Oropedium tatamaense, Flórez-V, 2022

Flórez-V, Camilo, 2022, A new genus and a new species of treehopper (Hemiptera: Membracidae) from the páramo of Tatamá in Colombia, Zootaxa 5195 (2), pp. 143-154 : 146-149

Oropedium tatamaense sp. nov.

( Fig. 2–4 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:30656033-7F76-4871-BA03-EB19BD541033

Diagnosis: Integument covered with dense golden pubescence; overall color black. Other diagnostic characters as for the genus.

Description: Holotype male. Surface ( Fig. 3 ): Head, pronotum, forewing (except by membranes), legs and ventral area of thoracic sclerites and abdomen with dense golden pubescence. Head and pronotum coarsely punctate; forewing sclerotized and punctate on basal 1/5; abdomen finely punctate. Color ( Fig. 3 ): Overall color dark brown to black. Eyes reddish dark brown with scarlet borders, ocelli golden. Pronotum with a lighter spot on dorso-median carina on area above humeral angles. Forewing dark brown on sclerotized area and veins, membrane translucent and amber, one brown band (divided by dark brown veins) crossing basal 2/5 of basal cell R and Cu, base of basal cell M and at mid length of clavus; apex of clavus golden; apical limbus paler on area behind M 1+2 and M 3+4.

External morphological characters as in the genus description.

Abdomen: Male genitalia ( Fig. 4 ). Pygofer with a transverse ridge from middle of posterior margin almost reaching dorsal outline. Subgenital plate divided almost from base, each lobe barely narrowed at apex; in ventral view, lateral margin slightly sinuous; in lateral view, apex barely bent upward. Lateral plate suboval, globular, dorsal margin broader than ventral margin, setae sparse. Style apex hooklike, slender throughout, with setae along external margin on apex. Aedeagus U-shaped, broad throughout, with minute teeth on anterior and anterolateral surfaces of the apex of the posterior arm, gonopore apical.

Measurements (in mm): Holotype male. Body length: 5.05; forewing length: 4.65; pronotum height: 1.33; pronotum length: 4.00; width between humeral angles: 1.96; head width: 1.66; head length: 0.83.

Material examined: Holotype male in CBUCES. “ COLOMBIA. Risaralda, Santuario, PNN \ Tatamá, páramo de Tatamá, Piedra Bomba , \ 5.120532°N, 76.057963°W, 3750 msnm, \ manual, en Ericaceae , \ Ene. 7/2018 \ leg. C. Flórez-V, A. Ospina, J. Ruiz \ CBUCES-F 11808”. Two male paratypes in ethanol 96% with the same information as the holotype except by the collection code: “CBUCES-F 7783” (in CBUCES). One male paratype is dissected, and the genitalia are preserved inside the abdomen in a microvial with glycerin.

Distribution: COLOMBIA: Risaralda:Santuario(PNN Tatamá– Páramo de Tatamá, 5.120532°N, 76.057963°W, 3750 masl) ( Fig. 1 ).

Biology: Three males were found on different individuals of the same species of Ericaceae in the páramo ( Fig. 2A–B ). One early instar nymph, seemingly of a Membracinae , was also found on Ericaceae ( Fig. 2C ), but it could not be determined if belongs to O. tatamaense .

Etymology: The specific epithet ‘ tatamaense’ refers to the Emberá word ‘Tatamá’ which means “The Grandfather of the Rivers.” It refers to the type locality where the genus was found in the Tatamá mountains.

Remarks: This species was found during a short expedition to the Páramo of Tatamá and was the only treehopper species found above 3000 masl in this locality. The entomofauna of the Páramo of Tatamá is practically unknown and certainly many new species will be revealed by further exploration in this highly biodiverse area and other páramos in the Andes.

On the other hand, Ericaceae has not been frequently recorded as host plant for treehoppers, even though it is a relatively common family in Alto-Andean forests and páramos. This family of plants is more common in temperate regions, and, in the tropical region, they are only found in mountains. I have found other treehopper species on this family of plants, including a possible new species of Metcalfiella in a páramo of the Cordillera Central in Colombia at 3250 masl.

Oropedium tatamaense has irregular and superficial carinae on the apex of the pronotal posterior process. These carinae seem different from the latero-apical carinae described by Sakakibara (2012) for Talipedini , which have a well pronounced pair of carinae on the posterior third of the posterior process parallel to the lateral margins. Additionally, each specimen herein examined exhibits different venation on apical third at each forewing (left forewing different from right forewing in the same specimen), with different numbers of extra-crossveins. Despite this variation in number of crossveins, the branching pattern of vein R in R 1 +2+3 and R 4 +5 is consistent among the three specimens examined .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Known record of Oropedium tatamaense sp. nov. The arrow indicates ‘Piedra Bomba’ (3750 masl), the place where specimens were collected.

FIGURE 2. Live individual, host plant and habitat of Oropedium tatamaense sp. nov. A and B) Live individual. C) Early instar nymph of a treehopper in the same host plant as O. tatamaense sp. nov. (NOTE: I cannot determine if this nymph is O. tatamaense). D and E) habit of its host plant (Ericaceae). F, G and H) photos of the Páramo of Tatamá and its vegetation.

FIGURE 3. Oropedium tatamaense sp. nov. A) Frontal view, B) dorsal view, C) lateral view, D) frontolateral view. lc: lateral carinae.

FIGURE 4. Male abdomen and genitalia of Oropedium tatamaense sp. nov.: Abdomen views: A) Dorsal, B) ventral, C) lateral. Pygofer views: D) ventral, E) lateral. Subgenital plate views: F) ventral, G) dorsolateral. Styles views: H) ventral, I) dorsal, J) lateral. Aedeagus views: K) lateral, L) posterolateral, M) anterolateral, N) caudal. tr: transversal ridge.