Molopopterus Jacobi, 1910

Cao, Yanghui, Dietrich, Christopher H., Dmitriev, Dmitry A. & Zhang, Yalin, 2020, Taxonomic study of some Afrotropical erythroneurine leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Typhlocybinae), Zootaxa 4860 (3), pp. 301-351 : 327

Molopopterus Jacobi, 1910

Molopopterus Jacobi, 1910: 133 ; Dworakowska, 1973: 39; Theron, 1978: 31

Melopopterus Mayné & Ghesquière, 1934: 27 (Misspelling)

Type species: Molopopterus nigriplaga Jacobi, 1910 , by original designation

Description. Body short to medium sized, mostly 2.0 to 3.5 mm, robust. Head as wide as or wider than pronotum, crown fore margin subparallel to hind margin, coronal suture distinct. Ocelli fully developed, round, on or near crown anterior margin. Face convex in profile. Pronotum with lateral margins parallel or slightly divergent posteriorly in dorsal view, hind margin strongly concave. Forewing with four apical cells almost equal in length and width, AA and AP present or absent. Hind wing with or without RA.

Male abdominal apodemes 2S relatively broad, extended to sternite IV–V, sometimes apodemes 3T present, broader than apodemes 2S. Anal tube long, sclerotized distally, without appendage.

Male genital capsule cylindrical, sclerotized. Pygofer lobe long, angulately produced distally, membranous on ventro-caudal margin, with spicules on distal part, with fine setae near ventral margin and few microsetae near distal angle; dorsal appendage usually absent or very small; ventral appendage absent. Subgenital plate short, usually not surpassing hind margin of pygofer lobe, angulately protruded subbasally and narrowing towards apex, apex rounded, with about 2–5 small macrosetae near middle, with irregular rows of marginal microsetae from subbase to apex, size various, with some microsetae scattered on distal disc. Style with apical part short to long, foot-like, basal part short, preapical lobe developed, small to large, with sensory setae on or above preapical lobe, sometimes also with sensory setae basad of middle part. Connective lamellate, usually triangular, manubrium narrow to broad, central lobe as long as lateral arms. Aedeagal shaft tubular, with or without processes; atrium long and narrow, usually gradually narrowing from base of atrium to apex of shaft, with deep cleft between dorsal apodeme and preatrium, some southern African species with preatrium expanded at connection with shaft; gonopore subapical or apical, dorsal or ventral.

Distribution. Burkina Faso; Republic of Congo; Ethiopia; Ivory Coast; Nigeria; South Africa; Sri Lanka; Sudan; Uganda.

Diagnosis. This genus is one of the few erythroneurine genera possessing fully developed ocelli. It is similar to Imbecilla Dworakowska externally, but the male genitalia are different: the pygofer lobe is longer and produced distally, the pygofer dorsal appendage is absent or very small, the style lacks a second extension apically and the atrium of the aedeagus has a deep cleft between the dorsal apodeme and the preatrium.