Insolitana, Domahovski & Gonçalves & Takiya & Cavichioli, 2019

Domahovski, Alexandre Cruz, Gonçalves, Clayton Corrêa, Takiya, Daniela Maeda & Cavichioli, Rodney Ramiro, 2019, Two new genera and species of Gyponini (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) from South America, Zootaxa 4568 (3), pp. 561-570 : 564-565

Insolitana gen. nov.

( Figs 24 –37, 42, 43)

Type species: Insolitana carinata sp. nov.

Diagnosis. Medium sized flattened leafhoppers (Figs 42, 43); crown, nota, and clavus punctate; head ( Fig. 24 ) in dorsal view, strongly produced, longer than interocular width; crown with pair of conspicuous sinuous longitudinal carinae, in lateral view (Fig. 26) with crown-face transition foliaceous, with two very close carinae; male sternite VIII (Fig. 29) fully covering subgenital plates; male pygofer (Figs 31, 32) with internal process on dorsal margin, near apex; aedeagus (Figs 36, 37) with apodemal processes.

Description. Length 8.0mm (male). Head ( Fig. 24 ), in dorsal view, strongly produced; median length of crown slightly longer than interocular width; transocular width seven-tenths humeral width of pronotum; lateral margins almost parallel, sinuous. Crown ( Fig. 24 ) with anterior margin rounded; pair of conspicuous and sinuous longitudinal carinae located between median line and ocelli; texture with inconspicuous irregular striae and punctations; dorsal surface concave between carinae and between each carina and lateral margin. Ocellus small, closer to median line than eye and to posterior than anterior margin of crown. Head (Fig. 25), in ventral view, with face higher than wide, anterior portion, below crown margin, expanded laterally and with median longitudinal keel; gena excavated just below eyes, ventrolateral margin slightly excavated; frons approximately 2.4 times longer than maximum width, lateral margin distant from eye by maximum width of clypeus; frontogenal suture reaching anterior margin of crown; antennal ledge vertical and continuous to lateral margin of crown; antennal insertion anterior to eye anterior margin; maxillary plate very narrow, not produced ventrally as far as clypeus apex; clypeus approximately 1.7 times longer than wide, lateral margin slightly convergent apically, apex emarginated. Head (Fig. 26), in lateral view, with crown-face transition foliaceous, with two very close carinae; frons and clypeus slightly inflated and convex. Pronotum ( Fig. 24 ), in dorsal view, texture with transverse striae and many punctuations; posteromedian region inflated; lateral margins straight and convergent anterad; posterior margin widely excavated; in lateral view (Fig. 26), slightly declivous anterad, continuous to head declivity. Mesonotum ( Fig. 24 ), in dorsal view, 1.3 times wider than long and punctuated; scutellum (Fig. 43), in lateral view, slightly inflated. Forewing (Fig. 27) with venation distinct; clavus densely punctate with some veinlets; corium with veinlets on costal margin and brachial cell; apical cells short; appendix very narrow, bordering first and second apical cells; apex subquadrangular. Hind wing (Fig. 28) with short r-m and m-cu; apex subquadrangular. Profemur elongated, 4.0 times longer than high; AV row formed by four or five setae restricted to basal half; PV row formed by seven or eight setae; intercalary row formed by thick and sparse setae. Protibia, in cross-section, triangular; dorsal surface flattened and carinate laterally, without setae; ventral surface with some short setae near apex; AV row formed by short setae, gradually increasing in thickness and length toward apex; PD row with six short setae restricted to apical fourth; PV row developed, with about seven very short setae and two longer and thicker setae in the distal portion. Hind leg with femoral setal formula 2:2:1; tibial AD row without intercalary setae between macrosetae, PV row with setae of apical half thick, homogeneous in length and thickness; first tarsomere with inner row one row of setae on plantar surface absent, external row with seven short and thick setae, with cuculate bases, apex with five platellae; second tarsomere apex with three apical platellae.

Male terminalia. Sternite VIII (Fig. 29) longer than wide, fully covering subgenital plates. Pygofer (Figs 31, 32) with internal process on dorsal margin, near apex. Aedeagus (Figs 36, 37) with apodemal processes.

Female unknown.

Distribution. Peru (Cusco).

Etymology. The generic name Insolitana (feminine noun) is derived from the Latin word “ insolitum ” meaning unusual. It refers to the unusual appearance of this leafhopper. The suffix -ana is common in Gyponini genera.

Notes. The phylogenetic position of Insolitana gen. nov., investigated in an unpublished study based on morphological characters (182 characters) combined with sequence data (28S and 16S rDNA and cytochrome oxidase subunit I), was not consistently supported by all analyses ( Gonçalves 2016). However, in the parsimony analysis of morphological data alone, it was recovered in a polytomy along with the genera Woldana and Caetana gen. nov.. Although this clade has good support, bootstrap = 98%, the external morphology and male genitalia of Insolitana gen. nov. is quite different from the other two genera. Insolitana gen. nov. differs from Caetana gen. nov. and Woldana by the following characteristics: (1) body size less than 10 mm; (2) integument punctuated; (3) frons with a median keel; (4) forewing with punctures and appendix very narrow; (5) male sternite VIII fully covering subgenital plates; (6) male pygofer with an internal process; and (6) aedeagus with apodemal processes. See further notes under Caetana gen. nov.

Interestingly, Insolitana gen. nov. has male sternite VIII completely covering the subgenital plates, which contradicts the diagnosis of Gyponini proposed by Krishnankutty et al. (2016). Most gyponines have male subgenital plates not completely concealed by the pregenital sternite as suggested by Krishnankutty et al. (2016), however some species have short subgenital plates and the sternite VIII projected posterad, covering them completely, as in Insolitana carinata sp. nov., some species of Polana DeLong, 1942 , Gypona Germar, 1821 , Costanana DeLong & Freytag, 1972 and the recently described genus, Acuthana Domahovski & Cavichioli, 2018 not included in the phylogenetic study mentioned above.

Figures

FIGURES 24─37. Insolitana carinata sp. nov., male holotype. 24, head and thorax, dorsal view. 25, head and thorax, ventral view. 26, head and thorax, lateral view. 27, forewing. 28, hind wing. 29–37, male terminalia: 29, sternite VIII, ventral view. 30, valve, ventral view. 31, pygofer, valve, and subgenital plate, lateral view. 32, apex of pygofer, dorsal view. 33, subgenital plate, ventral view. 34, style and connective, dorsal view. 35, style, lateral view. 36, aedeagus, lateral view. 37, aedeagus, posterior view. Scale bars: 24–26 = 1.0 mm, 27, 28 = 2.0mm, 29–37 = 0.5 mm.