Vartini, Zahniser & Dietrich, 2013

Zahniser, James N. & Dietrich, Chris H., 2013, A review of the tribes of Deltocephalinae (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae), European Journal of Taxonomy 45, pp. 1-211 : 174-177

Vartini tribe nov.

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Fig. 56

Type genus: Varta Distant, 1908 .

Diagnosis

Vartini are medium sized to large, somewhat elongate, usually greenish or bluish leafhoppers, usually with red or orange longitudinal stripes. They can be identified by the produced and pointed head, gena visible behind the eye in dorsal view, elongate frontoclypeus, lorum distant from genal margin, profemur intercalary row setae thick and extending to or beyond middle of profemur, forewings truncate apically, apodemes of male sternite II long, subrectangular, flared apically, and pointed posterolaterally,

connective with anterior arms appressed, and male segment X tube-like and protruding from pygofer and often well-sclerotized.

Description

HEAD. Head narrower than pronotum; acutely or bluntly produced. Discal portion of crown glabrous with radial or longitudinal striae. Anterior margin of head foliaceous or acutely angled with several transverse striae or carinae. Frontoclypeus very long, narrow; texture shagreen; sometimes with median longitudinal carina anterodorsally. Clypellus parallel-sided or widening apically; apex following or slightly surpassing normal curve of gena. Lorum distinctly narrower than clypellus near base; very wellseparated from genal margin.Antennal bases near middle, posteroventral (lower) corners, or anterodorsal (upper) corners of eyes. Antennae long, 1.5 x width of head or more. Gena not incised, slightly incised, or sinuate laterally; visible behind eye in dorsal view; with fine erect seta beside laterofrontal suture. Antennal ledges absent. Ocelli present; close to eyes; on anterior margin of head.

THORAX. Pronotum lateral margin carinate; lateral margin shorter than basal width of eye.

WINGS. Forewing macropterous; truncate apically; appendix absent, reduced, or present and restricted to anal margin; with 3 anteapical cells; veins sometimes obscure; veins not raised; without reflexed costal veins; A1-A2 crossvein absent; apical venation not highly reticulate.

LEGS. Setal bases often darkly colored. Profemur with AM1 seta only; intercalary row setae relatively large and thick, extending to or past middle of profemur; row AV with short, stout setae. Protibia dorsal surface rounded, convex; row AD with 1 apical macrosetae; row PD with 5 to 9 macrosetae. Metafemur apex macrosetae 2+2+1. Metatarsomere I not expanded apically; plantar setae simple, tapered.

MALE GENITALIA. Apodemes of sternite II long, subrectangular, flared apically, pointed posterolaterally. Valve articulated with pygofer; lateral margin short, articulating with pygofer at a point. Pygofer basolateral membranous cleft present or absent; macrosetae absent or reduced or present, well differentiated into several rows. Subgenital plates free from each other or fused or partially fused to each other or to valve; often with many scattered macrosetae, or with one to several rows of macrosetae near lateral margin. Style broadly bilobed basally; median anterior lobe pronounced. Basal processes of the aedeagus/connective absent or present, if present then fused to connective or aedeagus. Aedeagus with single shaft and gonopore. Connective anterior arms closely appressed anteriorly, or rarely slightly separated; stem absent or present; articulated with or fused to aedeagus. Segment X tube-like; protruding from pygofer; sometimes with ventral processes.

FEMALE GENITALIA. Pygofer with numerous macrosetae. Ovipositor protruding or not protruding far beyond pygofer apex. First valvula convex; dorsal sculpturing pattern strigate to reticulate; sculpturing reaching dorsal margin; without distinctly delimited ventroapical sculpturing. Second valvula broad, gradually tapered or slightly expanded subapically; without dorsal median tooth; teeth on apical 1/4 to 1/3 or more; teeth small to medium sized, regularly or irregularly shaped.

Geography and ecology

Distribution: Afrotropical, Palearctic, and Oriental regions. Linnavuori (1978b) reported Stymphalus Stål, 1866 “on sedges and grasses in moist locations”.

Remarks

Vartini includes 7 genera and 23 species. The tribe is newly described here to include seven genera previously placed in Scaphytopiini . The only diagnostic characters that Vartini share with Scaphytopius are the produced head and very broad gena visible behind the eyes in dorsal view. These two characters tend to co-occur in many deltocephalines that are not related to one another. None of the genera previously included in Scaphytopiini that were sampled in phylogenetic analyses here ( Scaphytopius , Nesothamnus , Japananus , Stymphalus ) were found to be closely related to one another. Thus, the aforementioned characters appear to be convergent and not appropriate for sole use in defining tribes of Deltocephalinae . The Vartini are separated from Scaphytopiini here and, based on the number and uniqueness of the characters defining the group, appear to form a monophyletic group. Three characters supporting the group are newly reported here: profemur intercalary row setae relatively thick and extending to or basad of midlength of femur; apodemes of male sternite II long, subrectangular, flared apically, and pointed posterolaterally; male segment X tube-like and protruding from pygofer, often well-sclerotized. Viraktamath (2004) revised the group and several new species have been described since.

Stymphalus was resolved near some Mukariini ( Mukaria and Scaphotettix ) and sister to an undescribed genus from Thailand which does not share the diagnostic characters of the tribe listed above. More data are needed to resolve its relationship to other tribes of Deltocephalinae .

Selected references

Linnavuori (1978b), Viraktamath & Anantha Murthy (1999), Viraktamath (2004).

Included genera:

Curvimonus Viraktamath & Anantha Murthy, 1999 placement nov. (transferred from Scaphytopiini )

Shivania Viraktamath, 2004 placement nov. (transferred from Scaphytopiini )

Stymphalus Stål, 1866 placement nov. (transferred from Scaphytopiini )

Varta Distant, 1908 placement nov. (transferred from Scaphytopiini )

Vartalapa Viraktamath, 2004 placement nov. (transferred from Scaphytopiini )

Vartatopa Viraktamath, 2004 placement nov. (transferred from Scaphytopiini )

Xenovarta Viraktamath, 2004 placement nov. (transferred from Scaphytopiini )

Figures

Fig. 56. Vartini. A–C. Vartalapa robusta Viraktamath, 2004. D–K. Varta rubrofasciata Distant, 1908. A–I. Standard views (see Material & Methods). J. Ventral view of base of ♂ abdomen showing long apodemes of sternite II (sternite I obscure). K. Ventral view of ♂ pygofer.