Austrimonus flagellatus, 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 : 317

Austrimonus flagellatus sp.nov.

zoobank.org:act:9FD5C33C-17BD-4AB5-AB8A-B99E1DA1D5E1 (Figs 11–12, 26)

Types. Holotype, male, Mt Spec, Qld , 5–7.i.1965, J.G. Brooks, ASCTHE009021 ( ANIC) . Paratypes. PAPUA NEW GUINEA. 3 males (one missing head, one with head mounted separately), Mt Lamington district, Northern Division, Papua , 2.vii.1927, C.T. McNamara (AM).

Description. Head and scutellum (Fig. 12) pale yellow testaceous with indistinct pale brown mottling, slightly darker at apex of head. Pronotum with transverse brown ripples sometimes interrupted medially with thin pale longitudinal stripe and laterally with elongate pale marking on each side. Tegmen (Fig. 11) pale translucent testaceous with brown veins and brown speckling in cells, becoming smoky brown at apex and bearing irregular brown spot at apex of costal cell.

Genitalia. Male: Subgenital plates ( Fig. 26B ) narrow triangular tapering imperceptibly into apical process. Parameres ( Fig. 26D ) with preapical lobe poorly developed; apical lobe extended posteriorly then abruptly curved at 90o to finely acute apex. Connective ( Fig. 26E ) elongate with stem much longer than arms. Aedeagus shafts, in posterior view ( Fig. 26C ) divergent from base, obscured by long basal processes fused to posterior margin of shafts to near apex then extending to about twice length of shaft, apically recurved and finely acuminate; in lateral view ( Fig. 26F ), shafts evenly curved from base to acute apex, relatively short, apically acute with gonopore subapical on anterior surface, surpassed by posterior processes extending to level with anal segment and recurved strongly anteriorly. Basal apodeme ( Fig. 26F ) simple, tapering, of moderate length. Female: unknown.

Etymology. The specific name refers to the whip-like basal processes of the aedeagus.

Comments. This species differs from other species in the genus by having aedeagal shafts surmounted by elongate basal processes which extend beyond the apices of the shafts.

Figures

FIGURE26.A.flagellatus,male genitalia.A.terminalia,lateral view,B.subgenital plates and pregenital sternite,ventral view, C. aedeagus, posteroventral view, D. paramere, E. connective, ventral view, F. aedeagus, lateral view.