Belminus Santosmalletae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Reduviidae): New Species From Panama, With An Updated Key For Belminus Stal, 1859 Species

Simple Summary A new species of Belminus, discovered during the study of unidentified Triatominae specimens from the Hemiptera collection of the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA is described here. After comparison with previously described species, significant morphological and morphometric differences were observed, confirming the discovery of a new triatomine species, Belminus santosmalletae. Belminus santosmalletae, a new triatomine species, is described based on a specimen from Panama, deposited in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA. Attempts failed to identify this specimen using the keys by Lent and Wygodzinsky (1979) and Sandoval et al. (2007). A comparison was made with specimens of Belminus Stal, 1859 specimens deposited at the Triatominae collection at the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (CTIOC), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and with previous descriptions of Belminus species. These comparisons showed the specimen represents a new species, described in the present paper. It differs from other species of the genus mainly by the grainy tegument, scarce pilosity along the body, and the number of tubercles observed on the pronotum.