Chidaea pulyonna, Löcker & Holzinger, 2019

Löcker, Birgit & Holzinger, Werner E., 2019, Revision of the Australian planthopper genus Chidaea Emeljanov with a redescription of Cixius sidnicus Stål, 1859 (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Fulgoromorpha: Cixiidae), Zootaxa 4691 (5), pp. 401-443 : 427-429

Chidaea pulyonna sp. nov.

( Figs 13 , 28 , 31C )

Zoobank Registration:

http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:1F4AB6C2-3E51-4357-AA7F-45A276DE9D1F

Types. Holotype, ♂, AUSTRALIA, NSW: N[ew] E[ngland] NP, near entrance, 4.xi.1960 (C. W. Frazier) ( ASCU ASCTHE017097 ) . Paratypes, NSW: 2 ♂, 1 ♀, same data as holotype ( ASCU) ; 1 ♀, New England NP, road near entrance, mont. woodland, 1400m, on tree trunk, 7.xii.1992 (D. Bickel) ( AMS) .

Other material examined. NSW: 1 ♂, New England NP, road near entrance, mont. woodland, 1400m, on tree trunk, 7.xii.1992 (D. Bickel) ( AMS) .

Notes. One male specimen from New England NP is excluded from the type series because its male genitalia are damaged (tip of aedeagal spine broken off).

Etymology. The term ‘pulyonna’ means ‘dark, black’ in Kaurna, an Aboriginal language spoken in the Adelaide Plains ( Thieberger & McGregor 1994). Named after the dark central stripe on the mesonotum.

Colour. Vertex dark brown or black with pale carinae (sometimes apical compartment of vertex paler than basal compartment). Face dark brown to black, median carina concolorous or slightly paler; lateral carinae very pale. Pronotum light brown, laterally with slightly darker patches. Mesonotum light brown apart from dark brown to black central area of mesonotum (in between carinae), often extreme lateral parts of mesonotum dark brown to black. Forewings light brown, tubercles and veins concolorous light brown (rarely mid brown). Legs brown, dark near base, light near apex, body mid to dark brown.

Morphology. Body length: ♂ 5.9–6.4 mm; ♀ 7.3 mm.

Head: Vertex 2.4–2.6 x wider than long; median carina of vertex covering 1/4–3/4 of basal compartment of vertex; absent in apical compartment. Frons 1.2 x longer than wide; position of maximum width distinctly dorsad of centre of frontoclypeal suture; lateral carinae of frons in facial view convex, rectilinear apically or convex, evenly rounded. Frontoclypeal suture slightly semicircular, bent upwards, median part just not reaching lower margin of antennal scape. Postclypeus with median carina well developed. Anteclypeus with median carina moderately developed or evanescent. Rostrum surpassing hind coxae.

Thorax: Hind margin of pronotum obtusely angled, acutely angled or rectangular. Mesonotum with median carina moderately developed, evanescent near posterior end; lateral carinae moderately to well developed. Forewing 2.9–3.4 x longer than wide; concavity at costal border absent; costal margin with 20–34 tubercles; fork of ScP+RA and RP basad or at same level as fork CuA1 and CuA2; tubercles of forewing dark or pale, concolorous with veins; ScP+RA apically bifid or unforked; RP trifid; additional subapical cell (C3a in Fig. 28H ) between branches of MP present; MP1+2 and MP3+4 bifid or trifid; 11 apical cells; 6–8 subapical cells. Hind leg: tibia with 6 (rarely 7) apical spines; 1 st tarsomere with 8 apical teeth and no platellae; 2 nd tarsomere with 9 apical teeth and 7 platellae.

Male genitalia: Anal tube as in Figs 28 D–E. Pygofer and genital styles as in Figs 28 F–G. Aedeagus as in Figs 28 A–C. Phallotheca symmetrical, with two long spines (a,b) reaching a bifurcate ventral process just below midline of phallotheca. In ventral view basal half of spines (a,b) covered by phallotheca. In lateral view spines (a,b) straight, apart from a strong bend halfway through the spine at which point the spine reaches its maximum width.

Diagnosis. Chidaea pulyonna can be easily distinguished from all other species of Chidaea by the presence of a prominent, central, dark stripe on the mesonotum. It covers the entire area between the lateral carinae and is in distinct contrast to adjacent areas of the mesonotum which are pale (light brown). Often extreme lateral parts of the mesonotum are darkened as well, but never the area just outside the lateral carinae. This species is very characteristic in having long aedeagal spines that in lateral view show their greatest width around midlength where they are strongly bent (in most other species spines are widest at their base). Because of the length of the spines and the bend their tips protrude considerably from the aedeagus in ventral direction. Chidaea pulyonna shares the following combination of characters with Ch. wilarra , Ch. armidalensis , Ch. dickinsonorum and Ch. dayi : absence of platellae on the first hind tarsomere and tubercles on the forewing that are concolorous with veins. Chidaea dayi and Ch. armidalensis can be separated from Ch. pulyonna by the asymmetrical arrangement of the aedeagal spines in ventral view (symmetrical in Ch. pulyonna ). Chidaea wilarra and Ch. dickinsonorum can be distinguished from Ch. pulyonna by the shape of spine (a) which is evenly curved throughout as opposed to straight with a strong bend halfway through the spine in Ch. pulyonna .

Distribution: NSW.

Figures

FIGURE 13. Chidaea pulyonna: A habitus; B–D head.

FIGURE 28. Chidaea pulyonna: A aedeagus left lateral; B aedeagus ventral; C aedeagus right lateral; D–E anal tube; F–G genital styles; H fore wing: abbreviations of longitudinal veins (black capital letters), crossveins (in italics), cell names (red letters) and other characters see chapter “Materials & Methods”.

FIGURE 31. Known distribution of Chidaea species.