Myotrioza clementsiana Taylor

Taylor, Gary S., Fagan-Jeffries, Erinn P. & Austin, Andy D., 2016, A new genus and twenty new species of Australian jumping plant-lice (Psylloidea: Triozidae) from Eremophila and Myoporum (Scrophulariaceae: Myoporeae), Zootaxa 4073 (1), pp. 1-84 : 18-19

Myotrioza clementsiana Taylor , sp. nov.

( Figs 3–10 , 35–36 , 43 ; Tables 1–8 )

Types. AUSTRALIA, South Australia: Holotype: 1 ♂ (dried) Moorunde Wildlife Reserve, 34º25.184'S, 139º31.246'E, G.S. Taylor, 30.iii.2013, swept Myoporum platycarpum, 2013 0 0 5 (SAM). Paratypes: 2 ♂, 6 ♀ (dried), 3 ♂, 3 ♀ (slide), 2 ♀ (ethanol), same data as holotype (SAM, WINC); 1 ♀ (dried), same data except 9.vi.2013, 2013 0 16 (WINC); 4 ♂, 11 ♀ (dried) Moorunde Wildlife Reserve, 34º25.185'S, 139º31.240'E, G.S. Taylor & L. Krogmann, 8.xii.2013, swept Myoporum platycarpum, 2013 154 SE120 (WINC).

Description. Adult ( Figs 3–6 ). Colouration. Male: [specimens point-mounted with prior storage in ethanol] Pale yellow: vertex with indistinct pale brown marking in vicinity of fovea; eyes greyish brown; antennal segments 8–10 progressively dark brown to almost black; mesopraescutum with a pair of barely discernible anterior submedial markings; mesoscutum with two pairs of barely discernible submedial markings; fore and hind wings clear; fore wing veins equally pigmented brown; legs pale yellow-brown; abdominal tergites 1–5 with indistinct greyish infuscation; abdominal membrane colouration pale green; proctiger, subgenital plate and parameres yellow-brown; apices of parameres black. Female: [specimens mounted with prior storage in ethanol] as for male except proctiger and subgenital plate pale yellow-brown with apices dark brown to black. Specimen point-mounted without prior storage in ethanol: head and thorax golden-yellow with green suffusion; abdomen bright green with yellow suffusion.

Structure. Measurements as in Tables 4–8 . Body narrow, elongate ( Figs 3–6 ). Head ( Figs 7–8 ); vertex with prominent medial suture, deeply sunk in vicinity of fovea, genal processes short, 0.36–0.43 times as long as vertex; antenna very short, 0.60–0.68 times width of head, with a single subapical rhinarium on each of segments 4, 6, 8 and 9; segment 10 with a short bluntly rounded and a minute bluntly rounded seta. Fore wing ( Figs 9–10 ) 4.12– 4.89 times as long as head width, 2.61–3.22 times as long as wide, elongate with slightly pointed apex; vein Rs straight, slightly upturned distally, terminating well short of wing apex, considerably shorter than vein M, RsM: 0.73–0.80; medial cell smaller than cubital cell; veins M1+2 and M3+4 short, broadly diverging with corresponding low m1 cell value: 1.15–1.56; veins Cu1a long, arched and Cu1b long, each widely divergent with corresponding low cu1 cell value: 1.34–1.43; metatibia 0.94–1.00 times as long as width of head, considerably longer than metafemur, with 2 inner and 1 outer small, sclerotised apical spurs. Male terminalia ( Figs 35–36 ); proctiger conoid, without lateral lobes; subgenital plate broadly rounded; parameres ( Fig. 36 ) very short, narrow, blade-like, evenly tapering to incurved sclerotised apices; distal portion of aedeagus short, with asymmetrical apical expansion ( Fig. 35 ). Female terminalia ( Fig. 43 ): proctiger short, truncate with weakly sclerotised apex; subgenital plate short, triangular with tapering, weakly sclerotised apex; distal portion of proctiger with dense brush of short pale setae and subgenital plate with sparse short setae.

Comments. Myotrioza clementsiana sp. nov. can be distinguished by the following unique combination of characters: habitus as in Figs 3–6 , antenna with normal arrangement of rhinaria, fore wing elongate with rounded apex, Rs considerably shorter than vein M ( Figs 9–10 ), female proctiger short with field of weakly hooked setae, rounded profile without terminal upward inflection, valvula ventralis curved, ventral profile of female subgenital plate curved ( Fig. 43 ), male proctiger conoid with lateral lobe, aedeagus short, paramere broadly ovate with rounded apex ( Figs 35–36 ).

Myotrioza clementsiana sp. nov. is most closely related to M. insularis sp. nov. (COI sequence divergence 7.4–8.1%) ( Table 1 ). They differ from all other species of Myotrioza gen. nov. by their elongate habitus and general pale yellow brown colouration with abdominal membrane colouration green. M. clementsiana sp. nov. differs from M. insularis sp. nov. in its smaller body size, it occurs on M. platycarpum rather than M. insularis and has an inland, eremean rather than coastal distribution.

Etymology. Named in honour of the late Alwin and Berna Clements, environmental conservationists who were instrumental in the establishment of Moorunde Wildlife Reserve (the type locality), and their family Dr Mark Clements, Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research and Australian National Herbarium, Dr Peter Clements, University of Adelaide and President of the Natural History Society of SA, and Wendy Clements, who continue their legacy.

Host-plant association and distribution. ( Tables 2–3). Myotrioza clementsiana sp. nov. is recorded from Myoporum platycarpum R.Br. (Sugarwood, False Sandalwood) , at a single locality in mallee woodland near Blanchetown, South Australia. It is one of 10 species of Myotrioza gen. nov. and 24 species of Triozidae recorded for South Australia. It is considered endemic to that state, although it is likely to occupy a broad distribution given that its host is widely distributed in southern Australia. It is one of 4 species of Myotrioza , namely M. clementsiana sp. nov., M. flindersiana sp. nov., M. myopori sp. nov. and M. platycarpi sp. nov. from M. platycarpum . Myoporum platycarpum occurs as a tree to 10 m high with deeply fissured bark. It is widely distributed on red and red brown earths in mallee or Casuarina woodland communities in inland WA, SA, Qld, NSW, Vic ( Chinnock 2014).

Figures

FIGURES 3 – 10. Myotrioza clementsiana, sp. nov. (3), habitus, male (dorsal aspect); (4), habitus, female, (dorsal aspect); (5), habitus, male (lateral aspect); (6), habitus, female (lateral aspect); (7), head, male (dorsal aspect, from slide); (8), head, female (dorsal aspect); (9), fore wing, male (from slide); (10), fore wing, female. Scale = 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 35 – 42. Figs 35 – 36: Myotrioza clementsiana, sp. nov. (35), male terminalia (lateral aspect); (36), paramere (inner face, lateral aspect); Figs 37 – 38: M. darwinensis, sp. nov. (37), male terminalia (lateral aspect); (38), paramere (inner face, lateral aspect); Figs 39 – 40: M. desertorum, sp. nov. (39), male terminalia (lateral aspect); (40), paramere (inner face, lateral aspect); Figs 41 – 42: M. eremi, sp. nov. (41), male terminalia (lateral aspect); (42), paramere (inner face, lateral aspect). Scale = 0.2 mm for male terminalia, 0.1 mm for parameres.

FIGURES 43 – 46. Female terminalia (43), Myotrioza clementsiana, sp. nov.; (44), M. darwinensis, sp. nov.; (45), M. desertorum, sp. nov.; (46), M. eremi, sp. nov. Scale = 0.5 mm (all at same scale).