Taphura dolabella, Sanborn, 2017

Sanborn, Allen F., 2017, Generic redescription, seven new species and a key to the Taphura Stål, 1862 (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Cicadetttinae: Taphurini), Zootaxa 4324 (3), pp. 451-481 : 467-470

Taphura dolabella n. sp.

( Fig. 5 )

Type maerial. Holotype. “ Diorama, GO, Brazil / Agrotec/Cerr. Strictu sensu / 05/XI/2015 / Maccagnan, D.H.B. col. // CE-UEG / n o 0 0 309 // Taphura sp. 1 / Maccagnan, D (2016). id ” one male ( INPA). Paratypes. “ Diorama, GO, Brazil / Agrotec/Mata / 05/XI/2015 / Maccagnan, D.H.B. col. // CE-UEG / n o 0 0 307 // Taphura sp. 1 / Maccagnan, D (2016). id ” one male ( INPA); “ Diorama, GO, Brazil / Agrotec/Mata / 05/XI/2015 / Maccagnan, D.H.B. col. // CE-UEG / n o 0 0 306 // Taphura sp. 1 / Maccagnan, D (2016). id ” one female ( INPA); “ Diorama, GO, Brazil / Agrotec/ Mata Galeria / 11/XI/2011 / Maccagnan, D.H.B. col. // CE-UEG / n o 0 0 273 // Taphura sp. 1 / Maccagnan, D (2016). id ” one male ( INPA); “ Diorama, GO, Brazil / Agrotec/Cerr. Strictu sensu / 21/XI/2012 / Maccagnan, D.H.B. col. // CE-UEG / n o 0 0 302 // Taphura sp. 1 / Maccagnan, D (2016). id ” one female ( DHBM); “ Diorama, GO, Brazil / Agrotec/Mata / 05/XI/2015 / Maccagnan, D.H.B. col. // CE-UEG / n o 0 0 305 // Taphura sp. 1 / Maccagnan, D (2016). id ” one male ( DHBM); “ Diorama, GO, Brazil / Agrotec/Cerr. Strictu sensu / 31/XII/2012 / Maccagnan, D.H.B. col. // CE-UEG / n o 0 0 274 // Taphura sp. 1 / Maccagnan, D (2016). id ” one male ( AFSC); “ Diorama, GO, Brazil / Agrotec/Cerr. Strictu sensu / 05/XI/2015 / Maccagnan, D.H.B. col. // CE-UEG / n o 0 0 308 / / Taphura sp. 1 / Maccagnan, D (2016). id ” one male ( AFSC); “ Diorama, GO, Brazil / Agrotec/Mata / 05/XI/2015 / Maccagnan, D.H.B. col. // CE-UEG / n o 0 0 303 // Taphura sp. 1 / Maccagnan, D (2016). id ” one female ( AFSC).

Etymology. The species epithet derived from dolabella (L. ax, diminutive) in reference to the pickaxe shape of the male genitalia.

Description. Ground color tawny marked with piceous, castaneous, and ochraceous. Ochraceous areas may be green in fresh specimens as these areas are green in other species.

Head. Head wider than mesonotum, tawny with transverse piceous fascia on posterior head between eyes surrounding lateral ocelli extending anteriorly along lateral portion of median ocellus and epicranial suture terminating at frontoclypeal suture, longitudinal tawny mark lateral to lateral ocelli not traversing piceous fascia, tawny marks posterior to median ocellus on epicranial suture and tawny posterior cranial depression. Supraantennal plate tawny, a small piceous mark medially at suture with vertex. Ocelli rosaceous. Eyes testaceous. Long silvery pile posterior to eye. Ventral head piceous except tawny margin of gena along lorum and lateral margin of lorum, expanded anteriorly along margin of postclypeus in some paratypes, covered with long silvery pile. Postclypeus with ten transverse grooves, piceous posteroventrally on midline splitting to form a tawny oval on ventral midline extending around apex and expanding onto and covering all but the midline of the postclypeus dorsal surface, lateral regions of ventral side tawny. Anteclypeus piceous with castaneous midline. Anteclypeus and long white pile. Rostrum with tawny mentum, labium dark castaneous covered with silvery pile, reaching to middle trochanters. Scape, and annulus on distal pedicel and first flagellar segments tawny, remaining antennal segments piceous.

Thorax. Dorsal thorax tawny marked with piceous and castaneous. Pronotum tawny with longitudinal piceous fascia on either side of dorsal midline curving laterally on anterior and posterior ends, ochraceous anterior margin, and pronotal collar. Piceous mark in ambient fissure on midline extends anteriorly on midline to between posterior termini of longitudinal fasciae. Piceous spots in ambient fissure on medial margin of lateral scutes, thin longitudinal fascia extending from spots to middle of lateral fissures. Spots in ambient fissure reduced to single medial spot or fusing into a single linear spot in some paratypes. Anterior lateral angle of pronotal collar with piceous mark. Mesonotum tawny with submedian and lateral portion of lateral sigillae piceous, remaining lateral sigillae and between submedian and lateral sigillae and anterior to piceous mark between anterior arms of cruciform elevation enclosing scutal depressions that extends to a point anteriorly on midline between posterior submedian sigillae lightly castaneous, lateral sigillae with ferruginous mark on medial portion in one paratype. Cruciform elevation dark ochraceous, greenish laterally or with piceous longitudinal mark on midine in some paratypes. Elongated piceous spot on posterolateral mesonotum. Wing groove and metanotum tawny, castaneous at wing base. Dorsal thorax covered with long pile between anterior arms and laterally between arms of cruciform elevation, on posterior mesonotum and along wing grooves. Ventral thoracic segments piceous medially, ochraceous laterally. Ventral segments covered with long silvery pile.

Wings. Fore wings and hind wings hyaline, fore wing with eight apical cells, hind wing with six apical cells. Venation tawny proximally, becoming piceous distally, except ochraceous costal margin to node, piceous anal vein 2 + 3, and piceous mark along anterior basal cell. Light infuscation on marginal area extending from terminus of radius anterior 1 around apex of fore wing to apical cell 6, distal apical cells bronzed. Basal membrane ochraceous and white. Hind wing venation similarly colored. Proximal vanal fold white. Infuscation on distal apical cell 2 along anal vein 2.

Legs. Legs ochraceous marked with castaneous and piceous, coxae, trochanters and femora with castaneous marks on proximal anterior and medial surfaces, tibiae and tarsi ochraceous proximally, castaneous distally, proportion becoming lesser in posterior legs. Fore femora with striped with castaneous, three castaneous oblique spines, each spine becoming smaller and less angled distally, primary and secondary spines with piceous on base and tip, location of apical spine in other species reduced to slight elevation. Pretarsal claws, tibial spurs and comb castaneous.

Operculum. Opercula ochraceous with castaneous spot on lateral base. Curved posterolateral and posterior margins, pointed medial margin and curving anteromedial margin, not covering tympanal cavity. Medial margin extends to medial meracanthus base. Meracathus ochraceous with piceous spot on medial base, extending beyond posterior margin of operculum. Long silvery pile on operculum surface and radiating from margin. Female operculum ochraceous with castaneous spot on lateral base, similarly shaped to but smaller than male operculum, extending medially to middle of meracanthus reaching to beyond anterior margin of sternite II. Female meracanthus colored as in male but extending to middle of sternite II. Long silvery pile on operculum surface and radiating from margin.

Abdomen. Abdominal tergites 1–2 greenish tawny, tergites 3–8 with castaneous spot on midline not reaching posterior margin, and anterolaterally on tergites 3–8 becoming darker in posterior tergites. Auditory capsule piceous, tergites with long silvery pile. Timbal with four ribs, whitish gray with castaneous spot on anterior margin. Sternites tawny with transverse castaneous mark on anterior of sternites, proportion becoming greater in postrior sternites. Male sternite VIII ochraceous with long silvery pile. Sternites with long and short white pile, more dense laterally. Female sternite VII with a wide, single, U-shaped notch, tawny posterolateral margins. Abdominal segment 9 tawny striped with castaneous on dorsolateral surface reaching to stigma and along ventral midline. Dorsal beak tawny, very short, not extending to level of the castaneous anal styles.

Genitalia. Male pygofer tawny with elongated castaneous dorsal beak and. Pygofer basal lobe roughly triangular, curled toward midline. Silvery pile radiating from posterior margin of pygofer. Anal styles piceous. Claspers curving with a curved terminus appended at an approximate right angle to the base forming a pickaxe shape, terminal appendages diverge laterally at pointed tips. Claspers castaneous, lateral margin straight and angled toward midline, medial margin semi-circular at base, rounded to form parallel sides along midline with piceous edged concave section around aedeagus before terminating in a point. Aedeagus castaneous, tubular.

Female gonapophyses IX castaneous at base, lightening about mid length to serrated piceous terminus, gonapophyses X and gonocoxites IX castaneous with piceous along ventral midline, piceous pile along ventral midline of gonapophysis X, covered with radiating golden pile. Ovipositor sheath extending well beyond dorsal beak.

Measurements (mm). N = 6 males or 3 females, mean (range). Length of body: male 10.10 (9.4–11.7), female 14.83 (13.0–18.0); length of fore wing: male 13.90 (13.0–14.6), female 15.03 (14.9–15.2); width of fore wing: male 5.60 (5.4–5.8), female 5.60 (5.5–5.7); length of head: male 1.57 (1.4–1.7), female 1.70 (1.7–1.7); width of head including eyes: male 3.73 (3.5–4.0), female 4.07 (4.0–4.1); width of pronotum including suprahumeral plates: male 3.85 (3.6–4.0), female 3.97 (3.8–4.2); width of mesonotum: male 3.43 (3.2–3.6), female 3.47 (3.3–3.6).

Diagnosis. This species is very similar in general appearance to T. lanceola n. sp. but has distinctly different male genitalia, particularly the shape of the claspers, which quickly separate male specimens the two species. In addition, the aedeagus lacks terminal spines and the supra-antennal plate of this species joins the postclypeus anterior to the lateral curve rather than at the curve as in T. lanceola n. sp. All species except the small T. minusculus are generally similar in size. The lack of infuscation on the apex of the fore wings of T. maculata , T. misella , T. debruni , and T. demissa n. sp. differentiates them from this new species. The spots and W-shaped mark on the head quickly differentiate T. boulardi and T. egeri , respectively, from this new species. The abdominal tergites have an anterior transverse piceous mark in T. attiguclava n. sp., T. charpentierae , T. nitida , and T. crispula n. sp. that is lacking in this new species. The reduced marking on the dorsal head and lack of piceous marking on the midline of the abdominal tergites distinguishes T. hastifera from this new species. The fore wing cubitus anterior arches to touch the median vein near the basal cell of T. cernuunca n. sp. but these veins are separated in T. dolabella n. sp. Finally, the claspers bifurcate at the terminus, the aedeagus lacks terminal spines and the notch in female sternite VIII has straight lateral margins in T. sauliensis . The male genitalia are distinct from all other species of Taphura as well.

Remarks. The general appearance of this species is very similar to T. lanceola n. sp. and the variability in coloration of the new species makes the male genitalia the simplest way to distinguish this new species. Unfortunately, a female of T. lanceola n. sp. has not been seen to find a distinguishing character for the female.

Distribution. The species is currently only known from the type series collected in the Brazilian state of Goiás.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Taphura dolabella n. sp.: A, holotype male and paratype female habitus; B, holotype male dorsum; C, holotype male timbal cover; D, paratype male operculum; E, paratype female operculum; F, paratype male lateral view of genitalia; G, paratype male posterior view of genitalia; H, paratype female lateral view of genitalia; I, paratype female ventral view of genitalia. Scale bar: A, 2 cm; B, 2 mm; C, 0.5 mm; D – G, 1 mm; H – I, 2 mm.