Pyrops Spinola, 1839

Constant, Jérôme & Pham, Hong-Thai, 2017, Review of the clavatus group of the lanternfly genus Pyrops (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Fulgoridae), European Journal of Taxonomy 305, pp. 1-26 : 3-4

Genus Pyrops Spinola, 1839

Pyrops Spinola, 1839: 231 .

Type species: Pyrops candelaria (Linnaeus, 1758) by subsequent designation by Duponchel (1840: 200).

Hotinus Amyot & Serville, 1843: 490 (type species Pyrops candelaria (Linnaeus, 1758) by original designation) synonymized by Blanchard 1845: 425.

After comparison with the classification proposed by Lallemand (1963) and Nagai & Porion (1996), the genus Pyrops is here removed from the subfamily Fulgorinae and not attributed to any of the currently defined subfamilies, following the conclusions of the DNA study by Urban & Cryan (2009). The subfamily Fulgorinae is found in the New World, with the Neotropical genus Fulgora Linnaeus, 1767 as type.

Diagnostic characters

The definition of the genus given by Constant (2015) is followed: head with cephalic process, sometimes very long, narrowing progressively beyond the eyes; apically it can be dilated or even spherical. Vertex about 4 times as broad as an eye. Before eyes, genae truncate, with a transverse carina which sometimes extends to vertex. Two longitudinal carinae on frons, a third median one starting on base of cephalic process. Fronto-clypeal suture usually slightly bisinuate; median carina on clypeus. Pronotum with median carina (sometimes obsolete) and a small but strongly impressed point on each side of it. Mesonotum with median and peridiscal carinae, sometimes obsolete. Tegmina at most 3 times as long as broad, with apical margin more or less rounded and with transverse veinlets on all surfaces. Clavus open and elongate, vein A1+A2 extending far towards apex. Legs slender.

The clavatus species group

This group was defined by Baker (1925: 348) with the following set of characters: (1) medium sized species; (2) cephalic process short, very stout, strongly clavate, black or olive green above and with red or ochraceous apex; (3) tegmina largely black.

It seems worth mentioning that Baker did not examine any specimen of P. atroalbus comb. nov. or P. watanabei .

Lallemand (1963: 88) restricted the definition to characters of the cephalic process only: “ cephalic process rather short, much shorter than body, gradually narrowing, strongly dilated apically into a quite large ball” (translated from French).

Nagai & Porion (1996) followed Lallemand’s (1963) definition.

After examination of the types of all species placed in the group by previous authors, the combination of the following characters is given to define the group: (1) medium sized species; (2) cephalic process rather short, progressively narrowing towards apex and strongly swollen apically; (3) apical third of hind wings black or white.

The Philippine species P. polillensis is removed from the group based on the broad black area of the hind wing extending all along the sutural margin (see illustrations in Baker 1925), in contradiction with character (3), and not attributed to any of the currently defined species groups of Pyrops .

The three species included here in the group are distributed in a zoogeographically consistent zone extending from northern India eastwards to Taiwan through Bangladesh, Myanmar, northern Thailand, Laos and southern China, and southwards to central Vietnam.

Identification key to the species of the Pyrops clavatus group

1. Abdomen black ventrally ( Fig. 1B ); tegmina pale yellow-white on disc and with 3 black spots in costal area before nodal line ( Fig. 1A ); cephalic process yellow ( Fig. 1 D–F) (known from Laos, Thailand and Vietnam) ………………………………………… Pyrops atroalbus ( Distant, 1918) comb. nov.

– Abdomen red ventrally ( Fig. 2B ) …………………………………………………………………2

2. Tegmina largely black on disc ( Fig. 2A ), or in the pale forms ( Fig. 3A, D ), bluish white on disc and without black spots in costal area; cephalic process red-brown to black ( Figs 2 D–G, 3C, E) (known from N India, Bangladesh, N Myanmar, N Thailand, S China and N Vietnam) ……… ………………………………………………………………… Pyrops clavatus ( Westwood, 1839)

– Tegmina mainly white on disc and with 3 black spots in costal area before nodal line ( Fig. 4A, F ); cephalic process yellow ( Fig. 4 D–E) (known from Taiwan) … Pyrops watanabei ( Matsumura, 1913)

Figures

Fig. 1. Pyrops atroalbus (Distant, 1918) comb. nov., ♀, Vietnam, Quang Tri Prov., Da Krong Nature Reserve, 10 Jul. 2011 (VNMN). A. Habitus, dorsal view. B. Habitus, ventral view. C. Habitus, left lateral view. D. Head and thorax, left lateral view. E. Head, normal view of frons. F. Apex of cephalic process, frontal view. (D–F not to scale.)

Fig. 2. Pyrops clavatus (Westwood, 1839), ♀♀, Thailand, Chiang Mai, Dec. 2007 (RBINS). A–E. Dark specimen with cephalic process brown ventrally. A. Habitus, dorsal view. B. Habitus, ventral view. C. Habitus, left lateral view. D. Head and thorax, left lateral view. E. Head, normal view of frons. — F–G. Dark specimen with black cephalic process. F. Head and thorax, left lateral view. G. Head, normal view of frons. (D–G not to scale.)

Fig. 3. Pyrops clavatus (Westwood, 1839), ♀♀, Thailand, Chiang Mai, Dec. 2007 (RBINS). A–E. Pale specimen. A. Habitus, dorsal view. B. Habitus, ventral view. C. Head and thorax, left lateral view. D. Head, normal view of frons. E. Habitus, left lateral view. — F. Intermediate specimen with cephalic process black dorsally, habitus, dorsal view. (C–D not to scale.)

Fig. 4. Pyrops watanabei (Matsumura, 1913), ♀♀. A–E. Pale specimen, Taiwan, Taipei, Tanshui, 14 Jun. 2002 (NMNS). A. Habitus, dorsal view. B. Habitus, ventral view. C. Habitus, left lateral view. D. Head and thorax, left lateral view. E. Head, normal view of frons. — F. Dark specimen, Taiwan, Tao Yuan, 10 Jul. 2007 (MHNL, photograph by C. Audibert), habitus, dorsal view. (D–E not to scale.)