Mongolojassus caucasicus, Tishechkin, 2022

Tishechkin, Dmitri Yu., 2022, Contributions to the study of the genus Mongolojassus Zakhvatkin, 1953 (Homoptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae: Paralimnini) with description of a new species from Northern Caucasus, Zootaxa 5128 (4), pp. 574-580 : 575

Mongolojassus caucasicus sp. n.

Figs. 1–15

Material examined. Holotype, ♂, Russia, Northern Caucasus, Southern Dagestan, Chekhychay River in the environs of Kurush Village , about 2500 m above sea level, from Trisetum sp. and other Gramineae ( Koeleria sp. , Festuca sp. , Phleum sp. ), R. Rakitov leg., 9. VII. 1990; paratypes: same locality and date, 57 ♂, 29 ♀; same locality, from Trisetum sp. , 12. VII. 1990, 25 ♂, 38 ♀.

Description. Similar in appearance to other species of Mongolojassus . Male pale yellowish with brown pattern on head, pro-, and mesonotum ( Fig. 1 ). Forewings slightly extending beyond end of abdomen, pale whitish, with some cells partially or entirely bordered with brown or with brown spot occupying part of cell. Brown pattern forms three indistinct transverse stripes at level of mesonotum apex, at middle of clavus, and at its end. Female similar to male, but abdomen reaches beyond ends of forewings ( Fig. 2 ).

Pygofer lobes smoothly rounded, with dense groups of long setae in dorsal two thirds ( Figs. 3–4 ). Subgenital plates rather long, with outer margins twice as long as width of plate at base ( Fig. 5 ). In back view, aedeagal processes at bases perpendicular to shaft, then bent basad and somewhat diverging, with small additional branches before middles, and with tips bent inwards ( Figs. 6–8 ). Length of processes exceeds one third of shaft length.Aedeagal shaft not narrowed beyond gonopore ( Fig. 9 ), slightly S-curved in lateral view, with processes almost parallel to distal part of shaft ( Figs. 10–14 ).

Body length (in male, including forewings): ♂, 2.8–3.0 mm; ♀, 3.1–3.4 mm.

Diagnosis. Differs from most other species of Mongolojassus in aedeagal processes with well-developed additional branches. Somewhat similar in this trait to M. sibiricus ( Figs. 22–23 ), but differs in diverging aedeagal processes (more or less parallel to aedeagal shaft in M. sibiricus ). Most closely related to M. servadeinus ( Fig. 15 ) and similar to it in rather long subgenital plates and aedeagus shape, including long processes with additional branches. Differs from it in narrower aedeagal shaft not narrowed near gonopore and in diverging aedeagal processes almost straight in middle parts (smoothly curved and convergent in distal halves in M. servadeinus ).

Etymology. The species name derives from the name of the mountain system where it was found.

Figures

FIGURES 1–15. Mongolojassus caucasicus sp. n. (1–14) and M. servadeinus (15). 1―male, dorsal habitus, 2―same, female, 3―pygofer, lateral view, 4―same, ventral view, 5― subgenital plates, valve, connective, styles, and aedeagus, dorsal view, 6–8, 15―aedeagus, back view, 9―same, apical part, 10–12―same, lateral view, 13–14―posterior and lateral view. 15―after D’Urso & Remane, 1994.

FIGURES 16–34. Mongolojassus spp. 16–21―M. bicuspidatus (16–19―males from Altai Mts., 20–21―male from North- ern Europe, after Ossiannilsson, 1983), 22–23―M. sibiricus (after Emelyanov, 1964a), 24–31―M. vinokurovi (24–28―males from Irkutsk Oblast, 29–31―male from Yakutia, after Emelyanov, 1976), 32–34―M. elpatjevskii (32–33―female holotype, 34―male paratype). 16, 20, 22, 24–25, 29―aedeagus, posterior view, 19, 28, 31―same, apical part, 17–18, 21, 23, 26–27, 30―same, lateral view, 32, 34―habitus, 33―holotype labels.