Austrimonus clavatus, Fletcher & Dai, 2018

Fletcher, Murray J. & Dai, Wu, 2018, A new genus Austrimonus for Eutettix melaleucae Kirkaldy (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae: Opsiini) and nine new species, Zootaxa 4387 (2), pp. 310-330 : 323

Austrimonus clavatus sp.nov.

zoobank.org:act:E6D7569F-646D-4F7F-9EE2-64D506ECE624 (Figs 15–16, 28, 31C)

Holotype, male, main dam site, Duncan Highway, W. Australia, 8.vi.1966, G.W. Kendrick, A. Douglas leg. ASCTHE007939 ( WAM)

Paratypes, 1 male, 1 female, mounted together, Kimberley, W.A., vi.1966, J.W. Evans (ASCU)

Description. Face pale orange fading to cream laterally, with fine brown transverse line dorsally at margin with vertex. Vertex (Fig. 16) pale cream with faint orange band across middle with slight depression submarginally. Pronotum and scutellum (Fig. 16) pale orange anteriorly, pale testaceous posteriorly. Tegmen (Fig. 15) whitish translucent with transverse translucent band at about midlength, veins and markings on crossveins and in cells brown.

Genitalia. Male: Subgenital plates ( Fig. 28B ) narrow triangular tapering into apical process. Paramere ( Fig. 28C ) with preapical lobe well developed, apical lobe curved laterally with small preapical tooth and finely acute apex. Connective ( Fig. 28E ) long with stem distinctly longer than arms. Aedeagus in posterior view ( Fig. 28D ) with shafts obscured by large basal processes diverging gradually from base, evenly broad throughout then tapering to acute apex; in lateral view ( Fig. 28F ), basal processes extend dorsally, slightly curved posteriorly at apex; shafts anterior to processes, fused to processes for short distance, then divergent from them, parallel to basal apodeme, gonopore at about three quarter length of processes, shaft continuing beyond gonopore anteriorly and expanded to form large truncate process terminating level with apices of basal processes. Basal apodeme ( Fig. 28F ) complex with accessory process extending anteriorly. Female: Posterior margin of pregenital sternite ( Fig. 31C ) transverse with deep medial emargination.

Etymology. The species name refers to the club-shaped apical process on each shaft in lateral view (clavus, Latin = club).

Comments. This species has affinity with M. luteus which also has orange colouring on the head and thorax. The apex of each shaft beyond the gonopore is expanded to form a club shaped process in this species but not in M. luteus . The hind margin of the female pregenital sternite differs from those of A. melaleucae and A. apicalis , which are the only other species for which females are known, in having the medial section not produced posteriorly but bearing a single medial emargination.

Figures

FIGURE 28. A. clavatus, male genitalia. A. terminalia, lateral view, B. subgenital plates and pregenital sternite, ventral view, C. paramere, D. aedeagus, posteroventral view, E. connective, ventral view, F. aedeagus, lateral view.

FIGURE 31. Female pregenital sternite: posterior margin.A. A. melaleucae, B. A. apicalis, C. A.clavatus.