Pravistylus dentidiscus, Stiller, 2010

Stiller, M., 2010, Revision of the Southern African leafhopper genus Pravistylus (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae) 2468, Zootaxa 2468 (1), pp. 1-81 : 15-16

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.2468.1.1
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10537695
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EFD356-FFD5-FFDD-6CFF-76958E14D659
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Pravistylus dentidiscus
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Pravistylus dentidiscus View in CoL sp. n.

( Figs 1 f & g View FIGURE 1 ; 2 View FIGURE 2 ai & aj; 3 x; 4 v; 5 o & p; 6 w; 7 j–l; 8 h–j)

Diagnosis. Plates very short, 0.8–0.9 times as long as wide; medial margins, at their apices, forming a Ushaped notch; short triangular or digitate tooth ( Figs 2 View FIGURE 2 ai & aj, 8 i). Style distal part far from base; dorsal apophysis short, about as long as width across preapical lobe ( Figs 5 o & p View FIGURE 5 ). Female sternite 7 posterior margin notch wide, deep, about half as wide as sternite, with acute points on either side ( Figs 7 j–l View FIGURE 7 ).

Etymology. Latin, compound word with tooth (dentis) and plate (discus), for the apical tooth on the subgenital plate.

Male and female. Ochraceous. Vertex commonly with 2–3 paired dark brown markings: usually narrow, longitudinal bars near apex; rectangular to irregular markings slightly more posteriad, near ocelli; third pair sometimes absent, near compound eye, at margin next to pronotum. Tegmina with brown marking in inner anteapical cell ( Figs 8 h & j View FIGURE 8 ). Sometimes with all cells in tegmina embrowned. Hind wing very small.

Male. Dimensions. (n = 49) Length: apex of vertex to apex of tegmina 2.5–2.7 mm; apex of vertex to apex of abdomen 2.3–2.7 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 28.0 µm; ocellocular distance 25.5–37.3 µm.

Genital capsule. Pygofer, in lateral view, short, greatest length 0.8–0.9 times as long as greatest width; ventral posterior margin slightly bulbous; dorsal posterior margin broadly rounded, lobate subapically ( Figs 1 f & g View FIGURE 1 ). Pygofer lobe small, triangular, subapical. Plate short, 0.8–0.9 times as long as wide; broadly triangular, distal medial margins curved gradually or more abruptly laterally, forming U-shaped notch; posterior rounded apex produced into median, digitate or acute sclerotized tooth, sometimes curved or angled dorsally; about 4 macrosetae near apex of plate ( Figs 2 View FIGURE 2 ai & aj, 8 i, male, abdomen apex, ventrally); plate 0.8–1.0 times as long as wide. Aedeagus, in lateral view, with shaft arising ventrally from atrium; preatrium reduced; base of shaft basally C-shaped, apical third straight; gonopore lateral, elongate, at apical third of shaft ( Figs 3 x View FIGURE 3 , 4 v View FIGURE 4 ). Style, distal part far from anterior medial lobe; preapical lobe short ( Fig. 5 p View FIGURE 5 , Elim specimen); sometimes apophysis reduced ( Fig. 5 o View FIGURE 5 , Giant’s Castle specimen). Connective, dorsal view, as in Fig. 6 w View FIGURE 6 ; lateral view, straight.

Female. Dimensions. (n = 43) Length: apex of vertex to apex of tegmina 2.6–2.7 mm; apex of vertex to apex of abdomen 2.8–3.0 mm; vertex medially 0.4–0.5 mm; vertex next to eye 0.3–0.6 mm; pronotum medially 0.3 mm. Width: head 0.9 mm; pronotum 0.8 mm. Ocellar diameter 26.5–29.5 µm; ocellocular distance 28.5–43.2 µm.

Genitalia. Sternite 7 hind margin with large, deep, rounded notch, flanked by long, sharp points; notch about half as wide as width of sternite ( Fig. 7 j View FIGURE 7 , specimen from Giant’s Castle, Fig. 7 k View FIGURE 7 , Meander Hut; Fig. 7 l View FIGURE 7 , Pumula Farm).

Material examined. Holotype male. South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal. Pumula Farm near Champagne Castle Hotel, 29°02ʹS, 29°26ʹE, 16.x.2000, M. Stiller, sweeping, unburned, moribund grass ( SANC). Paratypes. 102♂, 96♀, 8 nymphs. Eastern Cape. 1♂, Qachasnek, site no. 31, 30°10ʹS, 28°35ʹE, 1717 m, 29.xi.2005, MDTP survey, sweeping, MDTP 71052. KwaZulu-Natal. 1♂, 1♀, Contour path, Monk’s Cowl Nature Reserve, 29°05ʹS, 29°22ʹE, 1800 m, 25.ii.1995; 3♂, 3♀, Mike’s Pass, 28°58ʹS, 29°14ʹE, 1900 m, 8.xi.1999, sweeping, grass regrowth after burn; 2♂, 3♀, Champagne Castle Hotel vicinity, 29°04ʹS, 29°25ʹE, 16.x.2000, sweeping, unburned, moribund grass; 10♂, 12♀, same data as holotype; all M. Stiller; 6♂, Mike’s Pass, 28°58ʹS, 29°14ʹE, 1900 m, 16.iv.2002, DVac, moribund grass and forbs, 10h00; 7♂, 9♀, 6 nymphs, Mike’s Pass, Cathedral Peak Nature Reserve, 28°58ʹS, 29°14ʹE, 1900–2100 m, 16.iv.2002, DVac, unburned grass outside firebreak DVac, grass in moist, shaded NW slope; 4♂, 5♀, 2 nymphs, Meander Hut, next to road near wetland, 29°16ʹS, 29°32ʹE, 2100 m, 18.iv.2002, DVac, older grassland beyond firebreak; 6♂, 4♀, Meander Hut road, wetland, 29°15ʹS, 29°32ʹE, 2016 m, 18.iv.2002, DVac, longer grass, more diverse than in grassland beyond firebreak; 6♂, 12♀, Giant’s Castle, Nature Reserve 2 km outside entrance gate, 29°15ʹS, 29°31ʹE, 1850 m, 19.iv.2002, DVac, above road; 9♂, 13♀, Highmoor Forestry Station, 29°20ʹS, 29°36ʹE, 2233 m, 19.iv.2002, DVac, common grasses: Koeleria capensis , Microchloa caffra , Tristachya leucothrix , ( Poaceae ) and Aristea sp. (Iridaceae) ; 8♂, 7♀, Highmoor Forestry Station, 29°19ʹS, 29°37ʹE, 2200 m, 19.iv.2002, DVac, in grassland with 2 year burn cycle & in grassland on road beyond camp site; all M. Stiller, E. Breytenbach; 1♀, Champagne Castle Hotel vicinity, 29°04ʹS, 29°25ʹE, 16.xi.2002; 1♂, Sterkspruit River valley, Monk’s Cowl Nature Reserve, 29°02ʹS, 29°24ʹE, 1400 m, 3.i.2004, sweeping, regrowth after fire in winter or spring 2003; 2♂, 2♀, Arthur’s Seat mountain, 28°54ʹS, 29°26ʹE, 1583 m, 27.xii.2004, sweeping; all M. Stiller; 1♀, Giant’s Castle, acc. Leaf31, 29°13ʹS, 29°31ʹE, 15.iii.2002, W. Bullock, sweeping; 1♂, 1♀, Giant’s Castle, acc. Sp2leaf19, 29°13ʹS, 29°31ʹE, 4.ix.2002, W. Bullock, sweeping; 1♀, Giant’s Castle, acc. sp3leaf5, 29°12ʹS, 29°31ʹE, 13.xi.2002, W. Bullock, sweeping; 6♂, 3♀, road between Kwa Dlamini and White Mountain Resort, 29°08ʹS, 29°36ʹE, 1532 m, 26.xii.2004, M. Stiller, sweeping; 3♂, 3♀, Cathedral Peak, site no. 21, 28°58ʹS, 29°14ʹE, 1900 m, 17.xi.2005, MDTP survey, sweeping, MDTP 93095; 1♂, 2♀, Cathedral Peak, site no. 26, 28°01ʹS, 29°15ʹE, 1907 m, 19.xi.2005, MDTP survey, sweeping, MDTP 7233; 1♂, Cathedral Peak, site no.25, 28°58ʹS, 29°15ʹE, 1910 m, 19.xi.2005, MDTP survey, sweeping, MDTP 71565; 1♂, 1♀, between Breakfast Stream and base of Sterkhorn, Monk’s Cowl Nature Reserve, 29°31ʹS, 29°32ʹE, 2008 m, 9.i.2007, sweeping, Festuca and other species; 9♂, 5♀, Breakfast Stream, 29°03ʹS, 29°23ʹE, 1965 m, 9.i.2007, sweeping; 1♀, base of Gatberg, Monk’s Cowl Nature Reserve, 29°02ʹS, 29°20ʹE, 2300 m, 9.i.2007, sweeping; Festuca sp. , 2♂, 2♀, Hlathikulu Neck, on contour path, Monk’s Cowl Nature Reserve, 29°04ʹS, 29°21ʹE, 1920 m, 9.i.2007, sweeping; Festuca sp. , 11♂, 4♀, Hlathikulu Neck, Monk’s Cowl Nature Reserve, 29°02ʹS, 29°21ʹE, 2038 m, 9.i.2007, sweeping; all M. Stiller. Western Cape. 2♂, road between Elim and Bredasdorp, 34°32ʹS, 19°47ʹE, 100 m, 1.iv.2001, M. Stiller, sweeping, Ischyrolepis sp. and Chondropetalum microcarpum (Restionaceae) in wetland grazed and trampled by cattle ( BMNH, INHS, SANC).

Remarks. Most specimens are remarkably uniform ( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 ai, specimen from KwaZulu Natal Province; Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 aj, specimen from Western Cape Province), except for the orientation of the posterior process of the plate, that may be orientated posteriorly or dorsally at 45º. The pygofer lobe is somewhat variable, large as in Fig. 1 f View FIGURE 1 (KwaZulu-Natal Province) or reduced as in Fig. 1 g View FIGURE 1 (Western Cape Province). The wide notch of the female sternite 7 is unique in this species, showing little variation and without any specimens depicting damage ( Fig. 7 j View FIGURE 7 , Giant’s Castle, Fig. 7 k View FIGURE 7 , Meander Hut, Fig. 7 l View FIGURE 7 , Pumula Farm). Parasitized specimens have a Y-shaped connective, without any other significant deformities (out of 23 dissected males, two specimens showed signs of parasitism). The specimen illustrated here with the reduced dorsal apodeme of the style ( Fig. 5 o View FIGURE 5 ) is not parasitized, or at least has the normal connective.