Symplanella zhongtua, Yang, Lin & Chen, Xiang-Sheng, 2014

Yang, Lin & Chen, Xiang-Sheng, 2014, Three new bamboo-feeding species of the genus Symplanella Fennah (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha, Caliscelidae) from China, ZooKeys 408, pp. 19-30 : 23-25

Symplanella zhongtua sp. n. Figs 25-36

Measurements.

Body length including forewing: male 6.10-6.35 mm (N = 4), female 6.30-6.50 mm (N = 2); forewing length: male 5.15-5.30 mm (N = 4), female 5.20-5.40 mm (N = 2).

Coloration.

General color dirty yellowish brown. Ocelli reddish brown, eyes black brown. Antennae with one black spot at apex of second segment. Frons and clypeus mostly blackish brown. Central area of vertex and pronotum, base of mesonotum with somewhat pale yellowish red. Procoxae, mesocoxae, metapleura, abdominal sternites laterally and pregenital sternite of female fuscous.

Head and thorax.

Vertex including eyes narrower than pronotum (0.98:1). Vertex shorter in middle line than broad at base (0.65:1). Frons 1.41 times longer in middle line than widest part. Pronotum as long in middle line as vertex. Mesonotum 1.45 times as long as vertex and pronotum together in middle line. Forewing longer in middle line than broad at widest part (4.45:1).

Abdomen.

Anal segment of male in dorsal view (Fig. 30) long oval, widest at apical third, apical margin acutely convex; in lateral view (Fig. 31) with basal half broad, apical half abruptly narrowed, apex slightly swollen, which with some micro teeth at apical ventral margin. Pygofer in lateral view (Fig. 32) with dorsal margin distinctly shorter than ventral margin, posterior margin sinuate, with one stout spine-like process, directed caudo-ventrad. Genital style in lateral view (Fig. 33) with dorsal and ventral angles rounded, posterior margin sinuate; in posterior view (Fig. 34) short and broad, dorsal margin strongly concave, forcipate, inner and outer angles rounded. Aedeagus in ventral view (Fig. 35) with base mostly broad, apical third abruptly narrowed, stick-like, apical margin rounded, each side with one spine-like process; phallobase lobe-like, each with one small spine at apex; aedeagus in lateral view (Fig. 36) with base slightly broad, apical part mostly straight and slender, apical third slightly curved ventrad; phallobase slender, beanpod-like. Connective in lateral view (Fig. 36) narrow and slender, apical half reflexed ventrad and cephalad.

Type material.

Holotype: ♂, China: Yunnan, Xishuangbanna, Menglun (21°55'N, 101°13'E), on bamboo, 28 July 2011, W.-B. Zheng and Z.-M. Chang; paratypes: 3 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀, data same as holotype.

Host plant.

Bamboo.

Distribution.

Southwest China (Yunnan) (Fig. 37).

Remarks.

This new species is similar to Symplanella brevicephala (Chou, Yuan & Wang, 1994), but can be distinguished by: i) frons and clypeus mostly black (dark brown in Symplanella brevicephala ); ii) posterior margin of male pygofer having one stout spinous process at middle, directed ventro-caudad (having one stout tooth-like process dorsally, directed dorso-caudad in Symplanella brevicephala ); iii) genital style in lateral view dorso-apical angle broadly rounded (acutely rounded in Symplanella brevicephala ); iv) aedeagal shaft mostly straight (S-shaped in Symplanella brevicephala ).

Etymology.

The name is derived from transliteration of the Chinese “zhongtu”, meaning posterior margin of male pygofer having one stout spinous process at middle.