Tozzita bifida, Gonçalves, Clayton Correa, Marques-Costa, Ana Paula & Ale-Rocha, Rosaly, 2013

Gonçalves, Clayton Correa, Marques-Costa, Ana Paula & Ale-Rocha, Rosaly, 2013, A new species of Tozz ita Kramer (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Neocoelidiinae) and first record of Tozzita ips Kramer from Brazil, Zootaxa 3682 (2), pp. 270-276 : 272-274

Tozzita bifida sp. nov.

Figs 1–14

Diagnosis. Body pale yellow with wide median brown band extending from apex of crown to apex of forewings (Figs 0 1, 13); pygofer with paired dentiform processes on ventral margin (Fig. 05); subgenital plates with macrosetae at apex (Figs 0 6, 07); style with preapical lobe developed and protruded laterally (Figs 0 8, 09); aedeagus long and slender with one pair of lateroapical processes ( Figs 10–12 ); anal tube with paired bifid basal processes (Fig. 05).

Measurements (mm). Male holotype: total length 5.87; crown median length 0.73; transocular width 1.06; interocular width 0.56; pronotum median length 0.58; width between humeri 1.28; mesonotum median length 0.83; mesonotum maximum width 0.98; forewing length 4.30; forewing maximum width 1.15.

General color. Body pale yellow with wide median brown band extending from apex of crown to apex of forewings and orange maculae laterally to this band ( Figs 1 , 13, 14 ). Crown pale yellow, with two orange bands laterad of median brown band, two circular dark brown spots near anterior margin of crown, apex with black spot, extending ventrally to frons and easily visible in frontal view ( Figs 1–3 ). Pronotum pale yellow, with orange lateral margins. Mesonotum pale yellow with two black spots on lateral margins at midlength. Frons, ventral portion of thorax, fore- and mid legs, pale yellow; hind legs orange. Forewings semi-hyaline, basal fourth orange, colorless at median half, apical fourth and commisural margin brown (Fig. 04). Hindwings hyaline. Abdomen pale yellow with brown spots ( Fig. 14 ).

Description. Head. Crown, in dorsal view, longer than wide, surface finely punctuated (Fig. 01). Clypeus broad with lateral margins converging apically (Fig. 02), without tuberosity (Fig. 03). Thorax. Pronotum with faint transverse striations. Male genitalia. Pygofer, in lateral view, approximately subquadrangular; setae on posteroventral margin and apex; ventral margin median third with paired dentiform processes, slightly sclerotized; apex slightly sclerotized and curved ventrally, not spatulate (Fig. 05). Subgenital plates completely fused except apically; longer than pygofer; basal third with few short setae on lateral margins and preapical portion of dorsal surface; apical third with slender setae on lateral margins; apex rounded with macrosetae; middle third, in ventral view, compressed laterally (Fig. 06); dorsal margin, in lateral view, sinuous, wide at base and with preapical portion narrowed at apical two-thirds (Fig. 07). Styles, in lateral view, moderately long and slender; apical third more robust, elongated and sclerotized, slightly curved ventrally; with few setae on ventral margin; preapical lobe developed laterally and produced posteriorly, apex rounded (Figs 0 8, 09). Connective, in dorsal view, V-shaped; about two-thirds the length of styles; articulated to the basis of the aedeagus (Fig. 09). Aedeagus long and slender; with shaft curved dorsoanteriorly; apical half flattened dorsoventrally; one pair of lateroapical processes, slender, sinuous and acute; preatrium about half length of shaft; gonopore apical ( Figs 10–12 ). Anal tube moderately sclerotized at base; with one pair of basal process, strongly sclerotized, curved dorsally, flattened dorsoventrally and bifid at apical third (Fig. 05). Female unknown.

Geographical distribution. Brazil (Amazonas).

Material examined. Male holotype ( INPA), with following labels: “ BRASIL, Amazonas, Ipixuna, Rio\ Gregório, Com[unidade] Lago Grande\ 07°10’11.7’’– 70°49’10.3’’W; 18–23.v.2011, varredura [sweep]\ J.A. Rafael, J.T. Câmara, R.F.\ Silva, A. Somavilla, R. Ale-Rocha [leg.]”; “Holótipo\ Tozzita bifida Gonçalves , Marques-\ Costa & Ale-Rocha, 2012 ”.

Holotype condition. Thorax ventrally glued to triangle by right side; antennae broken at apex; forewings, hindwings, and legs in perfect state; abdomen dissected.

Etymology. The species name is allusive to the basal bifid processes of the anal tube.

Comments. Tozzita bifida sp. nov. seems to be an unusual species of Tozzita , since some characteristics of male genitalia of this species differs from the other two species of the genus, mainly the shape of pygofer, with dentiform process on ventral margin and with apex not spatulate. According to the key of Kramer (1964), Tozzita bifida sp. nov. runs to Neocoelidiana . However the external morphology of both genera is very distinctive, and clearly justifies placement of Tozzita bifida sp. nov. in Tozzita and not in Neocoelidiana . For example: (1) Tozzita has a broad median longitudinal brown band of irregular shape on the crown and pronotum (the only other genus of Neocoelidiinae with a similar color pattern is Xiqilliba ); in contrast, species of Neocoelidiana are yellowish with longitudinal orange bands on the head, pronotum and mesonotum; (2) in Tozzita the ocelli are on the crown and near the anterior margin of the head, while in Neocoelidiana the ocelli are on the anterior margin of the head, at the transition between the crown and frons; (3) in Tozzita the frontogenal sutures do not reach the ocelli, but in Neocoelidiana they reach them; (4) the lateral margins of the clypeus are convergent towards the apex in Tozzita , but in Neocoelidiana they are parallel. All these characters mentioned associated with some characters of male genitalia, such as:(1) subgenital plates almost completely fused except at apex; (2) connective V-shaped; (3) aedeagus long and slender and (4) anal tube with a pair of basal processes, justify placement of the new species in Tozzita . Although the new species is different in some characteristics from the other species of Tozzita , it shares at least some characters of the male genitalia with the other two species of the genus, as described above, besides having the external morphology very similar to the species of Tozzita . For this reason, we opted to include it in Tozzita , instead of creating a new monotypic genus in Neocoelidiinae to include this species. Because the new species lacks the spatulate, strongly depressed pygofer apical lobe, a synapomorphy of the genus according to Marques-Costa & Cavichioli (2012), we broadened the concept of the genus to include this species. With the inclusion of the new species in Tozzita additional cladistic studies must be done to determine whether the spatulate apical pygofer lobe may be still considered a synapomorphy of the genus that was lost in the derivation of Tozzita bifida sp. nov. Tozzita bifida sp. nov. resembles T. petulans in the shape of subgenital plates, broad at basal third and narrowed apical two-thirds, and resembles T. ips because the aedeagus has a pair of apical processes. Nevertheless, the new species can be distinguished from other Tozzita , by the brown commissural band on the forewings, pygofer with a dentiform process on the ventral margin and the apex not spatulate, subgenital plates with macrosetae at the apex, style with the preapical lobe developed and protruded laterally, symmetrical aedeagus, and anal tube with a bifid basal process.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 12. Tozzita bifida sp. nov., male holotype: 0 1, head, pronotum and mesonotum, dorsal view; 0 2, head, frontal view; 0 3, head, pronotum and mesonotum, lateral view; 0 4, forewing; 0 5, pygofer and anal tube, lateral view; 0 6, valve and subgenital plates, ventral view; 0 7, valve and subgenital plates, lateral view; 0 8, style, lateral view; 0 9, connective and styles, dorsal view; 10, aedeagus, lateral view; 11, aedeagus, dorsal view; 12, aedeagus, posterodorsal view.

FIGURES 13 – 15. 13 – 14 Tozzita bifida sp. nov., male holotype: 13, dorsal view; 14, lateral view. 15 Tozzita ips Kramer, male, 15, dorsal view. Scale bars = 2.0 mm.