Parapythamus, Li, Yu-Jian & Li, Zi-Zhong, 2011

Li, Yu-Jian & Li, Zi-Zhong, 2011, Parapythamus, a new genus of Evacanthinae (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) from China, Zootaxa 3004, pp. 40-44 : 40-41

Parapythamus gen. nov.

Type species: Parapythamus suiyangensis sp. nov.

Etymology. The name of the new genus refers to its physiognomy which is very similar to the genus Pythamus Melichar externally.

Description. Body medium sized. Head with apex arcuately produced, lateral margins strongly carinate, with median keel anterad of round elevated structure near midlength, submarginal carina mesad of ocellus. Vertex about as long as wide or slightly shorter than wide, about as long as pronotum and longer than scutellum. Ocellus located at side of submarginal carina. Face including eyes longer than wide. Frontoclypeus broad and swollen at base, with median longitudinal carina strongly elevated, laterally obliquely striate; lora reaching slightly beyond midlength of clypellus. Forewing veins slightly prominent, with R1a present; four apical cells present; crossvein m-cu2 present and close to m-cu1, forming small discal cell; appendix very narrow. Pronotum broad, wider than head. Scutellum triangular, with transverse depression distinct.

Male pygofer without ventral process. Subgenital plate elongate; macrosetae irregularly distributed distally, uniseriate in basal half; with row of setae along outboard submargin. Aedeagal shaft somewhat slender, tubular, with pair of lateral flanges near apex, recurved dorsally; gonopore apical. Style slender, elongate, with footlike apex of apophysis having elongated lateral angle. Connective Y-shaped with median anterior lobe, stem longer than arms.

Distribution. China (Guizhou).

Remarks. The new genus is very similar to Pythamus Melichar externally, but may be distinguished from the latter by: 1) white markings of forewing scattered ( Fig. 9 ), with R1a and small closed discal cell present; 2) male pygofer side without ventral process ( Fig. 8 ); 3) vertex about as long as wide or slightly shorter than wide ( Figs 1 , 10 ), unlike the vertex of Pythamus which is distinctly longer than wide. The new genus is also similar to Cunedda , but has the vertex shorter than the pronotum (longer in Cunedda (Distant, 1918)) and the aedeagal shaft more slen- der, tubular, and with a pair of lateral preapical flanges ( Figs 4, 5 ).

According to Viraktamath & Webb (2007), Pythamus has a ventral process on the male pygofer. Thus, the species Pythamus chiabaotawow Huang (Huang, 1992) , P. punctatus Li & Zhang (Li & Zhang, 1993) and P. hyalipictatus Li & Wang (Li & Wang, 2006) are incorrectly placed in this genus. According to Ramakrishnan (1989), Cunedda also lacks a ventral process on the male pygofer. Because the species of Cudedda described by Li & Webb (1996) have a ventral process on male pygofer, they also should be placed elsewhere. We will treat these species in another paper.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 9. Parapythamus suiyangensis sp. nov. 1. Head and thorax, dorsal view; 2. Head and thorax, lateral view; 3. Face; 4. Aedeagus and connective, ventral view; 5. Aedeagus and connective, lateral view; 6. style; 7. Subgenital plate; 8. Male pygofer, lateral view; 9. Forewing.

FIGURES 10 – 11. Parapythamus suiyangensis sp. nov. 10. dorsal view; 11. lateral view.