Sinea incognita

McPherson in McPherson & Ahmad, 2015

Sinea incognita is a of assassin bug in the Reduviidae, described in 2015 after being misidentified as Sinea complexa for over a century. It occurs in the eastern and central United States, from Maryland south to Georgia and west to Kansas and Texas. The species was discovered when specimens from New Mexico failed to match identification keys developed for midwestern Sinea species.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Sinea incognita: /ˈsaɪ.ni.ə ɪŋˈkɒɡ.nɪ.tə/

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Identification

Sinea incognita can be distinguished from the similar Sinea complexa and Sinea integra by the shape of the on the front legs. In S. incognita, the femur is distinctly enlarged and rounded at one end but much narrower at the other, resembling a caveman's club. S. complexa has a similar but less pronounced enlargement, more like a baseball bat. S. integra has femora that are nearly uniform in width, resembling a stickball bat.

Distribution

Eastern and central United States: from Maryland south to Georgia and west to Kansas and Texas.

Similar Taxa

Sinea complexaHistorically confused with S. incognita; separated by geography (western and southwestern US south into Mexico vs. eastern/central US) and less pronounced femoral enlargement
Sinea integraSimilar found from Arizona and Texas south through Mexico to Guatemala and Honduras; distinguished by uniformly thick

More Details

Discovery history

The remained hidden in museum collections for over 100 years, misidentified as Sinea complexa. It was discovered in 2006 when Dr. Scott Bundy of New Mexico State University found that his specimens from New Mexico would not key out properly in a nymph identification key developed by Dr. J. E. McPherson for midwestern Sinea species. The specific epithet 'incognita' refers to this long-hidden identity.

Taxonomic significance

This case illustrates how cryptic can persist unrecognized in entomological collections when ranges overlap or are assumed to be continuous. The formal description in 2015 corrected a century of misidentification and clarified the geographic separation between S. incognita and S. complexa.