Apollo, Holzinger & Löcker, 2023

Holzinger, Werner E. & Löcker, Birgit, 2023, First record of the tribe Oecleini in Australia (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Fulgoromorpha: Cixiidae) with the description of a new genus and species, Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 63 (2), pp. 349-361 : 350-352

Apollo gen. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:B9846645-8D6B-476F-BDE0-0626CC577B15

Type species. Apollo maculiceps sp. nov., here designated.

Diagnosis. Apollo gen. nov. is distinctive among the Australian Cixiidae , as it has a number of unique characters or characters shared only with a few other taxa, e.g. angle formed by caudal border of vertex almost 180°; frontoclypeal suture straight or only very slightly bent; submedian (= postocular) carinae very faintly raised (barely visible, only noticeable through dark colouration compared to light coloured pronotum); presence of a denticle on the distal part of the fore coxa; rostrum very short (reaching mid coxae but not hind coxae); fork of ScP+RA and RP distinctly basad of and far away from fork of CuA1 and CuA2; subapical carina of vertex absent; anal style in males and females long, remainder of segment 11 minute, sometimes barely protruding from the apex of the anal tube; female anal tube ventrally at base with a longitudinal groove covering more than half of its length. Other important characters for diagnosis are the frons which is widest distinctly dorsad of centre of frontoclypeal suture, and the median ocellus of frons absent.

Description. Head. Vertex slightly wider at base than at apical carina; lateral carinae slightly to moderately elevated; angle formed by caudal border of vertex V-shaped, strongly obtuse (almost 180°); apical carina slightly bent (almost straight); subapical transverse carina absent; median longitudinal carina covering 1/2 to 1/3 of length of vertex. In dorsal view, head including eyes distinctly narrower than pronotum. Frons invisible in dorsal view. Maximum width of frons more than twice apical width, steadily broadening; frons widest distinctly dorsad of centre of frontoclypeal suture. Lateral carinae of frons slightly elevated, foliaceous, moderately extending laterally, concealing base of antennae. Median ocellus of frons absent. Frontoclypeal suture straight to only very slightly bent, median part not reaching lower margin of antennal scape. Postclypeus with median carina and lateral carinae absent or very weakly developed. Anteclypeus without carinae. Rostrum very short, not reaching hind coxae (only reaching mid coxae). Apical and subapical rostrum segments subequal in length.

Thorax. Pronotum with median carina absent; hind margin of pronotum strongly obtusely angled; pronotum much longer laterally than in middle; submedian carinae very faintly raised (barely visible, only noticeable through dark colouration compared to light coloured pronotum). Mesonotum with median carina weakly developed, evanescent or absent near anterior margin, absent near posterior margin; lateral carinae of mesonotum weakly developed. Forewings moderately tectiform; surpassing tip of abdomen; widest slightly distad of apex of clavus; concavity at costal border barely visible; no tubercles in cells at apex of wing, only along veins or in pterostigma; ScP+R+MP forming a very long common stem distad of basal cell; crossvein r-m 1 at same level or slightly distad of fork MP1+2 and MP3+4; nodus of y-vein (fork PCu and A1) central to slightly basad within clavus. Hind wing with MP and CuA connected in I-type (cf. LE CESNE et al. 2022). Fore leg with a denticle on distal part of fore coxa. Hind leg: tibia without lateral spines, with six apical spines, grouped in two groups with a large gap (= diastema) in between; outermost spine the largest.

Differential diagnosis. Apollo gen. nov. can be distinguished from all other Oecleini by the following combination of characters: median ocellus missing; subapical transverse carina (in the middle of vertex) absent (carina always present in Myndus Stål, 1862 , but missing in Myndorus Metcalf, 1954 ). A denticle on the distal part of the fore coxa is present as in Myndus s.l. (lacking in Haplaxius Fowler, 1904 and Myxia Bahder et al., 2019 ). The rostrum is very short, with apical and subapical segments subequal in length (in Myndus , the subapical segment is more than twice as long as the apical segment; EMELJANOV 1992). The transverse keel between frons and vertex is weak, no elevated lateral “trigones” are present (as in Myndodus Emeljanov, 1992 and Trigonocranus Fieber, 1875 ).

Apollo can be distinguished from all other Australian Cixiidae by the presence of a denticle on the distal part of the fore coxa ( Figs 1G, H ) and by its distinct colouration: head yellowish with a large dark spot on the frons near top of head and two dark longitudinal stripes on vertex which continue on mesonotum ( Figs 2A, C–E ).

Etymology. Named after the god of light, music, medicine, poetry and more from Greek and Roman mythology, for Apollo is a handsome Cixiidae genus, perhaps resembling a moon rocket in shape. Gender: masculine.

Figures

Fig. 1. Nesochlamys contrarius Löcker, 2010: A – vertex (from LÖCKER et al. 2010). Apollo maculiceps sp. nov.: B–E – female genitalia; F – hind leg; G–H – denticle on fore coxa. Latissima isleyensis Löcker, 2020: I – fore coxa without denticle.

Fig. 2. Apollo maculiceps sp. nov.: A–B – habitus; C–E – head and thorax.