Pravistylus trunculidiscus, Stiller, 2010

Stiller, M., 2010, Revision of the Southern African leafhopper genus Pravistylus (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae) 2468, Zootaxa 2468 (1), pp. 1-81 : 47-48

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.2468.1.1
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EFD356-FFF5-FFFD-6CFF-74BF8F6FD7FC
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Pravistylus trunculidiscus
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Pravistylus trunculidiscus View in CoL sp. n.

( Figs 1 View FIGURE 1 ai; 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 View FIGURE 6 ). 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 View FIGURE 2 ). Aedeagal shaft, in lateral view, U-shaped, base wide, rightangled, apex straight, extending well beyond dorsal apodeme ( Figs 3 z View FIGURE 3 , 4 x View FIGURE 4 ). Style distal part close to base; apophysis digitate, 4–5 ventral teeth ( Fig. 5 j View FIGURE 5 ). Pygofer lobe triangular, about half as wide as width of pygofer ( Fig. 1 View FIGURE 1 ai).

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. 8 View FIGURE 8 bl).

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. 1 View FIGURE 1 ai). Pygofer lobe elongate, acutely triangular, base about half as wide as pygofer ( Fig. 1 View FIGURE 1 ai). 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 View FIGURE 2 ). 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 View FIGURE 3 , 4 x View FIGURE 4 ). 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 View FIGURE 5 ). Connective, in dorsal view, with stem very wide, Y-shaped, about twice as wide as greatest width across arms ( Fig. 6 y View FIGURE 6 ).

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 7 View FIGURE 7 cc & cd, Sterkspruit Nature Reserve specimens), or triangular ( Fig. 7 View FIGURE 7 cb, Sterkspruit Nature Reserve specimen, Fig. 7 View FIGURE 7 ce, Steenkampsberg specimen); usually shallow notch apically, or rarely truncate.

Material examined. Holotype male. 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 km East 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 , Sporobolus sp. , 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 , Sporobolus sp. (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 View FIGURE 2 ), P. exquadratus ( Figs 2 h, i & w View FIGURE 2 ), P. serratus ( Fig. 2 v View FIGURE 2 ), P. caenophallus ( Fig. 2 y View FIGURE 2 ) and P. odontopygeus ( Fig. 2 x View FIGURE 2 ). 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. eductus has the lateral margin of the apex concave and the apex produced laterally. The plate of P. exquadratus is variable ( Figs 2 h, i & w View FIGURE 2 ), but sometimes coincides with the plate of P. trunculidiscus ( Fig. 2 j View FIGURE 2 ). Plate dimensions are as follows: P. exquadratus is 1.2–1.5 times longer than wide, in P. eductus the plate is 1.7–1.9 times longer than wide and in P. trunculidiscus it is 1.5–1.7 times longer than wide.

The aedeagus of P. caenophallus is distinctly different, having a modified shaft and apex ( Fig. 3 View FIGURE 3 ak). The aedeagus of P. odontopygeus has a very thin shaft and most uniformly C-shaped ( Fig. 3 View FIGURE 3 ah), with a ventral tooth on the pygofer lobe ( Fig. 1 y View FIGURE 1 ), and the style with the distal part far from the base ( Fig. 5 x View FIGURE 5 ). The aedeagus of P. eductus has the shaft arising medially from the atrium, is much shorter ( Figs 3 n & o View FIGURE 3 ) and the style has the distal part moderately close to the base ( Figs 5 a & b View FIGURE 5 ). The colouration of P. eductus ( Figs 8 m –q View FIGURE 8 ) is distinctly different from that of P. trunculidiscus ( Fig. 8 View FIGURE 8 bl), 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. exquadratus the sternite 7 has the ligula more rectangular with a deep U-shaped notch or with a stepped notch ( Figs 7 u– w View FIGURE 7 ), whereas P. trunculidiscus has the ligula narrower, longer with a uniform notch ( Figs 7 View FIGURE 7 cd–ce). In P. serratus the ligula is somewhat recessed into the base ( Fig. 7 View FIGURE 7 bz). That of P. caenophallus is probably most similar ( Figs 7 e & f View FIGURE 7 ) to that of P. trunculidiscus ( Figs 7 View FIGURE 7 cd–ce). In P. odontopygeus the ligula is wider, with a deeper and wider notch ( Fig. 7 View FIGURE 7 bl).