Eremophlepsius rohdendorfi Zachvatkin, 1924

Tishechkin, Dmitri Yu., 2023, Contributions to the study of the subtribe Eremophlepsiina Dmitriev, 2002 (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae: Opsiini), Zootaxa 5270 (3), pp. 573-583 : 574

Eremophlepsius rohdendorfi Zachvatkin, 1924

( Figs. 1–3 , 18–22, 35–36 )

Material examined. The type series deposited in the ZMMU was studied. It includes male holotype ( Figs. 1, 3 ), four male paratypes ( Figs. 18–19, 35–36 ), and one female paratype with dark pattern labeled as E. rohdendorfi ab. marmorata ( Fig. 2 ) from Repetek village , Kara-Kum Desert, Turkmenistan, at light at 11. VI. 1923 and two female paratypes without dark pattern from Ush-Adzhi, 65 km SW of Repetek, Kara-Kum Desert, Turkmenistan, at light at 6. V and 9. VI. 1923 collected by B. Rohdendorf and E. Smirnov. In the original description, for one female from Ush-Adzhi the collection date 15. V. 1923 instead of 6. V. 1923 is given ( Zachvatkin, 1924).

According to the original description, the type series includes not five, but seven males from Repetek. Dlabola (1963) gives drawings of the male paratype from Haupt’s collection ( Figs. 21–22 ); this suggests that two males, which are absent in the ZMMU, were given by Zachvatkin to other specialists.

Description. Typically, yellowish white with indistinct traces of dark pattern on head, pro-, and mesonotum and light brown veins on forewings ( Fig. 1 ). One female has two black spots on fore margin of head, four dark longitudinal stripes in fore part of body, and brown veins and darkened apices of forewings ( Fig. 2 ).

Aedeagus divided into two wide stems from very base; dorsally to each stem there is hook-like basal process ( Figs. 18–19 ). Stem apices wide, comb-shaped, with teeth bent outward on inner edges ( Fig. 19 ). Subgenital plates short, without macrosetae, only with thin hair-like setae; valve very large ( Fig. 35 ). Styles stout, truncated at apices, bent outward in distal parts. Pygofer lobes widely rounded, with pointed, almost straight ventral processes, directed slightly dorsally ( Fig. 36 ).

Body length: ♁, 5.1–5.5 mm; ♀, 6.0– 6.1 mm.

Distribution. Turkmenistan, Kara-Kum desert.

Remarks. In Metcalf (1967) and McKamey (2000), E. rohdendorfi var. marmorata Zachvatkin, 1924 is listed as a subspecies. In fact, both on the label under the specimen and in his article, Zachvatkin uses the abbreviation “ab.” (“aberration”); therefore, in accordance with Article 45.6.2 of ICZN, this name should be considered infrasubspecific. Moreover, the female with brown pattern ( E. rohdendorfi ab. marmorata) was collected in the same locality on the same date as the holotype and male paratypes and thus, is not a subspecies, but an infrasubspecific entity. For this reason, this name must be excluded from the species group (ICZN, Article 45.5).

As already mentioned above, the aedeagus of members of this subtribe has a complex shape, so its appearance strongly depends on the angle from which it is viewed. This can be seen in the example of this species; even drawings of the aedeagus of males from the same series are difficult to compare ( Figs. 18–22 ).

Figures

FIGURES 1–17. Eremophlepsiina. 1―Eremophlepsius rohdendorfi, holotype, male, 2―E. rohdendorfi ab. marmorata, paratype, female, 3―holotype labels, 4–7―E. sexnotatus (4, 6–7―males, 5―female), 8–17―Pseudophlepsius binotatus (8– 16―males, 17―female).

FIGURES 18–39. Eremophlepsius spp., male genitalia. 18–22―E. rohdendorfi, aedeagus (18, 21―lateral view, 19, 22―dorsal view, 20―dorsal and lateral view), 23–34―same, E. sexnotatus (23–27, 33―lateral view, 28–32, 34―dorsal view), 35―E. rohdendorfi, subgenital plates, valve, and styles, 36―same, pygofer lobe, 37–38―E. sexnotatus, subgenital plate, style, and right half of valve, 39―same, pygofer lobe.