Bythonia freytagi, Gaiani, Marco A., 2017

Gaiani, Marco A., 2017, Review of the genus Bythonia Oman 1936 with description of a new species and new record from Venezuela (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Iassinae), Zootaxa 4273 (3), pp. 447-450 : 448-449

Bythonia freytagi sp. nov.

Length of male 6.15 mm.

Body wedge shaped, uniformly reddish-brown ( Figure 1 ). Head, including eyes, distinctly wider than pronotum. Crown, ocello-ocular area, upper margin and vertical median band of frons very dark brown, almost black. Lateral areas of frons, at each side of vertical dark band, lighter, brown stramineous. Forewings evenly translucid brown, with lighter area on base of fourth apical cell extending to approximately half its length. Legs brown. Femoral setal formula 2:1. Body covered by many short sparse yellow hairs, more evident on forewings.

Head. Vertex mostly smooth, with few transverse rugae between ocelli on posterior margin. Frons, clypeus, lora and lower genae with strong transverse irregular rugae ( Figure 2 ). Pronotum with numerous strong transverse striae, except on apical 1/5, which is smooth to faintly microreticulated. Thorax. Scutellum with transverse striations not as strong as on pronotum; with two semicircular anterolateral and two elongated centromedial microreticulated areas ( Figure 1 ).

Male genitalia. Aedeagus ( Figure 4 ) long and slender, produced caudally and then dorsally from base; apex curved ventrally, rounded, weakly sclerotized; with two parallel spiniform processes ( Figure 4 a) strongly adpressed to shaft 2/3 from base. Pygofer ( Figure 3 ) with micro- and macrosetae; macrosetae restricted to posteroventral margin, microsetae well distributed over entire surface; apex truncated; without ventral processes. Genital plates elongated, parallel-sided, separated from each other throughout their length, almost as long as pygofer ( Figure 3 ), truncated at apex, ventral surface with short setae; lateral outer margin with fine setae on basal half, very long setae on apical half ( Figure 7 ). Styles ( Figure 5 ) elongated, longer than genital plates; apical 1/5th laterally expanded into thin flange, ending in sharp point displaced medially from central axis of style, area at base of spine with row of piliform setae ( Figure 5 a). Connective Yshaped, well sclerotized. Seventh sternite roundly concave at middle, with small central convexity ( Figure 6 ).

Female: Unknown.

Type material

Holotype male: Venezuela, Miranda, Parque Nac.[ional] Guatopo, 24 Km Norte Altagracia de Orituco , 640m, 5-9- V-1975. J. Salcedo & R.E. Dietz ( MIZA).

Diagnosis. This species can be distinguished from all other species of Bythonia by the presence of the paired adpressed subapical aedeagal processes ( Fig. 4 a), the shape of sternite VII ( Fig. 6 ), and the head, including eyes, distinctly wider than the pronotum ( Fig. 1 ).

Etymology. I take great pleasure in naming this species after my mentor in leafhopper systematics, retired professor Dr. Paul Freytag of the University of Kentucky.

Discussion. Based on the few specimens at hand and the published descriptions it seems that there are two species groups in Bythonia that eventually might be considered subgenera. The “ Rugosa ” species group is characterized by aedeagi with lateral or ventral spine-like processes on the apical 1/4th of the shaft and with the shaft apex curved caudally; species included are B. rugosa , B. consensa , B. ferruginea and B. freytagi sp. nov. The “ Kalypso ” species group contains only B. kalypso and is characterized by the lack of ventral/lateral spine-like processes on the aedeagus and by the shaft apex curved mesally. Unfortunately, the type of B. kalypso is apparently lost and to the extent of my knowledge no other specimens have been collected. Therefore, it is very difficult to assess the relationship of B. kalypso with the other species of the genus.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 7. Bythonia freytagi sp. n. Holotype. 1) Dorsal habitus, 2) Head ventral view, 3) Pygofer lateral view, 4) Aedeagus lateral view, 4 a) Aedeagus, detail of the sub-apical processes, 5) Right style, ventral view, 5 a) Right style apex, dorsal view 6) VII sternite, 7) Left sub-genital plate, ventral view.