Tambocerus robustispinus Qu & Dai

Qu, Ling & Dai, Ren-Huai, 2014, Three new species of the leafhopper genus Tambocerus Zhang & Webb (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae) from southern China, ZooKeys 434, pp. 47-55 : 52-54

Taxon classification Animalia Hemiptera Cicadellidae

Tambocerus robustispinus Qu & Dai sp. n. Figs 7-9, 23-30

Body length.

(including tegmina), ♂, 6.1-7.0 mm.

Description.

Body colour. Yellow with dark brown spots and eyes fuscous or black. Pronotum with several light yellow irregular blotches in dorsal view.

Morphology. Head (Fig. 7) including eyes slightly wider than or nearly equal to pronotum; vertex slightly produced anteriorly with midlength 1.2 times length next to eyes. Fore tibia with dorsal setal formula 1+5 or 1+6.

Male genitalia. Male pygofer (Figs 23, 26) with elongate lateral hyaline band and semi crescent-shaped hyaline area on dorsal bridge, lobe (Figs 23, 26) with fine dorsal setae, lobe produced and tapered to acute apex with fine dorsal setae; valve (Fig. 24) triangular; subgenital fig (Fig. 24) gradually tapered to midlength thereafter with finger-like apex, with several short setae; style (Fig. 25) with short and narrow lateral lobe and moderately long apophysis dentate apically; connective (Fig. 30) with arms and stem similar in length; aedeagal shaft (Figs 27-29) cylindrical with serrated flange at midlength on each side, with bifurcate apically, short apical keel medially on ventral surface; phallobase narrow in lateral view; basal apodeme with moderately long widely spaced digitate arms.

Female. Unknown.

Material examined.

Holotype, ♂, CHINA: Guangxi Province, Wuming County, Damingshan National Natural Reserve, 15. V. 2012, collected by Li Hu; Paratypes, 6 ♂♂, same data as holotype; 7 ♂♂, CHINA: Guangxi Province, Wuming County, Damingshan National Natural Reserve, 19. V. 2012, collected by Fan Zhihua (one specimen deposited in BMNH); 2 ♂♂, CHINA: Guangxi Province, Longsheng County, Huaping National Natural Reserve, 19. V. 2012, collected by Yang Nannan and Fan Zhihua; 1 ♂, CHINA: Yunnan Province, Yuanyang County, Shangjiupai, 2. VIII. 2013, collected by Liu Yangyang.

Distribution.

China (Guangxi and Yunnan Provinces).

Remarks.

This species is similar to Tambocerus furcellus Shang and Zhang but can be distinguished by the male pygofer (Figs 23, 26) with acuminated and smooth process; the aedaeagus (Figs 27-29) with short spine ventrally.

Etymology.

This species is named for the stout apical processes of the aedeagal shaft.