Tympanoblissus ecuatorianus Dellapé & Minghetti, gen. et sp. nov, a new apterous genus of chinch bug (Hemiptera: Blissidae) from Ecuador: the only known blissid with an abdominal mechanism for sound production

Abstract

Tympanoblissus ecuatorianus Dellapé & Minghetti, gen. et sp. nov. from the Amazon slope of the Eastern Andean Cordillera in southern Ecuador is described. This constitutes the second apterous genus known in the family Blissidae and the first with a tymbal-like mechanism of sound production. The tiny males hide in bamboo branches where they produce a faint drumming sound. The observed vertical vibration of the abdomen and the fused first two tergites folding on both sides of the midline are consistent with the presence of a tymbal-like organ involving the first abdominal segments. Diagnoses, descriptions and illustrations of adult males and other characters, including the genitalia, as well as oscillograms of the acoustic signal are provided.