Calcatedessa gen.n. a new genus sister to Grammedessa Correia & Fernandes (Heteroptera, Pentatomidae, Edessinae) based on a cladistic analysis

Abstract

Grammedessa Correia & Fernandes, 2016 is a genus raised to include some species of Edessa Fabricius, 1803 that is a very common group of stink bugs inhabiting only the Neotropical region. Grammedessa was proposed excluding a few species that were morphologically similar but not completely fitting in the diagnostic requirements of the genus. Grammedessa was also proposed without considering a phylogenetic context. In this work, the monophyly of Grammedessa was tested using a cladistic analysis, including all species that were originally excluded, under both Maximum Parsimony and Bayesian methods. As a result, six new species are now included in Grammedessa, which will be described in a forthcoming paper; Edessa botocudo Kirkaldy, 1909 was considered an unnecessary new name for Edessa hamata Walker, 1868 that was transferred to Grammedessa, resulting in G. hamata (Walker, 1868) comb.n. Calcatedessa gen.n., a new genus sister to Grammedessa, is here proposed to include four new species: C. anthomorpha sp.n., C. clarimarginata sp.n., C. germana sp.n. and C. temnomarginata sp.n. The Calcatedessa–Grammedessa clade and both genera were recovered as monophyletic by Maximum Parsimony and Bayesian methods. An identification key to the species of Calcatedessa gen.n. is provided. The new genus is distributed in Guyana, Suriname, French Guyana, and Brazil.