Opsius Fieber, 1866

El-Sonbati, Saad A., Wilson, Michael R. & Dhafer, Hathal M. Al, 2020, The Tamarix feeding Leafhopper genus Opsius Fieber, 1866 (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae, Opsiini) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with description of a new species, Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 67 (1), pp. 1-12 : 1

Genus Opsius Fieber

Opsius Fieber 1866: 505 (Type: Opsius stactogalus Fieber, 1866)

Cestius Distant 1908: 309 (Type: Cestius versicolor Distant, 1908)

Opsius Dlabola 1981: 247; Khatri and Webb 2010: 14

Description.

The genus Opsius can be recognized by the following combination of features:

Head. Head as wide as or slightly wider than pronotum; crown parallel in length or slightly produced, more than or equal to two times the width of eye; ocelli on crown posterad of anterior margin and close to eyes; gena slightly incised; antenna short, near upper corner of eye; Frontoclypeus shorter than wide, with fine erect seta on gena close to lateral frontal suture; lateral frontal suture reaching ocellus, shorter than clypeogenal suture, toward middle of ocelli; ratio of frontoclypeal loral suture to clypellar loral suture more than ⅓; lorum extended nearly to genal margin, wider than clypellus at base; clypellar suture complete and arcuate; clypellus, not inflated, expanded apically ovoid, not protruding beyond the curve of gena, straight or convex apically.

Thorax. Thorax yellowish green in colour, pronotum more than two times the length of vertex, wider than long, short lateral margin, anterior margin convex, posterior margin concave or slightly straight, about two times as long as scutellum; scutellum wider than long.

Wings. Forewings more than three times as long as wide, appendix restricted to anal margin with A veins gently curved distally, A1 crossvein present or absent, A1-A2 crossvein present or absent, two closed anteapical cells, inner anteapical cell open. Hind wing submarginal vein complete.

Legs. Legs generally yellowish green with brown spots, with brown setal areolae; profemur row AM with AM1, profemur with two dorsoapical setae; intercalary row with 8 fine scattered setae gradually reduced apically; AV row with numerous long setae. Protibia dorsal margin rounded, AD row with 1 macrosetae, PD row with 4 macrosetae, AV row with numerous macrosetae, PV row with 1 to 4 macrosetae. Mesofemur AV row with numerous setae, two dorsoapical seta, short and reduced. Metafemur setal formula 2+2+1, setae of penultimate pair set close to each other. Metatibia arched throughout its length, PD row with long and short macrosetae alternating or subequal in length, AD row with macrosetae and one smaller intercalary seta between each pair, AV row with numerous macrosetae and extending nearly to base, gradually increasing in size apically. Metatarsomere I length equal or shorter to tarsomeres II and III combined.

Male genitalia. Pygofer broadly rounded posteriorly, without process, and with well differentiated macrosetae into several rows; valve triangular, laterally, short and pointed articulation with pygofer and free to subgenital plates; subgenital plates triangular, with one row of macrosetae laterally, apex often fingerlike, membranous, with rounded, stout or tapered end; style broadly bilobed basally, with preapical lobe, apophysis not elongate; connective anterior arms linear, contiguous, Y- or U-shaped, not fused, articulated with aedeagus; abdominal apodemes broad, narrow, or tiny, extended to 1st, 2nd visible segments, with distance between two branches, posterior margin angled, acute rounded, gradually tapering externally and gradually tapering or tapered internally; aedeagus not hinged at base, with atrium not extending ventrad of shafts, with basal process, basal processes diverging or slightly diverging or parallel or converging, close to each other or distant, arising from socle, divided near base or from middle, aedeagal shafts parallel or diverging or converging or a hump or lamellate, with or without pair of ventral processes at base, aedeagal socle swollen and bulbous.

Female genitalia. Pygofer with scattered macrosetae, ovipositor not protruding far beyond pygofer apex; first valvula convex; second valvula broad, gradually tapered or slender throughout, teeth on apical 1/3 or more, regularly or irregularly shaped, large and prominent.

Distribution.

Palaearctic, Oriental ( Oman et al. 1990), Afrotropical ( Lindberg 1958; Metcalf 1967) (Figs 75 , 76 ), Nearctic (adventive) ( Metcalf 1967), Neotropic (adventive) ( Virla et al. 2010).

Diagnosis.

The genus Opsius can be distinguished by general colour pattern often greenish brown patches, anterior margin of head without carinae, not angularly curved to the face, face convex, and neither horizontal nor concave, face not elongate; pronotum without longitudinal dark bands or transverse dark markings; aedeagus not hinged at base, with atrium not extending ventrad of shafts, with basal process, basal processes diverging or slightly diverging or parallel or converging, close to each other or distant, arising from socle, divided near base or from middle, aedeagal shafts parallel or diverging or converging or a hump or lamellate, with or without pair of ventral processes at base, aedeagal socle swollen and bulbous.

Comment.

Opsius was described by Fieber (1866) with O. stactogalus designated as a type species. Species have been subsequently described, but unfortunately several species have been described only from females, with descriptions often incomplete, lacking illustrations, and without the examination of types of other species. In our examination of available material of the genus, the following morphological characters in males can be used to characterize the genus: the relative lengths of the pairs of basal processes; and the relative lengths of the pair of aedeagal shafts; the relative lengths and distance between aedeagal shafts and pairs of processes at mid-length and tip length. A comprehensive revision of the genus is required to develop a key for all Opsius species.

Figures

Figures 75 - 79. 75, 76. Distribution of Opsius spp. 75. World distribution (point indicates presence in the country). 76. Local distribution; 77 - 79. Habitats of Opsius spp. 77. Locality: Muzahimiyah, Al Khararah: 24 ° 24.35 ' N, 46 ° 14.67 ' E; 78. Locality: Abha, Sad Abha: 18 ° 19.32 ' N, 42 ° 31.00 ' E; 79. Type locality: Jazan, Wadi Jazan: 17 ° 01.275 ' N, 42 ° 59.187 ' E.