de Oliveira,
Cleber Galvão,
Silvia Andrade Justi,
José Manuel Ayala Landa,
João Aristeu da Rosa
Affiliations
Vinicius Fernandes de Paiva
Departamento de Biologia Animal, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Campinas 13083-862, SP, Brazil
Jader de Oliveira
Laboratório de Entomologia em Saúde Pública, Departamento de Epidemiologia, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo 01246-904, SP, Brazil
Cleber Galvão
Laboratório Nacional e Internacional de Referência em Taxonomia de Triatomíneos, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz, Pavilhão Rocha Lima, Rio de Janeiro 21040-360, RJ, Brazil
Silvia Andrade Justi
The Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit, Smithsonian Institution Museum Support Center, Suitland, MD 20746, USA
José Manuel Ayala Landa
Independent Researcher, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
João Aristeu da Rosa
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Araraquara 14800-903, SP, Brazil
The subfamily Triatominae (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) comprises hematophagous insects that are vectors of Chagas disease; including species assigned to the genera Triatoma and Paratriatoma. Initial examination of Triatoma lecticularia revealed the hirsuteness covering the entire body—a characteristic and striking feature of members of the genus Paratriatoma—and a systematic study revealed several other morphological characters that are in diagnostic alignment with Paratriatoma. Based on the examination of several specimens (including the lectotype), and with the additional support of molecular and cytogenetic data, we propose the formal transferal of Triatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859) into the genus Paratriatoma with the resulting new combination: Paratriatoma lecticularia (Stål, 1859) comb. nov. (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae).
