Austrimonus biapicalis, Fletcher & Dai, 2018

Fletcher, Murray J. & Dai, Wu, 2018, A new genus Austrimonus for Eutettix melaleucae Kirkaldy (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae: Opsiini) and nine new species, Zootaxa 4387 (2), pp. 310-330 : 324-327

Austrimonus biapicalis sp nov.

zoobank.org:act:E978A6B2-7772-481C-BA7E-C7594E127363 (Figs 19–20, 30)

Holotype, male, Kimberley Research Station , via Wyndham, NW Australia, 23.viii.1956, E.C.B. Langfield, ASCTHE009022 ( ANIC).

Description. Head and thorax (Fig. 20) evenly pale testaceous throughout with two dark brown spots at apex of head, another beside eye on each side and two against hind margin of vertex. Tegmen (Fig. 19) pale whitish translucent with small infuscations on costal margin at vein endings.

Genitalia. Male: Subgenital plate ( Fig. 30B ) narrow triangular, tapering with apical finger-like process poorly defined. Paramere ( Fig. 30F ) with preapical lobe slightly rounded, apical process curved laterally with external angulation on medial side. Connective ( Fig. 30E ) elongate, with stem longer than arms. Aedeagus, in posterior view ( Fig. 30C ), with shafts straight, diverging, gonopore preapical with two apical elongate triangular processes, the outer curving around the inner; in lateral view ( Fig. 30D ), shafts curve anteriorly to gonopore, shaft continuing beyond gonopore as inwardly curved linear process, and process posterior to gonopore continuing as tapered elongate process curving anteriorly. Basal apodeme ( Fig. 30D ) thick, blunt, more or less parallel to shaft. Female: unknown.

Etymology. The species name reflects the two apical processes on each aedeagal shaft.

Comments. The pale colouring and the brown spots at the apex of the head are unusual but whether this is characteristic of all specimens of this species is dependent on examination of further material. The structure of the aedeagus is similar to that found in a number of other species of the genus in that an apical extension posterior to the gonopore can be interpreted as the apex of a basal process which is fused to the posterior side of the aedeagal shaft to the level of the gonopore with only the apex of the process free.

Figures

FIGURE30. A.biapicalis, male genitalia.A.terminalia, lateral view,B. subgenital plates and pregenital sternite,ventral view, C. aedeagus, posteroventral view, D. aedeagus, lateral view, E. connective, ventral view, F. paramere.