Litura unda Knight

Viraktamath, C. A. & Anantha Murthy, H. V., 2014, Review of the genera Hishimonus Ishihara and Litura Knight (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) from the Indian subcontinent with description of new species, Zootaxa 3785 (2), pp. 101-138 : 118-119

Litura unda Knight

Figs 36–37 , 232–238 .

Litura unda Knight 1970b: 179 –180, figs 35–42.

Coloration as in L. triangula sp. nov.

Head, polished, slightly wider than pronotum. Crown about half as long medially as pronotum. Pronotum polished, longer than combined length of scutum and scutellum, upper surface convex, transversely wrinkled.

Male genitalia. Male pygofer posteriorly conically rounded with macrosetae confined to posterior 0.33 region. Valve triangular , about twice as broad at base as medially long, posteriorly narrowed with rounded apex, lateral margins sinuate. Subgenital plate with well developed membranous apical process 0.36 times as long as total length. Style with well developed lateral subapical lobe, apophyses straight, transversely rugose. Connective with stem shorter than arms. Aedeagus with shafts elongate, simple, diverging in ventral view and curved dorsally in lateral view, with small triangular lobe at midlength along inner margin visible both in ventral and lateral view; gonopore apical on ventral margin; ventral process in lateral view with strongly sinuate ventral margin immediately distad of midlength, 2.2 times as long as shaft, tapering to acute apex, with small triangular lamellate expansion dorsally immediately distad of midlength.

Female genitalia. Seventh sternite 1.7 times as wide basally as long medially; posterior margin concave laterally and medially produced into lobe with median short V-shaped excavation.

Measurements. Male 3.5 mm long, 1.2 mm wide across eyes. Female 4.0 mm long and 1.3 mm wide across eyes.

Material examined. INDIA: Karnataka: 1 ♂, Mangalore, 12–14.v.2008, at light, C.M. Kalleswaraswamy; 1 ♀, Dharmasthala, 17.i.1994, S. Viraktamath ( UASB). SRI LANKA: Col. Dist. Hanwella Resthouse, 200 ft, black light, Collected by Heavel, G.F., Dietz IV, R.E., Karunaratne, S. and Balasooriya, D.W. ( USNM).

Remarks. L. unda was described from the holotype male and paratypes from Sri Lanka (not examined); it is recorded here for the first time from India. Both L. unda and L. triangula are very similar in coloration. L. unda has more a convex thorax and is more slender compared to more robust L. triangular which has relatively flat pronotum. The females have rather similar seventh sternites, however, the median lobe is more prominently produced posteriorly in L. unda compared to L. triangula .

Figures

FIGURES 25 – 38. Species of Hishimonus and Litura. 25 & 26. H. phycitis (Distant) dark color morph; 27 & 28. H. spicans sp. nov.; 29 & 30. H. thapai sp. nov.; 31 – 33. H. viraktamathi Knight, color variation; 34 & 35. H. zeylanicus sp. nov.; 36 & 37. Litura unda Knight; 38. Litura triangula sp. nov. Figs 25, 27, 29, 31, 32, 34, 36, 38. Dorsal view; Figs 26, 28, 30, 33, 35, 37. Dorsolateral view.

FIGURES 232 – 238. Litura unda Knight. 232. Male genital capsule, lateral view; 233. Male valve and subgenital plate, ventral view; 234. Style, dorsal view; 235. Connective, dorsal view; 236. Aedeagus, ventral view; 237. Aedeagus, lateral view; 238. Female seventh sternite, ventral view.