Sophonia vidarvya, Meshram, Naresh M., 2017

Meshram, Naresh M., 2017, Review of the genus Sophonia (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) with three new species from India, Zootaxa 4243 (3), pp. 577-588 : 587

Sophonia vidarvya sp. nov.

(Figs. 15, 30, 45,60–66)

Yellow. Area near ocelli and below anterior margin of pronotum golden yellow, compound eyes offwhite. Forewing pale yellow, costal margin with anterior, oblique and two posterior, transverse, black fasciae; second apical cell with black spot (Figs. 15, 30 & 45).

Head angularly produced. Anteclypeus not exceeding facial margin ( Fig. 45 ). Ocelli near lateral margins of vertex, distance between eye and ocellus 3x diameter of ocellus. Vertex broadly concave and with irregular sculpturing anteriorly. Scutellum 0.8x as long as pronotum. Pronotum 0.65x longer than broad and 0.8X longer than vertex ( Fig. 45 ).

Male genitalia. Pygofer with several macrosetae in posterior half, with caudodorsal angle roundly produced, below which long, slender process arises, directed caudally, upcurved at right angle at midlength, apex slightly hooked, with spinelike branch at base ( Fig. 60–61 ). Subgenital plate broader medially than at apex and base with median row of six stout macrosetae ( Fig. 66 ). Style slender, preapical lobe robust, apophysis slender, apex short, beaklike ( Fig. 62 ). Connective Y-shaped with stem 2.3x as long as arms, apex expanded ( Fig. 63 ). Aedeagus dorsal apodomes with two arms well separated, winglike in middle, each arm with dorsomedianprocesses curved caudally, caudal processdirected anteriorly and in contact with dorsomedian process, caudoventral processes crossing midline caudad of shaft;shaft strongly curved anteriorly, apex flared with two dorsally directed recurved processes ( Figs. 64–65 ).

Measurements. Male 4.3mm long, 0.9 mm wide across eyes, 0.66 mm wide across hind margin of pronotum.

Type material. Holotype ♂, INDIA: Meghalaya: Barapni (25° 39′11.52″ N, 91°53′ 3.48 E, 813 M), 01.vi.2012, Mercury vapour lamp, Naresh Meshram Coll . Paratypes 3♂ same data as Holotype ( NPC) .

Etymology. The species name (Sanskrit: vidarvya meaning hoodless) alludes to the aedeagal shaft lacking a hoodlike expansion anteriorly.

Remarks. Sophonia vidarvya sp. nov. resembles S. complicata Viraktamath & Wesley (Figs. 5, 20, & 35), but can be distinguished by the shape of the aedeagus (features of S. complicata in parentheses): shaft apex with lateral processes acuminate in posterior view, curved strongly ventrad in lateral view (shaft apical processes rounded in posterior view, straight in lateral view).

Figures

FIGURES 31 – 45. Head & pronotum Sophonia species 31. S. bakeri Viraktamath & Wesley; 32. S. bifida Viraktamath & Wesley; 33. S. chandrai Meshram & Ramamurthy; 34. S. complexa Viraktamath & Wesley; 35. S. complicata Viraktamath & Wesley; 36. S. illuminata (Distant); 37. S. insignis Distant 38. S. intricata sp. nov.; 39. S. keralica Viraktamath & Wesley; 40. S. linealis (Distant); 41. S. longicephala (Ahmed & Mahmood); 42. S. longitudinalis (Distant); 43. S. modesta (Distant); 44. S. tridenta sp. nov.; 45. S. vidarvya sp. nov.

FIGURES 60 – 66. Male Sophonia vidarvya sp. nov. 60. Male genitalia; 61. Pygofer process; 62. Style; 63. Connective; 64, 65. Aedeagus, lateral & caudal view; 66. Subgenital plate.