Platypona inca, Gonçalves, Clayton Corrêa, Takiya, Daniela Maeda & Mejdalani, Gabriel, 2014

Gonçalves, Clayton Corrêa, Takiya, Daniela Maeda & Mejdalani, Gabriel, 2014, Two new species of Platypona DeLong (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Iassinae: Gyponini) from Peru and key to the species of the genus, Zootaxa 3811 (3), pp. 359-366 : 362-365

Platypona inca sp. nov.

( Figs 13–23 , 26, 27 )

Diagnosis. Frons and clypeus ( Fig. 14 ) mostly pale yellow; male pygofer ( Fig. 18 ) with ventrocaudal margin emarginated, forming two lobes; styles ( Figs 20, 21 ) bifurcate at apex; aedeagal shaft ( Figs 22, 23 ) with pair of approximately straight apical processes and pair of long lateral processes at apical third; processes of aedeagal dorsal apodemes ( Fig. 22 ) with short dorsal projection at basal third.

Measurements (mm). Male holotype: total length 10.4; crown median length 1.2; transocular width 2.8; interocular width 1.9; pronotum median length 1.6; width between humeri 3.4; mesonotum median length 1.7; mesonotum maximum width 2.4; forewing length 7.7; forewing maximum width 1.8.

Color. Body ( Figs 26, 27 ) with ground color brownish-yellow. Color pattern similar to P. furcata sp. nov., except dorsal portion of frons orange and central and ventral portions of frons and clypeus yellow ( Fig. 14 ).

External morphology. Characters as in P. furcata sp. nov.

Male terminalia. Sternite VIII ( Fig. 17 ) slightly longer than wide; anterior margin concave; lateral margins converging apically; posterior margin acute. Pygofer ( Fig. 18 ) lobe with ventrocaudal margin bilobed; inner surface with hook-shaped process arising dorsally, near base of anal tube, extending ventrocaudally but with apex directed caudally; disk with long robust setae on dorsoapical half and minute microsetae distributed along ventrocaudal margin; apex rounded. Valve ( Fig. 18 ) laterally fused to pygofer. Subgenital plates ( Figs 18, 19 ) elongate, 3.2 times longer than maximum width, not extending posteriorly as far as pygofer apex; outer margin with minute microsetae distributed at apical half; ventral surface with few long setae on basal half close to outer margin; apex acute. Connective ( Fig. 21 ) Y-shaped; arms broad and directed dorsally. Style ( Figs 20, 21 ) elongate; in lateral view, slightly tapering towards apex; apex bifurcate. Aedeagus ( Figs 22, 23 ) with shaft tubular, elongate, laterally expanded preapically, with two pairs of processes, apical pair short, approximately straight and slightly convergent apically, and pair of long lateral processes at apical third, approximately 1/3 the length of shaft; dorsal apodemes with pair of slender elongate processes extending adjacent to ventral margin of shaft to its apex, where each is strongly bent basolaterally, forming falciform crossed apices of 1/6 length of shaft, basal third of apodemes with short dorsal truncate projection with dorsal margin slightly serrated ( Fig. 22 , arrowed); preatrium absent; gonopore located at apex. Anal tube (segment X) without processes.

Female unknown.

Etymology. The new species epithet alludes to the Inca civilization, one of the most important empires in pre- Columbian America.

Material examined. Male holotype: “ PERU Pasco [Department] 6-9.x.2002 \ Yanachaga-Chemillén N.P. \ Huampal Station, Malaise trap \ across R. Huancabamba, 1050 \ m. S10°11’08’’ W75°34’27’’ D. \ Takiya; C. Peña & R. Rakitov” ( MUSM). Male paratype: same data as holotype ( DZRJ).

Notes. Platypona inca sp. nov. is most similar to the type-species, P. sinverda, but can be easily distinguished from the latter by characters of the male genitalia, such as: (1) styles ( Figs 20, 21 ) with apex bifurcate and with rami subequal in length, while in P. sinverda the ventral ramus is much longer and very slender ( DeLong [1982] referred to the dorsal ramus as a short thorn-like spine); (2) aedeagal shaft ( Fig. 23 ) with apical processes straight, while in P. sinverda they are hook-shaped, and long lateral processes arising from apical third, which are absent in P. sinverda; and (3) processes of aedeagal apodemes ( Fig. 22 ) with basodorsal projections that are broad and truncate, while in P. sinverda they are spiniform.

Figures

FIGURES 13 – 23. Platypona inca sp. nov., male holotype. 13, anterior portion of body, dorsal view. 14, head, frontal view. 15, anterior portion of body, lateral view. 16, forewing. 17, sternite VIII, ventral view. 18, pygofer, anal tube, valve and subgenital plate, lateral view. 19, subgenital plate, ventral view. 20, style, lateral view. 21, connective and styles, dorsal view. 22 – 23, aedeagus in lateral and caudal views, respectively (arrow indicates projection at basal portion of process of dorsal aedeagal apodeme).

FIGURES 24 – 27. Male holotypes. Platypona furcata sp. nov.: 24 – 25, body in dorsal and lateral views, respectively. Platypona inca sp. nov.: 26 – 27, body in dorsal and lateral views, respectively.