Melanastera acuminata, Serbina & Malenovský & Queiroz & Burckhardt, 2025

Serbina, Liliya Š., Malenovský, Igor, Queiroz, Dalva L. & Burckhardt, Daniel, 2025, Jumping plant-lice of the tribe Paurocephalini (Hemiptera: Psylloidea: Liviidae) in Brazil, Zootaxa 5585 (1), pp. 1-164 : 91

41 Melanastera acuminata sp. nov.

( Figs 12B , 18F , 31A–F )

Type material. Holotype ♂: Brazil: AMAZONAS: Rio Preto da Eva, Embrapa, Fazenda Rio Urubu , S2.4300 /4733, W59.5616 /5683, 50–100 m, 23–24.iv.2014, Guatteria sp. (D. Burckhardt & D. L. Queiroz) #131(2) ( UFPR; dry).

Paratypes. Brazil: AMAZONAS: 2 ♂, 3 ♀, 6 immatures, 1 skin, same as holotype but ( NHMB; dry, slide, 70% ethanol; NMB-PSYLL0007731, NMB-PSYLL0007732 [LSMelacu-9], NMB-PSYLL0007744–NMB-PSYLL0007749) .

Description. Adult. Coloration. Straw-coloured; head and thorax densely covered with dark brown dots and patches.Antenna yellow, segments 4–8 apically and, segments 9–10 entirely brown. Mesopraescutum with two dark brown patches at the fore margin; mesoscutum with two white narrow longitudinal bands lined with dark on either side, and one moderately wide median longitudinal band consisting of black brown and white lines. Forewing ( Fig. 18F ) yellow with dense, mostly confluent dots; apices of pterostigma and veins Rs, M 1+2, M 3+4, Cu 1a, Cu 1b, partly indistinctly, dark brown. Femora with dark dots. Abdomen and terminalia brown.

Structure. Forewing ( Fig. 18F ) oblong-oval, widest in the middle, narrowly and evenly rounded apically; wing apex situated in cell r 2 near apex of M 1+2; C+Sc weakly curved; pterostigma in the middle about as wide as cell r 1, strongly widening to apical third; Rs weakly, irregularly curved in basal two thirds, weakly curved to fore margin apically; M longer than M 1+2 and M 3+4; Cu 1a irregularly curved, ending at M fork; surface spinules present in all cells, leaving narrow spinule-free stripes along the veins in apical part, forming distinct hexagons of a double row of spinules, spinules sparse or absent from base of cell c+sc. Hindwing with 3–4 + 2–3 indistinctly grouped costal setae. Metatibia bearing 6–7 grouped apical spurs, arranged as 3 + 3–4, anteriorly separated by 4 bristles.

Terminalia ( Fig. 31A–F ). Male. Proctiger weakly produced posteriorly; densely covered with moderately long setae in apical two thirds. Subgenital plate subglobular; dorsal margin straight; posterior margin irregularly convex; with long setae mostly posteriorly. Paramere, in lateral view, acuminate, falcate; apex, in lateral view, narrowly rounded, directed anteriad, in dorsal view, apex narrow, directed inwards and anteriad, with a small tooth; outer face with sparse, moderately long setae in basal half and few short setae in apical half; inner face with dense, moderately long setae; posterior margin with long setae. Proximal segment of aedeagus with apical part elongate and moderately subdivided. Distal segment of aedeagus almost straight in basal half, with dorsal margin hardly sinuate; ventral process situated in the middle of segment, in lateral view, narrow, simple, lamellar, lacking lateral lobes, in dorsal view, ventral process broadly obovoid, distinctly broader than apical dilation, broadest in apical third, unevenly rounded apically; apical dilation, in both lateral and dorsal views, broad, distinctly widening towards evenly rounded apex, dorsal part of apical dilation membranous and hardly expanded at base; sclerotised end tube short and almost straight.—Female terminalia cuneate; with dense setae. Dorsal margin of proctiger, in lateral view, weakly convex distal to circumanal ring, weakly concave in apical third, apex relatively straight, pointed; in dorsal view, apex subacute; circumanal ring, in dorsal view, distinctly cruciform. Subgenital plate, in lateral view, abruptly narrowing in apical third, pointed apically; in ventral view, apex blunt.

Fifth instar immature. Coloration. Light; cephalothoracic sclerite, antenna, wing pads, legs and caudal plate pale brown.

Structure. Eye with one short, simple ocular seta dorsally. Antennal segments with following numbers of pointed sectasetae: 1(0), 2(1), 3(0), 4(2), 5(0), 6(2), 7(1), 8(1), 9(0), 10(0). Forewing pad with five marginal pointed sectasetae; hindwing pad with two marginal pointed sectasetae; both pads lacking sectasetae dorsally. Tarsal arolium broadly triangular apically, 1.1–1.4 times as long as claws. Abdomen with one lateral pointed sectasetae on each side anterior to caudal plate. Caudal plate with anterior margin relatively distant from anterior margin of extra pore fields; with four (1+4) pointed sectasetae on either side laterally, and three pointed sectasetae subapically, on either side of circumanal ring dorsally. Extra pore fields forming continuous outer and inner bands, consisting of small oval patches; outer band relatively short medially. Circumanal ring relatively large.

Host plant. Guatteria sp. ( Annonaceae ).

Distribution. Brazil (AM).

Derivation of name. From Latin acuminatus = pointed, referring to the pointed paramere.

Comments. Melanastera acuminata sp. nov. is separated from the other members of the ingariko -group by the the acuminate, falcate paramere. In the shape of the paramere, M. acuminata is similar to M. mazzardoae sp. nov. and M. variegata sp. nov., but it differs from these species in the forewing pattern with dense brownish dots (versus extensively yellow or brown, with colourless patches but without dots).

Figures

FIGURE 12. Melanastera spp., head, dorsal view.A, M. caramambatai sp. nov.; B, M.acuminata sp. nov.; C, M.melanocephala sp. nov.; D, M. brevicauda sp. nov.; E, M. michali sp. nov.; F, M. duckei sp. nov.; G, M. burchellii sp. nov.; H, M. barretoi sp. nov.; I, M. sericeae sp. nov.; J, M. tristis sp. nov.; K, M. discoloris sp. nov.; L, M. truncata sp. nov.

FIGURE 18. Melanastera spp., forewing. A, M. tibialis sp. nov.; B, M. pleromatos sp. nov.; C, M. ingariko sp. nov.; D, M. brasiliensis sp. nov.; E, M. caramambatai sp. nov.; F, M. acuminata sp. nov.; G, M. melanocephala sp. nov.; H, M. brevicauda sp. nov.; I, M. michali sp. nov.; J, M. duckei sp. nov. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

FIGURE 31. Melanastera acuminata sp. nov. A, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; B, paramere, inner face, lateral view; C, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; D, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; E, paramere, dorsal view; F, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. melanocephala sp. nov. G, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; H, paramere, inner face, lateral view; I, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; J, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; K, paramere, dorsal view; L, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. brevicauda sp. nov. M, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; N, paramere, inner face, lateral view; O, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; P, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; Q, paramere, dorsal view; R, ♀ terminalia, lateral view; S, ♀ subgenital plate, ventral view.—M. michali sp. nov. T, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; U, paramere, inner face, lateral view; V, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; W, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; X, paramere, dorsal view; Y, ♀ terminalia, lateral view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.