Miradeltaphus sanogae, Duan, Yani, Dietrich, Christopher H. & Zhang, Yalin, 2016

Duan, Yani, Dietrich, Christopher H. & Zhang, Yalin, 2016, Review of the grass-feeding leafhopper genera Miradeltaphus Dash & Viraktamath and Yua namia Zhang & Duan (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae: Deltocephalini), Zootaxa 4098 (1), pp. 158-166 : 160-161

Miradeltaphus sanogae sp. n.

( Figs. 1–2 )

Length. Male: 4.3mm.

Description. Ground color stramineous marked with orange and brown; dorsum with pair of orange longitudinal submedial bands extended from crown apex to scutellum. Fore margin of head white bordered with dark brown, crown apex with three pairs of irregular brown spots between midline and eyes, largest near midline, coronal suture dark brown ( Fig. 1 A); face mostly brown, with paired white arcs ( Fig. 1 C). Pronotum with two pairs of longitudinal bands laterad of submedial bands, midline of pronotum and scutellum brown ( Fig. 1 A). Forewing light brown with veins contrastingly pale. Legs light brown with few darker transverse bands on femora ( Figs. 1 A– B).

Head wider than pronotum, crown depressed, anterior margin distinctly angulate in dorsal view, slightly shorter than minimum distance between eyes; ocellus closely adjacent to and nearly touching eye; antenna longer than head width ( Figs. 1 A–B); anteclypeus parallel-sided, not extended to ventral margin of face; lorum semicircular, slightly narrower than anteclypeus, well separated from lateral margin of face ( Fig. 1 C). Forewing with anterior branches of vein R not strongly reflexed; with four apical and three anteapical cells, apical cells shorter than half length of anteapical cells, inner anteapical cell very long; claval veins connected to each other by one or more crossveins or confluent for short distance, vein Pcu connected to claval suture by crossvein; appendix present but narrow ( Figs. 1 A–B). Front femur with AM1 seta large, stout, situated at mid-height of apex, intercalary row with ~8 fine pale setae, row AV with ~16 short, stout, slightly curved setae in basal half; tibia rows AD and PD each with 4 macrosetae. Hind femur macrosetal formula 2+2+1, tibia rows PD, AD and AV with 9, 9 and 11 macrosetae, respectively; AD and PD with 0–5 and 1–4 shorter setae between successive macrosetae; PD with intercalary setae longer than those in AD; row PV with ~37 fine, close-set setae; tarsomere I with 2 ventral longitudinal rows well differentiated, pecten with 2 platellae.

Male genitalia. Pygofer lobes fused dorsomedially for considerable distance near base, forming long, unbroken tergite ( Fig. 2 B); lobes without processes, with numerous macrosetae in posteroventral region ( Figs. 2 A– B). Valve and subgenital plates fused ( Fig. 2 C). Subgenital plates shorter than pygofer, fused in basal half with uniseriate row of marginal macrosetae ( Fig. 2 C). Style with long articulatory arm, preapical lobe poorly developed and broadly rounded, apex with pair of short lateral projections and elongate distal spine ( Fig. 2 D). Connective elongate, slender ( Figs. 2 E–F). Aedeagal shaft in lateral view curved slightly dorsad, wide near base, narrowed distally, with short, compressed, falcate ventral process just distad of gonopore; shaft in ventral view nearly parallel-sided, abruptly narrowed at gonopore, with pair of short, triangular dorsal projections laterad of gonopore, elongate distal process with lateral branches longer than half length of stem ( Figs. 2 E–G).

Material examined. Holotype ♂, Thailand: Chaiyaphum, Pa Hin Ngam NP Dry dipterocarp, 15° 38.099'N, 101° 23.921'E, 698m, Malaise trap, 24–30 viii 2006, Katae Sanog & Buakaw Adnafai, leg T451.

Etymology. This species is named for Katae Sanog who collected the type specimen with Buakaw Adnafai.

Remarks. This species closely resembles the type species of the genus, M. mirabilis Dash & Viraktamath in size, external morphology, color pattern and male genitalia, but is readily distinguishable by the unique shape of the style apex and the presence of a short, ventral keel-like projection near the apex of the aedeagal shaft. Comparison of the two species indicates that some features mentioned in the genus description by Dash and Viraktamath (1995) are variable within the genus. These include the veins of the forewing clavus, which are separate throughout their length in M. mirabilis but confluent for a short distance preapically in M. sanogae . Also, M. mirabilis was reported to have three platellae at the apex of hind tarsomere I, but M. sanogae has only two.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Miradeltaphus sanogae sp. n. A: habitus, dorsal view; B: habitus, lateral view; C: face.

FIGURE 2. Miradeltaphus sanogae sp. n. A: male pygofer lobe, lateral view; B: male pygofer and segments X – XI, dorsal view; C: fused valve and subgenital plates, ventral view; D: style, dorsal view; E, F: connective and aedeagus, dorsal and lateral view, respectively; G: apex of aedeagus, dorsal view.