Melanastera brevicauda, Serbina & Malenovský & Queiroz & Burckhardt, 2025

Serbina, Liliya Š., Malenovský, Igor, Queiroz, Dalva L. & Burckhardt, Daniel, 2025, Jumping plant-lice of the tribe Paurocephalini (Hemiptera: Psylloidea: Liviidae) in Brazil, Zootaxa 5585 (1), pp. 1-164 : 94-95

43 Melanastera brevicauda sp. nov.

( Figs 12D , 18H , 31M–R )

Type material. Holotype ♂: Brazil: MINAS GERAIS: Conselheiro Lafaiete , S20.5797, W43.7199, 1020 m, 20.viii.2013, Toona plantation (D. L. Queiroz) #560 ( UFPR; dry).

Paratypes. Brazil: MINAS GERAIS: 5 ♂, 5 ♀, 3 immatures, same as holotype but ( NHMB; dry, slide; NMB-PSYLL0007741, NMB-PSYLL0007794, NMB-PSYLL0007795 [LSMelbrev-19], NMB-PSYLL0007796 [LSMelbrev-19], NMB-PSYLL0007797, NMB-PSYLL0007798, NMB-PSYLL0007799, NMB-PSYLL0007792) ; 4 ♂, 3 ♀, Paula Cândido, S20.8081, W42.9839, 780 m, 22.viii.2013, Miconia trianae , experimental plot coffee— Inga plantation (D. L. Queiroz) #564(1) ( NHMB; dry; NMB-PSYLL0007682, NMB-PSYLL0007793) .

Description. Adult. Coloration. Straw-coloured; head and thorax densely covered with dark brown dots. Antennal segments 4–7 apically and segments 8–10 entirely brown. Mesopraescutum with two brown patches at fore margin; mesoscutum with four broad orange longitudinal stripes, margined with dark brown dots, and one or two median rows of dark dots. Forewing ( Fig. 18H ) straw-coloured with sparse, irregular brown dots; apices of pterostigma and veins Rs, M 1+2, M 3+4, Cu 1a and Cu 1b dark brown. Femora with dark brown dots; pro- and mesotarsi brown. Abdominal sternites partly brown.

Structure. Forewing ( Fig. 18H ) oblong-oval, broadest in the middle, unevenly rounded apically; wing apex situated in cell r 2 near apex of M 1+2; C+Sc weakly curved in apical quarter; pterostigma slightly narrower in the middle than r 1 cell, distinctly widening to apical third; Rs weakly irregularly convex; M longer than M 1+2 and M 3+4; Cu 1a irregularly convex, ending slightly proximal of M fork; surface spinules present in all cells, leaving very narrow spinule-free stripes along the veins, forming conspicuous hexagons of a double row of spinules. Hindwing with 7–8 ungrouped or 4–5 + 3–4 grouped costal setae. Metatibia bearing 7–9 grouped apical spurs, arranged as 3–4 + 4–5, anteriorly separated by 3 bristles.

Terminalia ( Fig. 31M–R ). Male. Proctiger weakly produced in posterior half; densely covered with moderately long setae in apical two thirds. Subgenital plate irregularly ovoid; dorsal margin slightly sinuate; posterior margin regularly convex; with moderately long setae. Paramere, in lateral view, lamellar in basal two thirds, acuminate in apical third; apex, in lateral view, relatively narrow, subacute, directed upwards, in dorsal view, apex truncate, directed inwards, lacking sclerotised tooth; both outer and inner faces with dense, moderately long setae; posterior margin with long setae. Proximal segment of aedeagus with apical part moderately subdivided. Distal segment of aedeagus weakly curved in basal half, with slightly sinuate dorsal margin; ventral process situated slightly distal of the middle of the segment, in lateral view, tubular: short, broad, simple, rounded apically, lacking lateral lobes; in dorsal view, ventral process broad, broadest slightly distal of the middle, broadly rounded laterally and truncate apically; apical dilation, in lateral view, narrow, subparallel-sided, with rounded apex; dorsal part of apical dilation bearing membranous sack at base, appearing angular; in dorsal view, apical dilation, obovoid, broadest in apical third, rounded apically; sclerotised end tube short and weakly sinuate.—Female terminalia cuneate; densely covered with setae. Dorsal margin of proctiger, in lateral view, with imperceptible swelling distal to circumanal ring, concave in apical third, apex acute, upturned; in dorsal view, apex subacute; circumanal ring, in dorsal view, distinctly cruciform. Subgenital plate, in lateral view, abruptly narrowing to subacute apex, which is not upturned; in ventral view, apex truncate, weakly concave in the middle.

Fifth instar immature. Coloration. Light; cephalothoracic sclerite, antenna, wing pads, legs and caudal plate brown.

Structure. Eye with one moderately long simple ocular seta dorsally.Antennal segments with following numbers of pointed sectasetae: 1(0), 2(1), 3(0), 4(2), 5(0), 6(2), 7(1), 8(1), 9(0), 10(0). Forewing pad with 10 marginal and 6–7 dorsal pointed sectasetae; hindwing pad with three marginal and three dorsal pointed sectasetae. Tarsal arolium broadly triangular apically, 1.6 times longer than claws. Abdominal tergites anterior to caudal plate with three rows of 4, 2 and 6 pointed sectasetae dorsally, respectively. Caudal plate dorsally with one row of four pointed sectasetae along anterior margin, one row of four pointed sectasetae submedially, two groups of 2 + 3 sectasetae on lateral tubercles, two sectasetae medially between extra pore fields and two groups of five sectasetae on either side subapically, anterior to circumanal ring; with a few long simple setae on either side ventrally. Extra pore fields forming continuous outer and inner bands, consisting of small rounded patches; outer band very short, end pointing outwards. Circumanal ring large.

Host plant. Adults were collected on Miconia trianae Cogn. ( Melastomataceae ) which is a possible host. The sample DLQ#560, which includes immatures, lacks information on the host plant.

Distribution. Brazil (MG).

Derivation of name. From the Latin adjective brevis = short, and the noun cauda = tail. The noun in ablative case means “with a short tail” and refers to the short female terminalia, in particular the subgenital plate.

Comments. Melanastera brevicauda sp. nov. and M. michali sp. nov. differ from the other species of the ingariko -group in the apically trucate paramere (in dorsal view). Melanastera brevicauda differs from M. michali in the dark dots on the forewing, sparse in the former, dense and often confluent in the latter, in addition to details in the male and female terminalia.

Figures

FIGURE 12. Melanastera spp., head, dorsal view.A, M. caramambatai sp. nov.; B, M.acuminata sp. nov.; C, M.melanocephala sp. nov.; D, M. brevicauda sp. nov.; E, M. michali sp. nov.; F, M. duckei sp. nov.; G, M. burchellii sp. nov.; H, M. barretoi sp. nov.; I, M. sericeae sp. nov.; J, M. tristis sp. nov.; K, M. discoloris sp. nov.; L, M. truncata sp. nov.

FIGURE 18. Melanastera spp., forewing. A, M. tibialis sp. nov.; B, M. pleromatos sp. nov.; C, M. ingariko sp. nov.; D, M. brasiliensis sp. nov.; E, M. caramambatai sp. nov.; F, M. acuminata sp. nov.; G, M. melanocephala sp. nov.; H, M. brevicauda sp. nov.; I, M. michali sp. nov.; J, M. duckei sp. nov. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

FIGURE 31. Melanastera acuminata sp. nov. A, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; B, paramere, inner face, lateral view; C, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; D, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; E, paramere, dorsal view; F, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. melanocephala sp. nov. G, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; H, paramere, inner face, lateral view; I, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; J, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; K, paramere, dorsal view; L, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. brevicauda sp. nov. M, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; N, paramere, inner face, lateral view; O, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; P, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; Q, paramere, dorsal view; R, ♀ terminalia, lateral view; S, ♀ subgenital plate, ventral view.—M. michali sp. nov. T, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; U, paramere, inner face, lateral view; V, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; W, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; X, paramere, dorsal view; Y, ♀ terminalia, lateral view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.