Myotrioza flindersiana Taylor

Taylor, Gary S., Fagan-Jeffries, Erinn P. & Austin, Andy D., 2016, A new genus and twenty new species of Australian jumping plant-lice (Psylloidea: Triozidae) from Eremophila and Myoporum (Scrophulariaceae: Myoporeae), Zootaxa 4073 (1), pp. 1-84 : 41-43

Myotrioza flindersiana Taylor , sp. nov.

( Figs 55–62 , 81–82 , 88 ; Tables 1–8 )

Types. AUSTRALIA, South Australia: Holotype: 1 ♂ (slide) Flinders Ranges, Wirreanda Creek, 32º05.898'S, 138º17.802'E, G.S. Taylor, 3.iv.2011, swept Myoporum platycarpum 2011 0 68 (FR3) ( SAM). Paratypes: 2 ♀ (slide) same data as holotype ( SAM, WINC). Other material examined. South Australia: 2 ♀ (slide) Witchelina Station Reserve, 30º03.39'S, 137º58.24'E, G.S. Taylor, 20.x.2010, swept Eremophila freelingii, 2010 0 19 (W10) ( SAM); 1 ♂ (slide) Flinders Ranges, Parachilna Gorge, 31º07.546'S, 138º30.542'E, G.S. Taylor, 6.iv.2011, swept Eremophila freelingii, 2011 0 92 (FR25) ( WINC); 1♀ (slide) Flinders Ranges, Parachilna Road, 31º07.771'S, 138º29.180'E, R. Kittel, 6.iv.2011, swept creek vegetation ( WINC).

Description. Adult ( Figs 55–58 ). Colouration. Male: [specimens in ethanol] Yellow-brown with dark brown to black markings: vertex dark brown; eyes reddish; antennal segments 8–10 dark brown; pronotum, mesopraescutum and mesoscutum dark brown, pale yellow-brown laterally; fore and hind wings with brownish infuscation; fore wing veins equally pigmented brown; legs very pale yellow; abdominal tergites 1–5 pale brown each with a pale medial marking on posterior margin; sternites brown, pale yellow laterally and with pale suffused stripe medially; proctiger, subgenital plate and parameres dark brown. [Male from ‘Other material examined’ slightly paler, proctiger pale yellow dorsoapically, parameres brown basally, paler apically and subgenital plate brown with pale yellow posterior margin]. Female: as for male except paler, yellow-brown with brown to orangemarkings; vertex pale yellow-brown with brown medial marking in vicinity of fovea and dark anterior transverse marking; pronotum pale; mesopraescutum with a pair of brown longitudinal markings; mesoscutum with 2 pairs brown longitudinal markings, lateral pair distinctly orange-brown; mesoscutellum dark brown; abdominal tergites dark brown with a pale yellow medial marking and a pair of pale yellow submedial markings; sternites pale yellowbrown with submedial brown markings; proctiger pale yellow-brown with brown marking anteriorly and laterally, with apex dark brown; hooked setae tipped dark brown to black; subgenital plate pale yellow-brown with brown infuscation apically and apex brown. [Females from ‘Other material examined’ slightly paler, with markings on head and thorax distinctly orange-brown and markings on abdomen less extensive lighter brown].

Structure. Measurements as in Tables 4–8 . Body short, compact ( Figs 55–58 ). Head ( Figs 59–60 ); vertex with moderate medial suture, moderately sunk in vicinity of fovea; genal processes short, 0.36–0.44 times as long as vertex; antenna short, 0.79–0.82 times width of head, with a single subapical rhinarium on each of segments 4, 6, 8 and 9; segment 10 with a long bluntly rounded seta and a short bluntly rounded seta. Fore wing ( Figs 61–62 ) 3.82– 4.64 times as long as head width, 2.49–2.84 times as long as wide, short, broad with slightly pointed apex; vein Rs evenly curved to costa, terminating well short of wing apex, considerably shorter than vein M, RsM: 0.78–0.84; medial cell smaller than cubital cell; veins M1+2 and M3+4 short, broadly diverging with corresponding low m1 cell value: 1.00–1.20; veins Cu1a short, arched and Cu1b short, each widely divergent with corresponding low cu1 cell value: 1.15–1.31; metatibia 0.93–1.08 times as long as width of head, longer than metafemur, without sclerotised apical spurs. Male terminalia ( Figs 81–82 ); proctiger conoid, without expanded lateral lobes; subgenital plate broadly rounded; parameres ( Fig. 82 ) short, narrow, blade-like, evenly tapering to incurved sclerotised apices; distal portion of aedeagus moderate in length, with asymmetrical apical expansion ( Fig. 81 ). Female terminalia ( Fig. 88 ): proctiger short, triangular, posterior margin flat from lateral aspect and with weakly sclerotised apex; subgenital plate, triangular with tapering, weakly sclerotised apex; distal portion of proctiger with long pale setae and dense brush of hooked setae; subgenital plate with sparse long setae.

Comments. Myotrioza flindersiana sp. nov. can be distinguished by the following unique combination of characters: habitus as in Figs 55–58 , antenna with normal arrangement of rhinaria, fore wing broad with rounded apex, Rs considerably shorter than vein M ( Figs 61–62 ), female proctiger with dense field of hooked setae, flat profile without terminal upward inflection, valvula ventralis curved, ventral profile of female subgenital plate convex ( Fig. 88 ), male proctiger conoid, aedeagus thin, elongate, paramere triangular with sharply pointed apex ( Figs 81–82 ). For diagnosis from closely related species, see Comments for M. darwinensis sp. nov.

Etymology. Named after the Flinders Ranges, South Australia.

Host-plant association and distribution. ( Tables 2–3). Myotrioza flindersiana sp. nov. is recorded from Myoporum platycarpum and Eremophila freelingii F.Muell. from several localities in the Flinders Ranges and nearby Witchelina Station in eremean South Australia. It is one of 10 species of Myotrioza gen. nov. and 24 species of Triozidae recorded for South Australia. It is considered endemic to that state, although it is likely to occupy a broad distribution given that its hosts are widely distributed in eremean southern and central Australia. It is the only species of Myotrioza gen. nov. from E. freelingii and one of 4 species, namely M. clementsiana sp. nov., M. flindersiana sp. nov., M. myopori sp. nov. and M. platycarpi sp. nov. from M. platycarpum . For distribution of M. platycarpum , refer to M. clementsiana sp. nov. Eremophila freelingii is a shrub 0.8–1.5 m high. It is common in mulga woodlands or mixed shrublands on rocky hills, hard gibber plains and stoney flats, often along drainage courses in northern South Australia, southern Northern Territory, south-western Queensland and north-western New South Wales ( Chinnock 2007).

Figures

FIGURES 55 – 62. Myotrioza flindersiana, sp. nov. (55), habitus, male, (dorsal aspect); (56), habitus, female (dorsal aspect); (57), habitus, male (lateral aspect); (58), habitus, female (lateral aspect); (59), head, male (dorsal aspect, from slide); (60), head, female (dorsal aspect); (61), fore wing, male (from slide); (62), fore wing, female. Scale = 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 79 – 86. Figs 79 – 80: Myotrioza eremophili, sp. nov. (79), male terminalia (lateral aspect); (80), paramere (inner face, lateral aspect); Figs 81 – 82: M. flindersiana, sp. nov. (81), male terminalia (lateral aspect); (82), paramere (inner face, lateral aspect); Figs 83 – 84: M. gawlerensis, sp. nov. (83), male terminalia (lateral aspect); (84), paramere (inner face, lateral aspect); Figs 85 – 86: M. insularis, sp. nov. (85), male terminalia (lateral aspect); (86), paramere (inner face, lateral aspect). Scale = 0.2 mm for male terminalia, 0.1 mm for parameres.

FIGURES 87 – 90. Female terminalia (87), Myotrioza eremophili, sp. nov.; (88), M. flindersiana, sp. nov.; (89), M. gawlerensis, sp. nov.; (90), M. insularis, sp. nov. Scale = 0.5 mm (all at same scale).