Alapona DeLong, 1980

Gonçalves, Clayton Corrêa, Takiya, Daniela Maeda & Mejdalani, Gabriel, 2013, A new species of Alapona DeLong (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Gyponini) from Amazonas State, Northern Brazil, Zootaxa 3681 (2), pp. 187-191 : 187-188

Alapona DeLong, 1980

Diagnosis. Body ( Fig. 13 ) brown with small black or dark brown maculae on head, pronotum and forewings; body not strongly dorsoventrally flattened; transocular width ( Fig. 1 ) narrower than maximum pronotum width; each ocellus ( Fig. 1 ) closer to adjacent eye than to midline and equidistant from anterior and posterior margins; crown-frons transition ( Fig. 3 ) thick, not foliaceous, with longitudinal striae; forewing without supernumerary veins* ( Fig. 4 ); hind leg with femoral setal formula 2-2-1*, tibia row PD with approximately twice as many cucullate setae as in AD*; AD with 2- 4 intercalary setae between cucullate macrosetae*, first tarsomere as long as combined length of two distal tarsomeres*; aedeagus ( Figs 11, 12 ) dorsal apodemes well developed, forming a single structure expanded laterally (resembling a pair of wings) and without processes (= paraphyses sensu DeLong 1980).

Notes. According to DeLong (1980), Alapona is related to Ponana Ball, 1920 and can be distinguished from other Gyponini genera by the following characteristics: (1) head narrower than pronotum; (2) anterior margin of crown slightly produced and thick; (3) ocelli closer to eyes than to median line of crown; and (4) aedeagus without paraphyses, dorsoventrally broadened, with a broad platelike structure resembling a pair of wings. However, characters 1 and 2 occur in several Gyponini genera, whereas character 3 may vary among species in a single genus. Furthermore, as stated in the original description of Alapona ( DeLong 1980) , the type-species is superficially similar to species of Ponana and Polana . Therefore, most of the external diagnostic characteristics given above cannot separate most species of these genera. Species of Alapona can only be accurately identified based on characteristics of the aedeagus dorsal apodemes, which do not bear processes and are laterally expanded resembling a pair of wings, in caudal view ( Fig. 12 ).

It should be noted that what the present authors refer to as “processes of the dorsal apodemes” (which are absent in Alapona ) were referred to as “paraphyses” by DeLong (1980) in the original genus description. However, these structures are found in the majority of Gyponini genera and, unfortunately, have not been named consistently. In related genera, these structures were independently called “aedealati” in Ponana ( DeLong & Freytag 1967) , “paraphyses” in Ponana (Peranoa) ( DeLong 1980) , and “lateral parameres” in Polana ( DeLong & Freytag 1972) . Adding to the confusion, in the latter work, the “lateral parameres” were considered to originate either from the dorsal apodeme (= phallobase) or from the base of the aedeagal shaft.

Distribution. Brazil [new record] and Peru.

Figures

FIGURE 13. Alapona modesta sp. nov., male holotype, body in dorsal view.

FIGURES 1 – 12. Alapona modesta sp. nov., male holotype. 1, anterior portion of body, dorsal view. 2, head, frontal view. 3, anterior portion of body, lateral view. 4, forewing. 5, sternite VIII, ventral view. 6, pygofer, lateral view. 7, subgenital plate, ventral view. 8, connective and styles, dorsal view. 9, style, lateral view. 10 – 12, aedeagus in lateral, dorsal, and caudal views, respectively.