Melanastera cinerascentis, Serbina & Malenovský & Queiroz & Burckhardt, 2025

Serbina, Liliya Š., Malenovský, Igor, Queiroz, Dalva L. & Burckhardt, Daniel, 2025, Jumping plant-lice of the tribe Paurocephalini (Hemiptera: Psylloidea: Liviidae) in Brazil, Zootaxa 5585 (1), pp. 1-164 : 111-112

57 Melanastera cinerascentis sp. nov.

( Figs 13F , 20B , 35A–F )

Type material. Holotype ♂: Brazil: PARANÁ: Antonina, Usina Parigot de Souza , S25.2438, W48.7511, 30 m, 17‒20.vii.2017, Miconia cinerascens (D. Burckhardt & D.L. Queiroz) #248(5) ( UFPR; dry).

Paratypes. Brazil: PARANÁ: 2 ♂, 2 ♀, 18 immatures, 4 skins, same as holotype but ( NHMB; slide, 70% ethanol; NMB-PSYLL0007848, NMB-PSYLL0007857 [LSMelcin-26], NMB-PSYLL0007854 [LSMelcin-26], NMB-PSYLL0007855 [LSMelcin-26], NMB-PSYLL0007856 [LSMelcin-26], NMB-PSYLL0007861 [LSMelcin- 26], NMB-PSYLL0007862 [LSMelcin-26], NMB-PSYLL0007863 [LSMelcin-26], NMB-PSYLL0008204) .

Material not included in type series. Brazil: MINAS GERAIS: 1 immature, 2 skins, Lavras, near Lavras, Quedas do Rio Bonito , Parque Ecológico , BR- 354 km 9, S21.3294, W44.9690, 1000 m, 19.vi.2010, Miconia pepericarpa , riverine forest (D. Burckhardt) #10(1) ( NHMB; slide, 70% ethanol; NMB-PSYLL0007830, NMB-PSYLL0007864 [LSMelcin-110]) .

Description. Adult. Coloration. Orange; head and abdomen with dark brown dots. Antenna yellow, scape and pedicel pale brown, segments 4–8 with brown apices, segments 9–10 entirely brown. Mesopraescutum with pale brown patches at fore margin; mesoscutum with four broad orange longitudinal stripes margined by brown dots and several median rows of brown dots. Forewing ( Fig. 20B ) yellow with moderately dense, irregular brown dots; apices of pterostigma and Rs, M 1+2, M 3+4, Cu 1a and Cu 1b dark brown. Femora with dark patches.

Structure. Forewing ( Fig. 20B ) oval, widest in the middle, broadly, slightly unevenly rounded; wing apex situated in cell r 2 near apex of M 1+2; C+Sc weakly curved in distal third; pterostigma distinctly narrower than r 1 cell in the middle, weakly widening to the middle; Rs weakly convex in basal two thirds, moderately strongly curved to fore margin apically; Cu 1a unevenly convex, ending at M fork; surface spinules present in all cells, forming hexagons of a single row of spinules, spinules leaving narrow spinule-free stripes along the veins, absent from basal half of cell c+sc. Hindwing with 7–10 ungrouped costal setae. Metatibia bearing 9–11 grouped apical spurs, arranged as 4 + (5–7), anteriorly separated by 4 bristles.

Terminalia ( Fig. 35A–F ). Male. Proctiger weakly produced posteriorly; densely covered with long setae in apical two thirds. Subgenital plate irregularly ovoid; dorsal margin curved in apical third; posterior margin weakly convex; with moderately long setae. Paramere, in lateral view, irregularly lanceolate; apex, in lateral view, blunt, directed slightly anteriad, in dorsal view, apex blunt, directed upwards, slightly inwards and slightly anteriad, lacking distinct sclerotised tooth; both outer and inner faces with dense, moderately long setae; posterior margin with slightly longer setae. Proximal segment of aedeagus with apical part strongly subdivided. Distal segment of aedeagus thick basally, with dorsal margin weakly sinuate in basal half; ventral process situated slightly proximal to the middle of segment, in lateral view, ventral process relatively robust and long, expanded laterally and with apical lobe directed ventrad; in dorsal view, ventral process lanceolate, distinctly broader than apical dilation, apex incised dorsally and produced into a broadly tubular lobe directed ventrad; apical dilation tubular, long, in lateral view, slightly widening towards rounded apex, in dorsal view, apical dilation widest medially; sclerotised end tube moderately long and almost straight.—Female terminalia cuneate; densely covered with setae. Dorsal margin of proctiger, in lateral view, weakly, irregularly concave, apex pointed, upturned; in dorsal view, apex blunt; circumanal ring, in dorsal view, distinctly cruciform. Subgenital plate, in lateral view, pointed apically; in ventral view, apex blunt.

Fifth instar immature. Coloration. Brown; antenna gradually becoming darker towards apex; cephalothoracic sclerite, wing pads, legs and caudal plate dark brown.

Structure. Eye with one short simple ocular seta dorsally.Antennal segments with following numbers of pointed sectasetae: 1(0), 2(1-2), 3(0-1), 4(2), 5(0), 6(2), 7(1), 8(1), 9(0), 10(0). Forewing pad with 4–5 marginal and one dorsal pointed sectasetae; hindwing pad with two marginal and 0–1 dorsal pointed sectasetae. Tarsal arolium broadly fan-shaped apically, slightly longer than claws or about as long Abdomen with 2–3 pointed sectasetae laterally anterior to caudal plate. Caudal plate with anterior margin close to anterior margin of extra pore fields; with 4–5 pointed sectasetae on either side laterally, and three pointed sectasetae subapically, on either side of circumanal ring dorsally. Extra pore fields forming continuous outer and inner bands, consisting of small oval patches; outer band long medially, end pointing outwards. Circumanal ring small.

Host plants. Miconia cinerascens Wurdack , M. pepericarpa Mart. ex DC. ( Melastomataceae ).

Distribution. Brazil (MG, PR).

Derivation of name. Named after its host, M. cinerascens .

Comments. Melanastera cinerascentis sp. nov. shares with M. cannabinae sp. nov, M. minutiflorae sp. nov., M. prasinae sp. nov., M. smithi (Burckhardt, Morais & Picanço) and M. trianae sp. nov. the lanceolate paramere and the thick, short basal portion of the distal aedeagal segment. The species can be identified based on the morphological characters provided in the keys.

As the sample DB#10(1) contains only a single immature and skins which were collected on M. pepericarpa rather than M. cinerascens , it is not included in the type series. The uncorrected p-distance between DB-DLQ#248(5) (type material) and DB#10(1) is 2.41% for COI and 3.97% for cytb (poor quality). As the immatures from the two samples are morphologically similar, they are referred here to the same species.

Figures

FIGURE 13. Melanastera spp., head, dorsal view. A, M. atlantica sp. nov.; B, M. stanopekari sp. nov; C, M. sellowianae sp. nov.; D, M. simillima sp. nov.; E, M. trianae sp. nov.; F, M. cinerascentis sp. nov.; G, M. minutiflorae sp. nov.; H, M. cannabinae sp. nov.; I, M. prasinae sp. nov.; J, M. smithi (Burckhardt, Morais & Picanço); K, M. granulosi sp. nov.; L, M. sebiferae sp. nov.

FIGURE 20. Melanastera spp., forewing. A, M. trianae sp. nov.; B, M. cinerascentis sp. nov.; C, M. minutiflorae sp. nov.; D, M. cannabinae sp. nov.; E, M. prasinae sp. nov.; F, M. smithi (Burckhardt, Morais & Picanço); G, M. granulosi sp. nov.; H, M. sebiferae sp. nov. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

FIGURE 35. Melanastera cinerascentis sp. nov. A, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; B, paramere, inner face, lateral view; C, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; D, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; E, paramere, dorsal view; F, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. minutiflorae sp. nov. G, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; H, paramere, inner face, lateral view; I, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; J, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; K, paramere, dorsal view; L, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. cannabinae sp. nov. M, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; N, paramere, inner face, lateral view; O, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; P, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; Q, paramere, dorsal view; R, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. prasinae sp. nov. S, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; T, paramere, inner face, lateral view; U, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; V, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; W, paramere, dorsal view; X, ♀ terminalia, lateral view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.