Phlogothamnus renhuaiensis, Hassan & Zhang & Xing, 2024

Hassan, Muhammad Asghar, Zhang, Jie & Xing, Jichun, 2024, Taxonomic notes on the leafhopper genus Phlogothamnus Ishihara (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae), with description of a new species from China, Zootaxa 5432 (2), pp. 289-295 : 292-294

Phlogothamnus renhuaiensis sp. nov.

Figs. 1–15 , 16

Diagnosis. Overall body color light brown; head with apical margin of crown with one large apical median black spot; face pale yellow, with a small black spots below antennae; scutellum with a pair of small median dark brown spot near anterior margin; forewing light brown, with three small fuscous spots along commissural margin of clavus; male genitalia with style long and cylindrical, connective V-shape with no obvious stem, aedeagus with gonopore-bearing shaft and a single slender basal process arising to left of gonopore-bearing shaft and well separated from shaft at base, not reaching apex of gonopore-bearing shaft.

Description. Coloration as shown in Figs. 1–4 . Body brown. Crown with one large median black spot on the posterior margin. Pronotum and scutellum brownish. Scutellum basally with two median black spots. Face pale yellow, with a small black spot below antennae. The anteclypeus, lorum, and genae yellow. Eyes dark brown. Ocelli pale yellow. Forewing unmarked except two pairs of small fuscous spots along commissural margin of clavus. Legs pale yellow, unmarked, except for darker bases of macrosetae. Head including eyes in dorsal view slightly narrower than pronotum. Eyes large, ocelli on anterior margin. Face flattened. Anteclypeus broadening apically. Pronotum anterior margin strongly and roundly produced, posterior margin straight. Scutellum triangular, longer than median length of pronotum, with transverse suture. Abdomen ventrally pale yellow and dorsally fulvous with fuscous medially.

Male genitalia. Male pygofer longer than wide, subquadrangular in lateral view with stout setae on posteriolateral margin. Pygofer with posteroventral process stout, bent dorsad at right angle near midlength in lateral view, tapered to acuminate tip. Valve triangular. Subgenital plate subquadrate with narrow and elongated apex, densely covered with long hairs on apical half, and some macrosetae along lateral margin.Aedeagus asymmetrical, gonopore-bearing shaft nearly straight, slightly sinuate, slightly broadened preapically then evenly narrowed to sharp apex, gonopore preapical; single slender basal process arising to left of gonopore-bearing shaft and well separated from shaft at base, extended posterad and acuminate, not reaching apex of gonopore-bearing shaft. Connective V-shaped, with no obvious stem. Style smooth, long and cylindrical, slightly sinuated and somewhat wider at the base.

Measurement. Length (including tegmen): ♂, 4.2 mm.

Type material. Holotype ♂, CHINA: Guizhou Prov., Renhuai City , 16 June 2023, coll. M.A. Hassan ( GUGC).

Etymology. The species name is derived from the type locality Renhuai.

Distribution: Oriental. China (Guizhou).

Notes: In the morphology of the male pygofer with posteroventral process stout, curved dorsad and tapered to acuminate tip, and long styles, this species is similar to P. polymaculatus and P. rugosus , both described from China. The new species can be identified by the prominent median circular dark spot on the crown. This species is also very similar to several species of Phlogotettix in external appearance (single median spot on crown), but can be distinguished by the male genitalia with asymmetrical aedeagus (symmetrical in Phlogotettix ), connective V-shaped with no obvious stem (connective with anterior arms strongly divergent forming an obtuse angle in Phlogotettix ), and the gonopore preapical at the apex of the aedeagal process (gonopore apical in Phlogotettix ).

Figures

FIGURE 16. Global distribution map of Phlogothamnus species.

FIGURES 1–4. Phlogothamnus renhuaiensis sp. nov. Male habitus: 1. Dorsal view; 2. Lateral view; 3. Head and thorax, dorsal view; 4. Face.

FIGURES 5–15. Phlogothamnus renhuaiensis sp. nov. Male. 5.Abdomen, dorsal view; 6.Abdomen, ventral view; 7. Genitalia (after maceration), dorsal view; 8. Genitalia (after maceration), ventral view; 9. Male pygofer, lateral view; 10. Male pygofer, lateral view; 11. Subgenital plate and style, dorsal view; 12. Style, lateral view; 13–14. Aedeagus and connective, dorsal view; 15. Aedeagus and connective, lateral view.