Nelcyndana mulu Duffels

Duffels, Joannes Petrus, 2010, The genus Nelcyndana Stal (Hemiptera, Cicadidae, Taphurini) with description of three new species from Borneo, ZooKeys 61, pp. 11-31 : 20-23

Nelcyndana mulu Duffels sp. n. Figs 1114

Type material.

Holotype ♂: Malaysia, Borneo: Sarawak: "SARAWAK / Gunong Mulu / Nat. Park", "Site 23, April / W. Melinau Gorge / 250 m. 430558", "J.D. Holloway / RGS Mulu exped. / B.M. 1978 –206”, "FEG 4. Limestone / forest. MV - / canopy/understorey"(BMNH). Paratypes: Malaysia, Borneo, Sarawak: same data as holotype, 4♂ 3♀ (BMNH).

Etymology.

This species name refers to its occurrence in Gunung Mulu National Park, Sarawak, Borneo.

Diagnosis.

Nelcyndana mulu is distinctly larger than Nelcyndana borneensis and Nelcyndana vantoli (head width ♂: Nelcyndana mulu : 3.8-4.0 mm; Nelcyndana borneensis : 2.8-3.2 mm and Nelcyndana vantoli 3.2-3.3 mm).The males of Nelcyndana mulu can also be separated from the other two species by the colour of the male abdominal segment 2. The anterior one third of male abdominal segment 2 is black in Nelcyndana mulu , while the whole segment is black in Nelcyndana borneensis and Nelcyndana vantoli .

Description.

Ground colour and pilosity as in Nelcyndana borneensis .

Male.

Head (Fig. 11). Vertex reddish brown with exception of a pair of paramedian, squarish, black markings between paired ocelli and posterior margin of head. Postclypeus fairly weakly protruding, medially yellowish to light reddish brown from its glabrous nose to frontoclypeal suture and ventrally (almost) to clypeal suture; lateral parts of postclypeus dark reddish brown to blackish with 6 pairs of distinct, black transverse ridges, grooves between ridges sometimes reddish brown, lateral margins of ventral part yellowish brown. Anteclypeus black with reddish brown basal triangle. Rostrum brown with dark brown apical part reaching beyond anterior margin of hind coxae. Posterior two thirds of lorum black, anterior part reddish brown. Gena reddish brown but black along inner margin of eye. Antennae, supra-antennal plate and vertex lobe yellowish to reddish brown.

Thorax. Pronotum (Fig. 11). A pair of large, rounded rectangular, reddish brown markings enclose a variable pattern of black marking; the reddish brown rectangles are enclosed by a narrow, greenish to yellow-brown, fascia along anterior pronotal margin, the pronotum collar of the same colour, and a broad median fascia of the same colour that strongly widens to anterior margin of pronotum and to pronotum collar.

Mesonotum (Fig. 11) with a pair of paramedian, black, obconical spots at anterior margin, reaching to one third to two fifths of mesonotum disk. Scutal depressions in front of cruciform elevation covered by round, black spots. Lateral sigillae black to black-brown or clouded with black to black-brown, anteriorly 1.5 times as broad as anterior part of paramedian fasciae, narrow a little abruptly at one fourth of its length from base and gradually narrow to their distal ends. Cruciform elevation yellowish.

Legs. Yellow-brown, fore tarsi and fore tibia darker brown; inner side of fore femur with dark brown marking. Fore femora with four, fairly stout, black-brown spines with light brown apices: a long and strong spine at proximal end of lower ridge of femur, a distinctly shorter spine at half-length of lower ridge, a somewhat shorter spine at four fifths of lower ridge and a very short, triangular spine near distal end of lower ridge.

Tegmina and wings. Hyaline. Venation of tegmina and wings greenish to reddish brown.

Operculum (Fig. 12). As in Nelcyndana borneensis , reaching to three-fourths of timbal cavity or to almost anterior margin of abdominal segment 2,

Abdomen (Figs 11-12). Timbal with 6 evenly spaced long ribs and very narrow and faint intercalary ribs. Tergite 1 black or black-brown, tergites 2-8 with a laterally slightly widening, black fascia along anterior margin medially reaching to one third of segment or half-length, a laterally slightly narrowing reddish brown fascia at about half-length of tergite and a yellow-brown fascia along posterior margin. Sternites 2 to 7 for the greater part black-brown but yellow-brown along posterior margins; sternite 8 yellow-brown.

Genitalia (Fig. 13). Pygofer with convex lateral sides. Dorsal beak about equitriangular, slightly upcurved and yellowish brown with long and narrow, black-brown apex. Basal pygofer lobe long and convex, apically flattened and reaching about apex of anal segment. Upper pygofer lobe narrowly separated from basal pygofer lobe and two thirds as long as apical part of basal lobe measured from base of upper pygofer lobe to its apex. Claspers juxtaposed, narrow, incurved and narrowing to acute apex and with laterobasal equilateral triangular, protrusions; lateral clasper lobes protruding and rounded. Aedeagus apically slightly upcurved. Apex of theca with two fairly narrow dagger-shaped appendages, and a very thin, long spine and a very thin, short spine. Aedeagal basal plates triangular.

Female.

Head. Vertex reddish brown with a black spot laterally of paired ocelli only or with black marking restricted to lateroproximal part of vertex. Postclypeus reddish brown to black, but medially yellowish from nose to frontoclypeal suture or from frontoclypeal suture to (almost) clypeal suture; lateral parts of postclypeus with 7 pairs of brown to black transverse ridges. Anteclypeus and rostrum as in male. Antenna, supra-antennal plate, vertex lobe and gena yellowish to reddish brown. Lorum reddish brown but posterior two thirds of lorum more or less black in two paratypes.

Thorax. Pronotum. As in male, but the rectangular, reddish brown markings do not enclose any black marking.

Mesonotum with a pair of paramedian, juxtaposed, black to brown, obconical spots at anterior margin, reaching to two fifths of mesonotum disk. Scutal depressions in front of cruciform elevation with round, brown spots. Lateral sigillae black to very faint and reddish brown without black marking. Cruciform elevation yellowish.

Legs, tegmina and wings as in male

Operculum. Basal half broad, operculum narrowed at half its length to two thirds of basal width, medial margin concave, lateral margin of apical part basally parallel to medial margin, laterodistal angle obtusely rounded, apical margin straight, reaching to anterior margin or one third of sternite 2 and making an angle of 60 degrees with medial margin.

Abdomen. One paratype has the following marking: tergite 2 with black-brown fascia, about as broad as cruciform elevation, along anterior tergite margin, tergites 3-7 with transverse, black fasciae along anterior margins, that on tergite 3 reaches medially to two fifths of tergite length, that on tergite 4 to one third and those on tergites 5-8 to one fourth or one fifth of tergite length, the fasciae on tergites 3-8 widen laterally to reach to two thirds of tergite length. Sternite 2 medially black-brown, sternites 3 to 6 with brown-black transverse band, which is two thirds as broad as sternite and reaches from anterior sternite margin to two-thirds of sternite, sternite 7 medially black-brown. Segment 9 dorsally with a pair of oblong, paramedian, dark brown markings, laterally with a pair of round, lateral, brown spots and ventrally with brownish colouration along basal two-thirds of lower margin. The other two paratypes differ in the following features: dorsal marking with much narrower and partly missing fasciae; sternite 2 medially brownish, sternite 3 with black-brown transverse band, half as wide as sternite, sternites 4-6 with dark brownish median marking, one third to half as wide as sternite. Segment 9 similar but missing the lateral spots.

Measurements

(in mm; 5♂, 2♀). Body length ♂: 9.9-11.7, ♀: 12.0-12.4; tegmen length ♂: 12.7-12.9, ♀: 14.2-15.0; head width ♂: 3.8-4.0, ♀: 4.0-4.3; pronotum width ♂: 3.6-3.8, ♀: 3.8-4.1.

Distribution

(Fig. 14). Nelcyndana mulu is only known from the Melinau Gorge in Gunung Mulu N.P. in Sarawak).