Cyphotes colombiensis González-Mozo, 2017

Gonzalez-Mozo, Laura, Mckamey, Stuart, Ware, Jessica L. & Hamilton, George, 2017, Two new species of Darnini (Hemiptera: Membracidae) from Colombia and Peru, Zootaxa 4281 (1), pp. 108-114 : 110

Cyphotes colombiensis González-Mozo sp. nov.

( Figures 2–6 )

Diagnosis. Base of pronotum, in dorsal view, with four lateral longitudinal rugae; two conical middorsal peaks behind humeral angles; one wide black band on pronotum that attains most posterior swelling of pronotum.

Description. Holotype female. Head brown; pronotum (in dorsal view) with wide black band running from anterior margin to humeral angles, tapering from mid-dorsal portion of pronotum to posterior process, where it expands again, covering most of posterior swelling; dorsolateral margin of pronotum reddish; forewing punctate, semi-opaque between costal margin and R vein, mostly hyaline, punctate basally between veins R, M, and Cu; ventral aspect of head, thorax, legs and abdomen brownish. Head. Subquadrate; densely pubescent; more than twice as long as wide; superior margin arcuate; vertex oblique in lateral view; coronal suture distinctly grooved; frontoclypeus almost tubular, directed forward, anteclypeus directed ventrad; ocelli closer to each other than to eyes; suprantennal ledges oblique. Pronotum. Rough, pubescent, concealing forewings at rest; metopidium convex in dorsal view; humeral angles subtriangular, projected laterally, notched posterobasally; median carina percurrent, elevated; four longitudinal rugae extended from basal margin of pronotum to tip of humeral angles; two middorsal parallel conic peaks behind humeral angles at each side of medial carina, separated by mediolateral constriction; posterior process with two latero-posterior swellings, slightly compressed anteroposteriorly, strongly expanded laterally behind mediolateral constriction; apex of posterior process acute. In lateral view, medial carina elevated, sinuate; two swellings, one above humeral angles, followed by slight depression, then rising again, forming second swelling, extended from mediolateral constriction to latero-posterior swellings, gradually descending to pronotal apex. Forewing. One s, one r-m, and two m-cu crossveins; two discoidal cells; five apical cells. Legs. Pro- and mesothoracic femora subcylindrical; ventral aspect striate; two ventral longitudinal rows of cucullate setae; tibiae spatulate, with two ventral proximal rows of cucullate setae. Metathoracic femur without rows of cucullate setae; tibia with three single rows of cucullate setae; first tarsomere with two distal setae. Abdomen strongly sclerotized; conspicuously punctate ventrally. Genitalia. Second valvulae blade-shaped, lacking teeth on dorsal surface.

Male. Unknown.

Measurements (mm): Total length 7.4; head width 2.5; head length 1.5; pronotum length 6.6; width between humeral angles 4.6.

Material Examined. HOLOTYPE female, “ COLOMBIA, Boyacá, SFF de Iguaque │ 5°25’N, 73°27’W │ 2300 m. │ Golpeteo │ 22-vi-1998 │ D. Díaz ” (IavH, Catalogue No. IAvH-E- 141117).

Distribution. Colombia: Boyacá.

Etymology. This species is named according to the country where the species was found.

Comments. Cyphotes is recognized by the following morphological features: head projected forward, pronotum rugose, with swollen areas ( Burmeister, 1835; Silberman, 1836, Goding, 1926, Fonseca and Diringshofen, 1969), and the presence of crossvein s ( Deitz,1975; Sakakibara, 2005a; 2005b; 2006). All of the above attributes are present in C. colombiensis . However, some are also observed in related genera within Darnini, such as Aspona Stal, 1862 ; Hypheodana Metcalf, 1954 ; Nasuconia Sakakibara,2006 ; Taunaya Fonseca, 1934 ; and Funkhouseriana Creão-Duarte, 1999. The head projected forward is observed in the three related genera: Aspona , Nasuconia , and Hypheodana ( H. gargionei Sakalibara & Lencioni-Neto, 2009 and H. costata Sakakibara, 2005 ). Swollen areas on the pronotum are known in Aspona, Funkhouseriana cerulea (Funkhouser, 1935), Taunaya rugosa Fonseca, 1934 , Nasuconia curculionida Sakakibara, 2006 , H. ursus (Fairmaire, 1846) , and H. proxima Sakakibara, 2005 . The projection and shape of the humeral angles and the forewing venation are also variable across these genera. This suggests that these genera need to be revised based on a morphological assessment of the mentioned features, which should include characters of hind wing venation and genitalia.

This is the first record of the genus Cyphotes from Colombia. The holotype was collected through the project “ Diversidad de Insectos en Colombia ”, coordinated by the ‘ Instituto de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt’ (IAvH). The holotype is preserved in alcohol, due to its damaged metopidium and some missing legs.

Figures

FIGURES 2 – 6. Cyphotes colombiensis sp. nov, holotype female (IAvH). 2 – 4. Anterior, lateral and dorsal view; 5 – 6. Forewing venation, second female valvulae.