Malagasia argentea, Sanborn, 2021

Sanborn, Allen F., 2021, The cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Cicadidae) of Madagascar including a new tribe, five new genera, twelve new species, four new species synonymies, five revised species status, ten new combinations, new tribal assignments for four genera, one new subtribe synonymy, a checklist and key to the species, Zootaxa 4937 (1), pp. 1-79 : 49-51

Malagasia argentea n. sp.

( Fig. 7 )

Type material.— Holotype. “ MADAGASCAR: Province / Antsiranana, Parc Marojejy / November , 2000 / 14º 30’S, 49º 40’E (?) // M. E. Irwin & E. I.Schlinger (?) / California Acad of Sciences / low altitude rain forest / coll. code: SI-019 // CASENT / 8077789” male ( CASC) (CASTYPE number 20146).

Etymology.—The name argentea ( L. argenteus , silvery) is in reference to the silvery pile on the lateral and posterior abdomen.

Description

Body tawny marked with piceous and castaneous, dense silvery pile on abdominal tergites.

Head

Head wider than mesonotum, ground color with light castaneous transverse fascia extending from junction of anterior eye and posterolateral vertex to enclose lateral ocellus, castaneous posterior to eye extending along posterior vertex lateral to posterior cranial depression to fuse with anterior fascia, supra-antennal plate castaneous along postclypeus. Ocelli rosaceous, eyes dark castaneous. Dorsum with short silvery pile, denser and slightly longer posterior to eye. Ventral head ground color covered with short silvery pile, very dense on lorum and medial gena. Postclypeus ground color, broadly castaneous transversely on apex, central sulcus on dorsum and ventral surfaces but not around apex, two transverse grooves on dorsal surface, eight transverse grooves on ventral surface, short silvery pile in lateral transverse grooves. Anteclypeus ground color with short castaneous fascia on either side of middle carina and castaneous on posteromedial margin, covered with dense, short silvery pile. Mentum and labium ochraceous, radiating long silvery pile, reaching to posterior of hind coxae. Antennal segments ground color, scape darker.

Thorax

Pronotum ground color, piceous mark anterior to paramedian fissure that expands anteriorly, mark crosses medial paramedian fissure, recurves along posteromedial paramedian fissure before curving posteriorly, separated from curved mark anterior to posterior lateral fissure that widens and extends across middle disk not reaching middle of paramedian fissure, piceous along anterior and lateral disks, piceous mark in posterior third of lateral disk, ambient fissure castaneous from either side of midline to anterior of pronotal collar lateral angle. Pronotal collar ground color, grooved, lateral margin angled ventrally. Pronotum covered with sparse, short silvery pile, denser in fissures. Mesonotum light ground color except light castaneous surrounding submedian sigillae, anterior to cruciform elevation including scutal depressions on either side of midline extending and expanding along posteromedial and posterior lateral sigillae, irregular mottling of sigillae where muscles attach internally. Dorsal mesonotum with short silvery pile, denser long silvery pile between anterior arms of cruciform elevation, between anterior and posterior arms of cruciform elevation, on posterior mesonotum, and in wing groove. Metanotum ground color, short silvery pile on posterior metanotum. Ventral thoracic segments ground color except castaneous posterior katepisternum 2, lateral basisternum 2, trochantin 2, medial katepimeron 2, posteromedial basisternum 3, and trochantin 3, covered with short silvery pile, radiating sparse, long silvery pile.

Wings

Fore wings and hind wings hyaline but slightly bronzed with eight and six apical cells respectively. Venation ground color becoming darker distally, castaneous at base. Basal cell about five times longer than broad. Pterostigma present, extending to radial crossvein. Spot of infuscation in distal clavus. Basal membrane of fore wing light gray. Hind wing venation ground color becoming darker distally, anal veins 2 and 3 castaneous, anal vein 3 strongly curved to wing margin. Basal plaga, anal cell 3 along anal vein 3, anal cell 2 along anal veins 2 and 3, and anal cell 1 along proximal anal vein 2 light gray, gray margined with infuscation in anal cells 2 and 3, additional infuscation at base of anal cell 3.

Legs

Legs ground color, distal coxae, distal trochanters, proximal femora, distal tibiae, fore and middle leg tarsi, proximal and distal hind leg tarsi castaneous, pretarsal claws castaneous with piceous tips. Anterior femora striped with castaneous, primary spine angled, longest, secondary spine with broad base and curved tip, almost parallel to primary spine, very small tertiary spine, primary and tertiary spines castaneous, secondary spine piceous. Tibial spurs and tibial comb castaneous. Coxae with short silvery pile, remaining segments radiating long golden pile. Male meracanthus an elongated triangle, curved laterad, light ground color with darker base, reaching middle of sternite II.

Operculum

Male operculum ground color, slightly darker in middle of lateral margin, piceous margin along meracanthus, roughly rectangular angled slightly mediad, apex at junction of abdominal sternites and epipleurites, lateral margin straight, posterior margin straight curving to form approximate right angles with medial and lateral margins, reaching to anterior of sternite II, straight medial margin reaching to lateral meracanthus, covered with short silvery pile.

Abdomen

Abdominal tergites ground color, lateral tergite 2 and dorsal tergites 6, 7 and anterior half of 8 darker, tergites covered with short silvery pile, denser on lateral tergite 1 and dorsal tergite 2, very dense on lateral tergites 3–5, dorsolateral tergites 6 and 7, anterodorsal and posterolateral tergite 8. Timbal cover absent, timbal completely exposed, with five ribs. Sternites ground color, posterior margins of sternite VI piceous, sternites covered with short silvery pile, longer pile radiating from male sternites I–III and VII–VIII. Male sternite VIII ground color, radiating long silvery pile, margins meeting medially when viewed from posterior. Epipleurites ground color with silvery pile.

Genitalia

Male pygofer ground color, posterior and ventral sides darker, distal shoulder with rounded terminus, forming an open U-shape on each side of anal styles when viewed from posterior, dorsal beak elongated triangle, curved ventrally, light tawny. Upper pygofer lobe absent, pygofer basal lobes elongated, flattened with triangular tip, almost meeting medially, covering most of ventral side of pygofer base. Anal styles and anal tube castaneous. Uncus castaneous, elongated, flattened, narrowing distally to semicircular terminus, lateral flange extending more than half uncal length, sinuate margin widening to base, uncus forms curved notch for supporting aedeagus. Aedeagus tubular with ochraceous terminal membrane and single curved extension.

Female is unknown.

Measurements (mm).—N = 1 male. Length of body: 25.10; length of fore wing: 36.95; width of fore wing: 10.80; length of head: 4.35; width of head including eyes: 9.95; width of pronotum including suprahumeral plates: 10.20; width of mesonotum: 8.35.

Diagnosis.—The new species is smaller than (body length about 25 mm vs. more than 40 mm and wingspan about 82 mm vs. greater than 98 mm) and lacks the inflated abdomen found in M. inflata Distant, 1882 . Malagasia mariae Boulard 1980b is a green and black species with golden pubescence that has a smaller wingspan (66.5 mm vs. 82 mm) and an inflated abdomen not found in the new species. The smaller body size (19.8 mm vs. 25.1 mm) and green coloration with red ankles quickly distinguishes M. rubrastragala n. sp. Malagasia aperta is of similar body size and has a somewhat similar series of markings but can be distinguished by the smaller wingspan (less than 75 mm vs 82 mm), the body is narrower, the wings are more heavily bronzed, the costal margin is smoothly curved rather than angled proximal to the node, the distal male operculum is approximately square rather than rectangular, and the uncus is strongly bent rather than being slightly angled near the base as in the new species.

Distribution.—The species is only known from the type specimen collected in Parc Marojejy, Antsiranana province, northern Madagascar.

Figures

FIG. 7. Malagasia argentea n. sp.: A, Holotype male habitus; B, holotype male dorsum; C, holotype male timbal; D, holotype male operculum; E, holotype male lateral view of genitalia; F, holotype male posterior view of genitalia. Scale bar: A, 2 cm; B, 5 mm; C—F, 2 mm.