Maiestas indica (Singh-Pruthi)

Shah, Bismillah, Naveed, Hassan, Webb, Michael D. & Duan, Yani, 2021, Taxonomic review of the grassland leafhopper genus Maiestas Distant (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae: Deltocephalini) from Pakistan with description of a new species and two new records, Zootaxa 5060 (3), pp. 401-416 : 403

Maiestas indica (Singh-Pruthi)

( Fig. 1E )

Allophleps indica Singh-Pruthi, 1936: 120 , fig. 132; plate 9, fig. 3.

Allophleps delhiensis Rao & Ramakrishnan, 1990: 111 , figs 1–9. Synonymised by Dash & Viraktamath, 1998: 35.

Deltocephalus (Recilia) indicus, Dash & Viraktamath, 1998: 35–36 , fig. 305.

Maiestas indica, Webb & Viraktamath, 2009: 21 , comb. nov.; Naveed et al. (2019: 287).

Material examined. No material examined.

Distribution. Pakistan, India.

Remarks. This species was originally described based on both male and female specimens but a female from Pakistan “Layallpur [Faisalabad], Punjab, at light; 10.X.29 (Coll. A. Rahman)” (ZSI), was listed as the “ holotype ” together with “four other specimens from the type locality and numerous specimens from several other localities in the Indian Museum collection”. The specimens other than the female holotype may be considered paratypes but it is not clear from which specimen the male genitalia were figured and the male genitalia slide is now missing (pers. com. C. Viraktamath). Therefore, Pruthi’s figure of the male could be from a specimen either from Pakistan or India. No further material of this species from Pakistan has been studied since the original description and although the original material was examined by Dash & Viraktamath (1998), including a male paratype, their figures are from their Indian specimens (pers. com. C. Viraktamath). Despite the above uncertainties, assuming that the female holotype and the male specimen illustrated by Pruthi are conspecific, the identity of the species is clear based on the aedeagus with a distinctive large subapical ventral process ( Fig. 1E ). The species can also be recognized by its accessary forewing cross-veins, similar to M. pruthii and Maiestas sp. 1 and Maiestas sp. 2 , but from these it also differs by its shorter head as shown in Pruthi’s original figure.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Maiestas species.A–D, M. albomaculata (Dash & Viraktamath) (after Naveed et al., 2019) A: habitus, dorsal view; B: face; C: connective and aedeagus, dorsal view; D: connective and aedeagus, lateral view; E, M. indica (Singh-Pruthi) (after Dash & Viraktamath, 1998): connective and aedeagus, lateral view.