Muraoides costaricensis, Sanborn, 2018

Sanborn, Allen F., 2018, Two new genera and two new species of cicadas from Central America (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Cicadinae), Zootaxa 4418 (2), pp. 149-160 : 156-159

Muraoides costaricensis n. sp.

( Fig. 2 )

Type material. Holotype. “ COSTA RICA, Prov. Puntarenas, / Golfito, P.N. Piedras Blancas, Camino / San Josecito, de F. Rio Bonito 2Km S. / 100m. 23 May 1996. E. Fletes. / Manual L_S_293900_548100 // INB 0003143950 / INBIOCRI COSTA RICA ” 1 male ( MNCR).

Etymology. The name is a combination of costaric– for the country of origin of the type series, Costa Rica, and –ensis (L. suffix denoting place).

Description. Ground color of head and thorax green marked with piceous and castaneous, abdomen greenish tawny.

Head. Head wider than mesonotum, green with laterally incomplete transverse piceous band through lateral ocelli with posterior extension into anterior cranial depression and anterior extension surrounding median ocellus reaching to frontoclypeal suture, additional spot posterior to anterior cranial depression, posterior cranial depression connecting to eye, and supra-antennal plate, except medioposterior corner, piceous. Sparse, long silvery pile ventral and posteroventral to eye. Ocelli rosaceous, eyes castaneous. Ventral head green, posterior third of lorum castaneous with white pubescence at junction with postclypeus and anteclypeus. White pubescence on gena lateral to postclypeus. Postclypeus green, ventral side flattened laterally, inflated centrally with peak in middle of ventral side with thin carina along midline, castaneous triangular marks on anterolateral region of dorsal surface oriented toward apex on dorsal surface continuing mark on supra-antennal plates producing a green triangle on dorsal surface midline. Postclypeus with seven transverse grooves, sparse white pubescence on lateral postclypeus. Anteclypeus green with sparse white pubescence. Rostrum tawny with piceous tip reaching to middle of sternite I with long golden pile on tip. Scape green, remaining antennal segments castaneous.

Thorax. Dorsal thorax green. Pronotum with transverse piceous fascia across anterior margin, small transverse mark in posterior ambient fissure on dorsal midline, piceous within paramedian fissure, lateral fissure and lateral ambient fissure, surrounding lateral disk and a laterad curved mark connecting between the middle of the paramedian fissure and the posterior of lateral fissure, anterior disk between paramedian and lateral fissures piceous, lateral disk piceous except for green spot near posteromedial margin. Pronotal collar green, transverse fascia on midline of ambient fissure extending as light triangular mark on midline of pronotal collar. Pronotum covered with sparse silvery pile. Mesonotum green, submedian sigillae tawny anteriorly with posterior half piceous, lateral sigillae with longitudinal piceous fascia in middle and small piceous mark on anteromedial margin, drop-shaped castaneous mark extending posteriorly on midline extending from posterior of submedian sigillae to the level of the scutal depressions, scutal depressions piceous surrounded by castaneous, cruciform elevation green with piceous mark on anterolateral margin, wing groove green with longitudinal piceous mark on medial margin near anterior. Metanotum tawny with green posterior margin. Silvery pile on mesonotum, denser laterally and posteriorly and between arms of cruciform elevation, in wing groove, and on posterior metanotum, short black pile in posterior wing groove. Ventral thoracic segments green, with white pubescence, castaneous marks on basisternum 2, anteromedial katepisternum 2, posterior trochantin 2, medial meron 2, and medial episternum 3.

Wings. Fore wings and hind wings hyaline with eight and six apical cells respectively. Venation green proximally becoming tawny distally except tawny costa, green arculus and cubitus posterior + anal vein 1, and piceous posterior margin of anal vein 2 + 3. Basal cell lightly clouded. Pterostigma present. Infuscation on base of radius anterior 2 extending to radial crossvein, radial crossvein, radiomedial crossvein, medial crossvein, mediocubital crossvein, proximal median vein 1 distal to radiomedial crossvein and distal veins between apical cells, longitudinal infuscation within apical cells 2–6, wing margin from wing apex to terminus of cubitus anterior 2, and on distal cubitus anterior 2. Basal membrane of fore wing dark gray. Venation of hind wing green proximally becoming tawny distally except green costa, cubitus anterior, cubitus posterior, and anal vein 1. Anal cell 3 and anal cell 2 along anal vein 3 dark gray, anal cell 1 and 2 along anal vein 2 dark gray as is anterior cubital cell 2 along cubitus posterior vein. Small infuscation on proximal cubital cells 1 and 2. Small infuscation on wing margin, expanding across most of wing margin at apex.

Legs. Legs green striped with tawny. Fore femora with elongated, cylindrical proximal spine angled, green proximally becoming tawny, secondary spine elongated, upright triangle green with castaneous tip and very small, angled, tawny tertiary spine. Distal tibiae and tarsi tawny, tibial spurs and comb tawny at base with castaneous tips. Legs with long golden pile.

Operculum. Male operculum roughly triangular with smoothly rounded posterolateral margin, reaching to middle of sternite II, green with castaneous spot on medial half of base. Medial margin curved, extending to middle of trochanter barely covering tympanal cavity medially. Meracanthus pointed, green with a castaneous base reaching to middle of operculum. Operculum and meracanthus covered with white pubescence and long golden pile radiating from margin and on dorsal surface.

Abdomen. Abdomen greenish tawny. Tergite 2 with transverse green fascia across posterior margin, thin green fascia near posterior margin of lateral tergites 3–6, anterior half of tergite 8 castaneous. Timbal cover incomplete exposing timbal dorsally and laterally, anterior margin of tergite 2 curled posteriorly with black pile in the middle of the posterior timbal cover and silvery pile ventrally, obtuse angle at dorsal base. Timbal with four large and one intercalary ribs, large spot on timbal plate and dark castaneous spot on dorsal apex. Sternites and epipleurites tawny except ochraceous sternite I, castaneous sternite VII, and longitudinal castaneous mark lateral tympanum and castaneous auditory capsule of sternite II, male sternites II–VII translucent, sternite VIII semicircular when viewed from posterior. Epipleurites and lateral sternites with white pubescence. Sternites and epipleurites with sparse, long golden pile.

Genitalia. Male pygofer tawny with curved distal shoulder, dorsal beak arching, with long golden pile dorsally, laterally and radiating from posterior margin. Pygofer basal lobe indistinct, pygofer upper lobes tawny, flattened and elongated with central depression, terminus separated from pygofer with rounded apex. Anal styles tawny with castaneous spot on base with radiating golden pile, anal tube tawny. Median uncus lobes tawny with castaneous spot dorsomedially and curved posterior margin, lateral uncus lobes tawny, wrapping around sides of median uncus lobe and meeting along midline posterior to median uncus lobe, bent at approximate right angle, ventral margin recurved forming a point on lateral terminus, a notch on midline at posterior terminus, basal lateral uncus lobes with transverse posterior margin and extension that form a support around base of aedeagus, tawny with piceous midline and extension. Aedeagus tubular, dark castaneous.

Female is unknown.

Measurements (mm). N = 1 male. Length of body: 20.5; length of fore wing: 26.5; width of fore wing: 8.2; length of head: 2.9; width of head including eyes: 6.4; width of pronotum including suprahumeral plates: 6.9; width of mesonotum: 6.0.

Diagnosis. The characters used to distinguish the genus will also distinguish the only known species. The closest species morphologically is the Panamanian Mura elegantula Distant 1905c . Mura elegantula can be distinguished by its frons being half the length of the vertex rather than being about the length of the vertex, the lateral pronotal margins are adpressed so they are not visible from the dorsal side rather than being visible from the dorsal side, the radial and radiomedial crossveins are parallel, the mediocubital crossvein is perpendicular to cubitus anterior 2 rather than obliquely oriented, the presence of two rather than three spines on the fore femora, the opercula with a smoothly rounded lateral and posterior margin rather than a roughly triangular operculum, and lateral margins of anterior abdominal segments parallel lacking of lateral expansion of the fourth abdominal segment.

Distribution. The species is known only from the type specimen collected in Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Muraoides costaricensis n. gen., n. sp.: A, holotype male habitus; B, holotype male dorsum; C, holotype male timbal cover; D, holotype male operculum. E, holotype male lateral view of genitalia; F, holotype male posterior view of genitalia. Scale bar:A, 2 cm; B, 5 mm; C–D, 2 mm; E–F, 1 mm.