Draeculacephala quetzalcoatli Blanco-Rodríguez & Pinedo-Escatel, 2022

Blanco-Rodríguez, E. & Pinedo-Escatel, J. A., 2022, Review of the New World genus Draeculacephala Ball (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae Cicadellinae) from Mexico, with description of a new species, Zootaxa 5174 (4), pp. 381-394 : 384

Draeculacephala quetzalcoatli Blanco-Rodríguez & Pinedo-Escatel , sp. nov.

Figures 1-8

Type locality. Rio Blanco , Ixtacomitán, Chiapas state, Mexico .

Total length. Male 6.0- 6.2 mm; female 6.5-6.9 mm.

Coloration. Body color pale green or yellowish. Crown yellowish with a black macula on anterior margin; postfrontal sutures and midline black. Frontoclypeus black and anteclypeus pale. Gena and lorum black. Ocelli grey. Pronotum with anterior margin yellowish; center and posterior margin greenish. Scutellum pale green. Forewing yellowish with base greenish. Legs pale. Abdomen yellowish with irregular black marks ( Figure 1-3 ).

External morphology. Head: 1.5x wider than long in dorsal view; crown produced with anterolateral margins weakly sinuate, concave in lateral view; postfrontal sutures extended to ocelli ( Figure 1-2 ). Frontoclypeus somewhat straight and anteclypeus slightly convex medially. Antennal ledge margin straight. Gena with lateral margin slightly pointed. Lorum 3x more slender than anteclypeus mid-width ( Figure 3 ). Pronotum: narrower than head; as long as crown midline; posterior margin emarginate. Scutellum: as long as pronotum ( Figure 1 ). Metathoracic leg: femoral setal formula 2+1; tarsomere 1 without platellae. Abdomen: apodemes reaching sternum III.

Male terminalia. Pygofer: 2.1x longer than tall; posterior margin conical; 2 rows of 3-4 macrosetae and abundant microsetae dorsally and distally; basolateral setae of 3-4 fine erect setae ( Figure 4 ). Subgenital plate: triangular; slender; 12-15 uniseriate macrosetae on lateral margin. Style: slender; surface smooth; base bilobed, medial anterior lobe prominent, apophysis short and recurved with apex pointed ( Figure 5 ). Connective: short; steam weakly developed. Aedeagal paraphyses: long, slender, recurved dorsad, apex emarginate in lateral view ( Figure 6 ). Aedeagus: caudoventral margin at 45° angle and anterodorsal margin with small bulbous tooth ( Figure 7 ); in ventral view ovoid, apex with minute notch ( Figure 8 ).

Female terminalia. Sternum VII notched mediately.

Records in Mexico. CHIAPAS (Ixtacomitán; Tapachula)

Distribution. See Table 1 .

Hosts. Unknown

Type material examined. Holotype 1♂ ( CNIN), México, Chiapas, Ixtacomitán, Rio Blanco , 10-XII-1985, F. Arias, L. Cervantes y R. Barba Cols .; Paratype 1♀ ( CNIN) México, Chiapas, Tapachula, Rio Huehuetan , 18-V-1985, M. Vertiz Col .

Etymology. The epithet is dedicated to the God of winds and thunder and creator of humanity, widely known as the 'Plumed Serpent' (serpiente emplumada in Spanish), one of most important gods in ancient Mesoamerica and preponderant deity in Mexican culture. Noun in the genitive case; gender masculine.

Remarks. This new species recently found in Mexico is similar to the South American species, D. youngi Dietrich (recorded from Venezuela), but D. quetzalcoatli sp. nov. can be easily distinguishable by the (1) smaller size; (2) darker face, (3) lateral margins of aedeagus slightly concave in ventral view, (4) aedeagus with bulbous tooth near base, and (5) aedeagus apex with minute notch in ventral view. In contrast, D. youngi , is larger with the aedeagus lateral margins convex, the dorsal tooth acute and near the midlength, and the apex bilobed.

Figures

FIGURE 1-8. Draeculacephala quetzalcoatli sp. nov.; 1. Habitus, dorsal view; 2. Habitus, lateral view; 3. Habitus, anterior view; 4. Pygofer, lateral view; 5. Subgenital plates and styles, ventral view; 6. Aedeagal paraphysis, lateral view; 7. Aedeagus, lateral view; 8. Aedeagus, ventral view.