Notocera sakakibarai Creão-Duarte & Lourenço, 2017

Creão-Duarte, Antônio José, Rothéa, Rembrandt Romano Andrade Dantas, Lourenço, Aline, Cabral, Valberta Alves & Evangelista, Olivia, 2017, Two remakable new species of Notocera Amyot and Serville, 1843 (Hemiptera, Membracidae, Hypsoprorini) from the Brazilian Caatinga, Zootaxa 4281 (1), pp. 77-89 : 82-88

Notocera sakakibarai Creão-Duarte & Lourenço sp. nov.

( Figs. 3 , 9–16 , 29–40 )

Diagnosis. Golden brown to dark brown, with lighter spots on forewing membrane; suprahumeral horns short, tubercle-like, very close to median carina and posterad to humeral angles; posterior process with pair of small suprascutellar projections, mid-dorsal projection semicircular, apical dorsolateral carina arched, denticulate, projected laterally and diagonally.

Description. Holotype male. Color. Dark brown, yellowish-brown spots on metopidium, distal half of posterior process and forewing; tarsi yellow; eyes and ocelli bright yellow. Head ( Fig. 9 ). Subtriangular, wider than long; eyes spherical, projected lateroposteriorly; ocelli above centro-ocular line, closer to eyes than to each other; supra-antennal lobes well developed, subtriangular, covering base of antennae; frontoclypeus bell-shaped, longer than wide, distal half slightly concave, ventral margin semicircular, slightly raised, densely pilose apically. Thorax ( Figs. 9–12 ). Pronotum coarsely punctate, punctations smaller on metopidium, gradually and irregularly distributed toward apex of posterior process; setigerous tubercles on metopidium, suprahumeral horns, median carina and apical dorsolateral carinae; suprahumeral horns short, tubercle-like, round apically, near each other, each horn close to median carina, located posterior to humeral angles in lateral and dorsal view; pair of small supra-scutellar projections covered in slightly longer and thicker spines; mid-dorsal projection well developed, raised, semicircular in lateral view, transversally projected towards lateral margins of pronotum; apical dorsolateral carinae extended from distal portion of mid-dorsal process, arched, denticulate, projected upward and diagonally, posterior third slightly angled; lateral margins of posterior process concealing apex of clavus and external margin of tegmina, including part of fourth and fifth apical cells and adjacent limbus. Legs ( Fig. 32 ). Pro- and mesothoracic tibiae foliaceous, with cucullate setae in apical half of row II; metathoracic tibia with cucullate setae in row I, apical half of row II, and small cucullate setae on row III. Forewing ( Fig. 33 ). Basal half coriaceous, sparse setigerous tubercles alongside veins R and M; basal half of cells R and M and clavus coarsely punctate; apical half opaque, subcoriaceous, with minute punctations; five apical and two discoidal cells; one r-m and two mcu crossveins; apical limbus distinct, gradually enlarged from costal margin towards clavus. Hind wing. Hyaline, four apical cells; wing coupling apparatus at middle of costal margin; limbus slightly sinuous close to apex of coastal margin. Abdomen ( Figs. 31, 31 a). Densely and coarsely punctate, lacking setigerous tubercles or dorsal tuberosities; sharp transverse carina on sternum IV delimiting acute ventral process, directed anteriorly in lateral view. Genitalia ( Figs. 31 , 34–37 ). Pygofer saddle-shaped, bearing dorsal, transverse carina, coarsely punctate, including lateral and subgenital plates; lateral plate long and wide, almost reaching superior portion of pygofer, ventral margin more or less straight, tapering to acuminate dorsal apex; aedeagus U-shaped, atrium approximately two thirds as long as shaft, uniformly wide, slightly inclined anteriorly at apical third; longer setae in dorsal surface at apical third; paramere recurved dorsad apically; external surface smooth, internal surface densely pilose, setae varying in length and thickness.

Female ( Figs. 3 , 14, 16 , 29–30 , 38–40 ). Similar to male, except larger. Abdomen. Densely and coarsely punctate throughtout, including pygofer; sharp transverse carina on sternum IV delimiting acute ventral process, directed anteriorly in lateral view. Genitalia. Gonoplac sickle-shaped, ventral margin coarsely punctate. First valvula uniformly broad, slightly curved dorsally, tapering to triangular apex, dorsal region ornate with integumental lines diagonal to valvula axis, ventral margin of tip with integumental lines perpendicular to valvula axis. Second valvula slender, arched, one tooth at base of apical half, slightly broad preapically, tapering to triangular apex, apical fourth serrate dorsally, dorsal margin with irregularly-shaped sculpturing.

Material examined. Holotype male from BRAZIL: Paraíba: São José da Lagoa Tapada “BR[ ASIL] . Paraíba. S[ão]. J[osé]. [da] Lagoa \ Tapada. S [e]r[ra]. [de] S[an]ta. Catarina \ 8-9.I.2015. coleta ativa \ Rothéa & Pereira- Colavite ” ( DZUP) . Paratypes with same data as holotype: 27 females and 30 males (15 females at DSEC, and 2 females in each of the following institutions: INPA, DZRJ, DZUP, MNRJ, MPEG, and MZSP; 18 at DSEC and 2 females in each of the following institutions: INPA, DZRJ, DZUP, MNRJ, MPEG, and MZSP) . 8 males and 15 females: “BR[ ASIL], PB, S[ão]. J[osé]. da Lagoa Tapada | Serra de Santa Catarina | Ativa 10-26.V.2016 | R.R.A.D. Rothéa Col. ” (6 males in DSEC, 2 males in MZSP; 13 females in DSEC, 2 females in MZSP) . 7 males and 4 females: “BR[ASIL], PB, S[ão]. J[osé]. dos Cordeiros | R[eserva] P[articular do] P[atrimônio] N[atural] Fazenda Almas | Dossel 06-12.III.2016 | R.R.A.D Rothéa Col.” (all in DSEC).

Measurements (in millimeters): Male/female. Total length = pronotum length 3.32/3.80; tegmina length 2.52/ 2.86; head width (external distance between eyes) 1.20/1.39; head height 0.94/11.02; internal distance between eyes 0.71/0.80.

Remarks. N. sakakibarai sp. nov. exhibits remarkable and unusual pronotal processes. The appearance and small size of the suprahumeral horns, as well as their location on the pronotum—posterior to the humeral anglesdistinguish this species from all others in the genus. No obvious variation in these features was observed in the type series, and males and females are not sexually dimorphic with regard to pronotal shape as in many other congeneric species. Observed intraspecific variation is limited to the presence of a third m-cu crossvein in some specimens, general coloration and distribution of wax coating on the body surface (illustrated in Figs. 3 , 13–16 ). Whereas the holotype is dark brown with irregularly distributed reddish (anteriorly) and yellow (posteriorly) patches on the pronotum, others may be entirely reddish brown ( Figs. 13–14 ) or pale brown with black spots on the metopidium and pronotum dorsally, and mottled yellow at the apex of the posterior process ( Figs. 3 , 15–16 ). In the latter case, these specimens could be teneral adults. Alternatively, some specimens exhibit a white wax residue that may cover the entire body, especially in females ( Fig. 14 ). The eyes of some specimens became red after they were removed from the drying oven.

In addition to its remarkable pronotal features, the metathoracic tibia in N. sakakibarai sp. nov. exhibits small cucullate setae distributed along row III, a feature not previously reported for Hypsoprorini ( Fig. 32 ; discussed in ‘ notes on relevant taxonomic characters ’).

Etymology. This species is named for Dr. Albino Morimassa Sakakibara, in honor of his many career achievements. Dr. Sakakibara has greatly contributed to the knowledge of Neotropical membracids and successfully trained generations of taxonomists on auchenorrhynchan Hemiptera .

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 3. Illustrations of taxonomically relevant features and terms used to describe pronotal features in this paper. (1) N. cruciata (Fabricius, 1803), lateral view; (2) N. colavitei sp. nov., paratype male (DSEC), latero-caudal view; (3) N. sakakibarai sp. nov., paratype female (MZSP), latero-caudal view. Abbreviations: dlc — apical dorsolateral carina, scp — suprascutellar projection, shh — suprahumeral horns, mdp — mid-dorsal projection, pap — pre-apical projection.

FIGURES 9 – 16. Notocera sakakibarai sp. nov., male holotype (DZUP) in frontal (9), lateral (10), latero-caudal (11) and dorsal (12) view; intraspecific variations in body colour and distribution of wax residues (13 – 16). (13) male paratype, (14) female paratype, (15) male paratype, and female paratype (16) (all paratypes in MZSP).

FIGURES 29 – 33. Notocera sakakibarai sp. nov. (29 – 30) Abdomen of female in lateral and ventral view, respectively; (31) Abdomen of male paratype (MZSP) in lateral view, (31 a) detail of transversal carina and tubercle-like process in ventral view; (32) metathoracic tibia of female in different degrees of rotation, showing small cucullate setae in row III; (33) forewing of female specimen (female in MZSP, not included in the type series).

FIGURES 34 – 40. Notocera sakakibarai sp. nov. Paratype male (MZSP): (34) pygofer in lateral view, (35) subgenital plate in ventral view, (36) aedeagus, connective and left paramere in lateral view; (37) paramere in lateral view. Female (MZSP, not included in the type series): (38) pygofer in lateral view, (39) first valvula in lateral view, with detail (39 a) of apical ornamentation, (40) second valvulae in lateral view, with detail (40 a) of apical ornamentation.