Revision of the Southern African leafhopper genus Pravistylus (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae) 2468
Stiller, M.
Zootaxa
2010
2010-05-14
2468
1
1
81
8RN35
Stiller, 2010
Stiller
2010
[151,465,973,999]
Insecta
Cicadellidae
Pravistylus
Animalia
Hemiptera
46
47
Arthropoda
species
trunculidiscus
sp. nov.
( Figs 1ai; 2 j; 3 z; 4 x; 5 j; 6 y; 7 cb–ce; 8 bl)
Diagnosis. Connective stem very wide, Y-shaped; stem at least two times wider than width across arms, wider than in any other species ( Fig. 6 y). Plate apex rectangular, both plate apices usually of unequal length; length of plate 1.5–1.7 times as long as wide ( Fig. 2 j). Aedeagal shaft, in lateral view, U-shaped, base wide, rightangled, apex straight, extending well beyond dorsal apodeme ( Figs 3 z, 4 x). Style distal part close to base; apophysis digitate, 4–5 ventral teeth ( Fig. 5 j). Pygofer lobe triangular, about half as wide as width of pygofer ( Fig. 1ai).
Etymology. Latin, plate ( discus) with short, square apex ( trunculus). Male and female. Ochraceous, without markings on vertex, rarely with fuscous markings in some cells of tegmina ( Fig. 8bl). Male. Dimensions. (n = 55) Length: apex of vertex to apex of tegmina 2.1–2.3 mm; apex of vertex to apex of abdomen 2.5–2.8 mm; vertex medially 0.4–0.5 mm; vertex next to eye 0.3 mm; pronotum medially 0.3 mm. Width: head 0.8–0.9 mm; pronotum 0.7–0.8 mm. Ocellar diameter 25.7–30.3 µm; ocellocular distance 33.1–48.1 µm. Genital capsule. Pygofer, in lateral view, with ventral posterior margin bulbous, ventral margin narrowly bulbous, membranous ( Fig. 1ai). Pygofer lobe elongate, acutely triangular, base about half as wide as pygofer ( Fig. 1ai). Plate apex truncate, rectangular, apices usually of different length; lateral margin roundly merged with basal margin of apex; 6–10 macrosetae, usually uniseriate; plate 1.5–1.7 times as long as width across base ( Fig. 2 j). Aedeagal shaft, in lateral view, arising from ventral part of atrium; preatrium reduced; Ushaped, base straight, right-angled with dorsal apodeme, apex straight; shaft more than three times as long as length of dorsal apodeme; gonopore elongate, subapical, lateral ( Figs 3 z, 4 x). Style distal part close to anterior medial lobe; apophysis digitate, with 4–5 ventral teeth; acutely angled to preapical lobe; preapical lobe acute ( Fig. 5 j). Connective, in dorsal view, with stem very wide, Y-shaped, about twice as wide as greatest width across arms ( Fig. 6 y). Female. Dimensions. (n = 45) Length: apex of vertex to apex of tegmina 2.2–2.4 mm; apex of vertex to apex of abdomen 2.9–3.2 mm; vertex medially 0.5–0.6 mm; vertex next to eye 0.3–0.4 mm; pronotum medially 0.3 mm. Width: head 0.9 mm; pronotum 0.8 mm. Ocellar diameter 26.2–29.1 µm; ocellocular distance 38.8–52.8 µm. Genitalia.Sternite 7 hind margin ligula variable in length, variably triangularly, margins straight or slightly concave ( Figs 7cc & cd, Sterkspruit Nature Reserve specimens), or triangular ( Fig. 7cb, Sterkspruit Nature Reserve specimen, Fig. 7ce, Steenkampsberg specimen); usually shallow notch apically, or rarely truncate.
Material examined. Holotypemale. South Africa, Mpumalanga. Steenkampsberg Pass, 25°16ʹS, 30°09ʹE, 2000 m, 17.xii.2000, M. Stiller, sweeping ( SANC). Paratypes. 56♂, 61♀, 3 nymphs. KwaZulu- Natal. 7♂, 6♀, Meander Hut road, wetland, 29°16ʹS, 29°32ʹE, 2100 m, 18.iv.2002, M. Stiller, E. Breytenbach, DVac, older grass beyond fire break. Mpumalanga. 2♂, 5♀, Paardeplaats Farm, Long Tom Pass, 25°05ʹS, 30°35ʹE, 2000 m, 22.xi.1997, M. Stiller, sweeping, also short grass and forbs, regrowth after fire, Themeda triandra; 11♂, 14♀, same data as holotype; 13♂, 13♀, Longtom Pass, 10 kmEast Lydenburg, 25°06ʹS, 30°30ʹE, 1680 m, 8.iii.2002, DVac; 2♂, Sterkspruit Nature Reserve near Marabu Farm, 25°08ʹS, 30°32ʹE, 1560 m, 8.iii.2002, DVac, short grazed grass, regrowth after fire, common Loudetia simplex(Poaceae); 1♂, Steenkampsberg Pass near summit, 25°14ʹS, 30°09ʹE, 2100 m, 9.iii.2002, DVac, grassland, dominant grass species: Andropogon schirensis, Eragrostis racemosa, Microchloa caffra, Monocymbium ceresiiforme, Sporobolussp., Themeda triandra(Poaceae); all M. Stiller, J. du Plessis; 2♀, River valley in Sterkspruit Nature Reserve Lydenburg, 25°11ʹS, 30°33ʹE, 1800 m, 6.iii.2003, sweeping; 9♂, 11♀, 3 nymphs, Rooikat Hut, hill above Oribi Trail, Sterkspruit Nature Reserve, 25°08ʹS, 30°32ʹE, 1770 m, 6.iii.2003, DVac, transect along path, on E-sloping hillside; 2♂, 2♀, Rooikat Hut, hill opposite, Sterkspruit Nature Reserve, 25°08ʹS, 30°33ʹE, 1750 m, 6.iii.2003, DVac, summit of hill, common grasses: Digitaria trichleanoides, Melinis nerviglumis, Monocymbium ceresiiforme, Sporobolus pectinatus, Tristachya leucothrix(Poaceae); middle of hill, common grass: Elionurus muticus, Loudetia simplex, Rendlia altera, Sporobolussp. (Poaceae); 1♀, Rooikat Hut, Sterkspruit Nature Reserve, 25°09ʹS, 30°32ʹE, 1700 m, 6.iii.2003, sweeping; 6♂, 5♀, Mooiplaas, 24°55ʹS, 30°27ʹE, 1434 m, 16.xi.2005, DVac; 2♂, 7♀, Rooikrans Farm, Lydenburg-Roossenekal, 25°06ʹS, 30°14ʹE, 1692 m, 16.xi.2005, DVac; 7♂, 1♀, Steenkampsberg Pass, summit, 25°14ʹS, 30°08ʹE, 2238 m, 16.xi.2005, DVac. North West. 1♂, Vredefort Dome near Parys, 26°48ʹS, 27°22ʹE, 26.xii.2000, sweeping; all M. Stiller ( BMNH, INHS, SANC).
Remarks. A number of species have the apices of their plates truncated, such as P.eductus( Figs 2 e–g), P. exquadratus( Figs 2 h, i & w), P. serratus( Fig. 2 v), P. caenophallus( Fig. 2 y) and P. odontopygeus( Fig. 2 x). The former two species have the apex acutely truncated, but the latter three species, have the apex narrower, less or not parallel-sided, and uniformly merged with the lateral margin. The plate of P. eductushas the lateral margin of the apex concave and the apex produced laterally. The plate of P. exquadratusis variable ( Figs 2 h, i & w), but sometimes coincides with the plate of P. trunculidiscus( Fig. 2 j). Plate dimensions are as follows: P. exquadratusis 1.2–1.5 times longer than wide, in P. eductusthe plate is 1.7–1.9 times longer than wide and in P. trunculidiscusit is 1.5–1.7 times longer than wide. The aedeagus of P. caenophallusis distinctly different, having a modified shaft and apex ( Fig. 3ak). The aedeagus of P. odontopygeushas a very thin shaft and most uniformly C-shaped ( Fig. 3ah), with a ventral tooth on the pygofer lobe ( Fig. 1 y), and the style with the distal part far from the base ( Fig. 5 x). The aedeagus of P. eductushas the shaft arising medially from the atrium, is much shorter ( Figs 3 n & o) and the style has the distal part moderately close to the base ( Figs 5 a & b). The colouration of P. eductus( Figs 8 m–q) is distinctly different from that of P. trunculidiscus( Fig. 8bl), having more fuscous markings on the vertex and tegmina. An important feature differentiating these species is the shape of the female sternite 7. In P. exquadratusthe sternite 7 has the ligula more rectangular with a deep U-shaped notch or with a stepped notch ( Figs 7 u– w), whereas P. trunculidiscushas the ligula narrower, longer with a uniform notch ( Figs 7cd–ce). In P. serratusthe ligula is somewhat recessed into the base ( Fig. 7bz). That of P. caenophallusis probably most similar ( Figs 7 e & f) to that of P. trunculidiscus( Figs 7cd–ce). In P. odontopygeusthe ligula is wider, with a deeper and wider notch ( Fig. 7bl).