Hochiminhus, Dietrich & Nguyen & Pham, 2020

Dietrich, Christopher H., Nguyen, Huong T. T. & Pham, Hong Thai, 2020, New genera, new species and new records of leafhoppers (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) from Vietnam, Zootaxa 4877 (2), pp. 241-273 : 251-252

Hochiminhus n. gen.

Type species: Hochiminhus tamdaoensis n. sp.

Description. Medium-sized, somewhat depressed leafhoppers. Coloration tan with symmetrical brown, black, yellow and ochraceous markings. Head produced; crown depressed, anterior margin bluntly angulate in dorsal view, longer medially than next to eye but median length less than basal width between eyes, width between eyes less than twice eye width, texture of disc glabrous, anterior margin shagreen, narrowly rounded to face; ocelli large, on anterior margin of crown, completely visible in dorsal view, separated from eye by one ocellar diameter; eye with mesal margin notched next to antennal base; antennal base near midheight of eye, antenna approximately as long as head width; face nearly horizontal in profile, frontoclypeus weakly convex, shagreen; lateral frontal sutures well separated from eyes, slightly divergent dorsally, extended to dorsal margin of face near lateral margins of ocelli; anteclypeus flat, parallel-sided, apex truncate and slightly short of lower margin of maxillary plate; clypeal suture well delimited, slightly arched; lorum flat, approximately as wide as anteclypeus, well separated from lower margin of face, basal fourth overlapping frontoclypeus; gena with approximately right-angled emargination below eye, with erect fine seta below antennal base close to clypeogenal suture; rostrum not extended beyond front trochanter. Pronotum narrower than head, slightly convex, declivous anteriorly, surface glabrous, lateral margin carinate, shorter than half eye width. Exposed part of mesonotum and scutellum flat, slightly wider than long.

Front femur AM1 on ventral margin, AV1 longer than IC setae but approximately same width, IC setae fine, in single row; AV with numerous short, stout setae in single row in basal half; tibia with dorsal surface rounded, rows AD and PD with 1 and 4 macrosetae, respectively, AV with numerous macrosetae, PV without macrosetae. Middle trochanter with stout ventroapical seta; femur with numerous short, stout AV setae basally and one larger preapical seta. Hind femur macrosetal formula 2+2+1; tibia rows PD, AD and AV with 20, 12 and 18 macrosetae, respectively; row AD with short, stout setae between respective macrosetae; PD setae alternating long and short; tarsomere I with two plantar rows of simple setae, pecten with 3 platellae, inner seta of pecten tapered and slightly shorter than platellae. Forewing glabrous, venation well delimited, veins pale yellow, contrasting with darker pigment in cells, reticulate with numerous extra crossveins or partial crossveins toward base of corium and clavus; cells mostly transparent, three anteapical and four apical cells present, inner apical cell largest but not extended to wing apex; appendix moderately developed but restricted to anal margin. Hind wing venation complete, unmodified.

Male 2S apodemes elongate, well separated, capitate, extended to posterior margin of sternite III. Pygofer incised nearly to base dorsally, lobe without macrosetae or appendages, with group of moderately long, fine setae posterodorsally and group of longer fine setae ventrolaterally near base. Segment X membranous, without processes. Valve pentagonal, wider than long, with posterior margin rounded. Subgenital plates separate from each other and movably articulated to valve, triangular, slightly longer than wide, lateral margin convex, with lateral band of long macrosetae and longer fine setae, apex narrowly rounded. Style base with well-developed mesal and lateral lobes, apophysis greatly enlarged and ornate, extended beyond genital capsule, with large preapical and apical spines. Connective Y-shaped with well-developed stem; anterior arms bowed laterad medially but approaching each other anteriorly. Aedeagus simple, without processes, atrium much wider than shaft, shaft short, curved dorsad; gonopore on posterior surface at apex. Separate, well-sclerotized dorsal connective articulated between atrium of aedeagus and base of anal tube.

Female sternite VII broadly emarginate posteriorly. First valvula slender, apex tapered to sharp point, dorsal sculpture imbricate, extended to margin. Second valvulae abruptly broadened beyond sclerotized dorsal saddle near basal third, distal section of dorsal margin with several widely spaced teeth each separated by several smaller denticles, apex tapered to blunt point.

Etymology. The genus is named in memory of Ho Chi Minh, leader of the Vietnamese Revolution; gender masculine.

Notes. The recently described tribe Punctulini was erected to include 3 morphologically peculiar deltocephaline genera from the Oriental and Oceanian regions ( Dai et al. 2017). The tribe was characterized by the following diagnostic traits: pronotum, mesonotum, forewings, and often head, punctate; anterior margin of head carinate; male 2S apodemes long, well-developed, widening apically; anteclypeus not extended to ventral margin of face; integument often with numerous fine setae. Hochiminhus agrees with some but not all of these traits, having the male 2S apodemes long and capitate and the anteclypeus not extended to the ventral margin of the face, but lacks distinct punctations and fine setae on the dorsum and has the anterior margin of the head rounded to the face, without a distinct carina. In lacking some of the more unusual traits found in previously described Punctulini , Hochiminhus looks more like a “normal” deltocephaline. Nevertheless, Hochiminhus also resembles previously described Punctulini in having the aedeagus simple, without processes and has a distinct dorsal connective, as in the punctuline genus Hirsutula Dai et al. It also has numerous scattered setae on the subgenital plates and lacks a preapical lobe on the style, as in two of the three previously described punctuline genera, and resembles Taveuneus Dai et al. in the color pattern of the forewing. The bizarrely, multipronged style apex of Hochiminus may represent an extreme form of the distinctly toothed style apex of Punctulus Dai et al. and Hirsutula . Based on these traits, we tentatively include Hochiminhus in Punctulini. Elongate , capitate 2S apodemes are also present in the tribes Opsiini and Vartini but members of the former have the aedeagus divided into 2 shafts, each with a separate gonopore and members of the latter have the gena very broad, not emarginate below the eye, and the head strongly produced with an acute apex.