Nicolaus abuensis, Viraktamath, C. A. & Webb, M. D., 2014

Viraktamath, C. A. & Webb, M. D., 2014, Four new species of the grass feeding leafhopper genus Nicolaus Lindberg (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae) from the Indian subcontinent, Zootaxa 3784 (5), pp. 528-538 : 530

Nicolaus abuensis sp. nov.

( Figs 1–2 , 11–18 , 57–60 )

Creamy white. Crown of head with submarginal brown stripe anteriorly. Face with arcuate lateral transverse stripes connected to median vertical stripe, brown; tiny spot on gena adjacent lorum, black.

Head shorter than median length of pronotum. Pronotum shorter than combined median length of scutum and scutellum.

Male genitalia. Pygofer lobe caudally rounded, with three denticles along mesal margin. Subgenital plate notched near caudal tip on lateral margin and with sclerotized pad dorsally. Apophysis of style curved laterally, its mesal margin strongly crenulate, pigmented. Aedeagus with shaft membranous, preatrial processes bladelike, slightly bent dorsally at midlength and distally curved laterally.

Female genitalia. Hind margin of seventh sternite almost straight, with median narrowly V-shaped incision. First pair of valvulae abruptly narrowed before apex. Teeth on the second pair of valvulae in distal half close together, distance between them less than length of each tooth.

Measurements. Male 3.3–3.4 mm long, 0.9–1.0 mm wide across eyes. Female 4.5 mm long, 1.1 mm wide across eyes.

Material examined. INDIA: HOLOTYPE ♂, Rajasthan: Mt Abu, 28.ix.1984, Ghorpade Coll. ( BMNH). PARATYPES: INDIA: 6 ♂, 6 ♀, data as for type ( BMNH, NPC, UASB).

Remarks. N. abuensis resembles N. minor Stiller from South Africa in the general structure of the aedeagus but differs in having denticles on the mesal lobe of the pygofer process (absent in N. minor ), and the ventral process of aedeagal shaft more strongly curved apically.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 8. Species of Nicolaus. 1 & 2. N. abuensis sp. nov., female; 3 & 4. N. bidentatus sp. nov., male; 5 & 6. N. cornutus sp. nov., male; 7 – 10. Nicolaus bihamatus Xing & Li: 7 & 8. Female from Mudigere; 9 & 10. Male from Shillong.

FIGURES 11 – 18. Nicolaus abuensis sp. nov.: 11 & 12. Head and thorax, female and male, respectively; 13. Male genital capsule, lateral view; 14. Mesal lobe of pygofer; 15. Connective, style, valve and subgenital plate, dorsal view; 16. Forewing; 17. Aedeagus, lateral view; 18. Aedeagus, dorsoanterior view.

FIGURES 57 – 64. Female valvulae of Nicolaus. 57 – 60. Nicolaus abuensis sp. nov.: 57. First pair of valvulae, lateral view; 58. Apex of first pair of valvulae magnified; 59. Second pair of valvulae, lateral view; 60. Apex of second pair of valvulae, magnified. 61 – 64. Nicolaus bidentatus sp. nov. 61. First pair of valvulae, lateral view; 62. Apex of first pair of valvulae magnified; 63. Second pair of valvulae, lateral view; 64. Apex of second pair of valvulae, magnified.