DESCRIPTION OF SIX NEW SPECIES OF AMNESTUS DALLAS (HEMIPTERA-HETEROPTERA: CYDNIDAE) FROM MEXICO

Amnestus Dallas (1851) is the only genus in the subfamily Amnestinae, and are easy to recognize by their small size and the four or five marginal pegs on the juga. Twenty species have been described in the Westen Hemisphere, which are distributed from western Ontario in Canada, through the United States of America, Mexico, Central America, West Indies, and South America to Argentina, (Froeschner, 1960; Mayorga and Cervantes, 2001).

Until now, Amnestus was represented in Mexico by six species: A. brunneus Signoret, A. ficus (Mayorga & Cervantes), A. pallidus Zimmer, A. pusillus Uhler, A. pusio Stal, and A. uhleri Distant (Mayorga, 2002). Here, we described six new species, collected in the States of Campeche, Chiapas, Hidalgo, and Veracruz. The study is based on material deposited in the Coleccion Nacional de Insectos, Instituto de Biologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (CNIN), and in the Coleccion Entomologica of Instituto de Ecologia, A.C. (IEXA), where 131 individuals of Amnestus were examined.

Type and general collections of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), and The Natural History Museum in London (BMNH) where check, although no specimens of these species were found. Identification of species was based on external morphology of males. A diagnosis, geographical records, and a key to separate the 12 known Mexican species, as well as illustrations and a few notes about their biology are included.

Measurements are given in mm ± SD.