Athysanella (Athysanella) bidentata, Hicks & Smith, 2006

Hicks, Andrew & Smith, Dena M., 2006, Athysanella bidentata n. sp. (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae): a probable endemic leafhopper from the San Luis Valley in Colorado, Zootaxa 1164 (1), pp. 63-68 : 64-66

Athysanella (Athysanella) bidentata sp.n.

Description. Length: male 2.4–3.2 mm; female 3.2–4.1 mm; base color of dried specimens generally white to stramineous, markings variable, ranging from immaculate to heavily marked with fuscous pattern (fig.1); vertex without well defined fuscous spots, occasionally with irregular dark markings; forewings usually unmarked, occasionally with alternating light and dark stripes. Forewings brachypterous, exposing 3.5 pregenital abdominal tergites; ocelli approximately 0.05 mm from eye; hind tibial spur of male 3/4 to 4/5 length of first tarsomere.

Male genitalia: Pygofer with caudoventral margin forming a right angle, rounding dorsally to anal tube; subgenital plates separated at base, diverging to broadly rounded apicies ( Fig. 2 ); connective 3/4 length of styles; styles in lateroventral aspect ( Fig. 3 ) bifid apically, dorsal arm slender, acute, exceeding caudal margin of pygofer, ventral arm much shorter, robust, thickened laterally, exceeding apex of the plates, apices with numerous micro­papillae ( Fig. 4 ), particularly on ventral surface of ventral arm; aedeagus in lateral aspect ( Fig. 5 ) recurved, almost parallel­sided, widest just before the prominent apical hook, basal sides of aedeagus with a pair of anteroventrally directed projections ( Figs. 4 and 5 ), caudal margin of shaft with slight irregularities and indentations; dorsal apodeme of aedeagus slightly more than half the height of shaft. Both caudal margin of shaft and basal teeth usually extend beyond the pygofer and subgenital plates and are therefore also visible in undissected specimens.

Female: abdominal sternum VII ( Fig. 6) with medial lobe of posterior margin half the length of the prominent lateral lobes.

Material examined. Holotype male, USA: Colorado: Saguache Co., 6.5mi. W. of Crestone 7680' [2341 meters], 17 June 2000, ALHicks & VLScott, 37.98812N 105.80942W. Swept from Distichlis spicata . 2 Male and 2 female paratypes, same data. 21 Male and 10 female paratypes, USA: Colorado: Alamosa Co. , ca. 9 mi. E of Mosca, 7500 ft., 30 July 2003, ALHicks 37.66239N 105.70705W. 6 male and 4 female paratypes, USA: COLORADO: Saguache Co. , Russell Lakes SWA, 7580 ft. [2310 meters], 1 August 2003, ALHicks 37.96506N 106.12525W. Swept from Distichlis spicata , Muhlenbergia asperifolia (( Nees & Meyen ex Trin.) Parodi; Poaceae ) and associated vegetation . Holotype and paratypes in the collection of the University of Colorado Museum of Natural History Museum ( UCMC); paratypes in the collection of the United States National Museum of Natural History ( USNM) .

Etymology. The name denotes the distinctive paired projections at the base of the aedeagal shaft.

The presence of distinct paired basal processes on the aedeagus distinguish Athysanella bidentata n.sp. from all other species in the subgenus except for A. planata Ball and Beamer. Known only from California, A. planata has an aedeagus that is widest basally and styles with a longer and straighter dorsal arm. The style apices of A. bidentata n. sp. closely resemble those of A. galeana and A. parca , two species with unadorned aedeagi.

Figures

FIGURE 2—Valve and subgenital plates, ventral aspect. Scale bar = 0.1mm.

FIGURE 3—Style, lateroventral aspect. Scale bar = 0.1mm.

FIGURE 4—Aedeagus (a), connective (c), and left style (s), ventral aspect. Scale bar = 0.1mm.

FIGURE 5—Aedeagus and connective, lateral aspect. Scale bar = 0.1mm.