Nycheuma cognatum (Muir, 1917)

Hou, Xiao-Hui & Chen, Xiang-Sheng, 2014, Revision of the planthopper genus Nycheuma Fennah (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha, Delphacidae), ZooKeys 462, pp. 47-57 : 48-49

Taxon classification Animalia Hemiptera Delphacidae

Nycheuma cognatum (Muir, 1917) Figs 1-12

Dicranotropis cognata Muir, 1917: 317.

Nycheuma cognatum (Muir), comb. by Fennah 1964a: 145; see also Fennah 1969: 37; Fennah 1971: 571; Fennah 1973-75: 89; Kuoh et al. 1983: 81; Ding 2006: 249.

Description.

Body length including forewing 3.44 mm (male), 3.95 mm (female).

Coloration. General color uniformly brown. Forewing subhyaline, brown, in brachypterous male with a large black marking at apex.

Head and thorax. Vertex (Fig. 1) shorter submedially than wide at base about 1:1.1, Y-shaped carina moderately distinct, basal compartment of vertex wider at base than greatest length about 1.8:1. Frons (Fig. 2) in midline longer than wide at widest part about 2.2:1, widest at level of ocelli. Postclypeus wider at base than frons at apex, slightly wider at base than length in middle line. Rostrum reaching to metatrochanters, apical segment distinctly shorter than subapical. Antennae (Fig. 2) surpassing level of middle of postclypeus, basal segment longer than wide about 1.7:1, shorter than second about 1:1.8. Post-tibial spur with about 27 teeth.

Male genitalia. Anal segment of male (Figs 4, 5, 8) moderately long, collar-shaped, lateroapical angles very widely separated, each produced caudad and slightly mesad in a stout spinose process. Pygofer in profile (Fig. 5) wider ventrally than dorsally, posterior margin strongly produced caudad medially, in posterior view (Figs 4, 6) with opening small, distinctly wider than long, lateral margin weakly defined, ventral margin shallowly concave, with 3 distinct medioventral processes, middle the longest. Phallus (Figs 8, 9) long, tubular, slightly arched upward medially, reflected cephalad at apex in a flagellum on right side, top of flagellum slightly turned mesad than laterad, pointed at apex, with a large, stout process at middle left and a smaller one near apical fourth right. Orifice terminal dorsad. Suspensorium (Fig. 10) Y-shaped, arms longer than stem. Diaphragm (Fig. 6) rather broad, membranous, triangularly incised dorsally. Opening for genital styles elongate oval. Genital styles (Figs 11, 12) slender, widely divergent, narrowing to apex, inner margin nearly straight, outer margin moderately produced laterad medially.

Material examined.

2 ♂♂, CHINA: Jianfengling National Natural Reserve (18°43'N, 108°53'E), Hainan Province, 17-20 Apr. 2009, collected by X.-H. Hou; 3 ♂♂, CHINA: Bawangling National Natural Reserve (19°05'N, 109°07'E), Hainan Province, 24-28 Apr. 2009, collected by X.-H. Hou; 1 ♂, CHINA: Datian National Natural Reserve (19°06'N, 108°47'E), Hainan Province, 21-23 Apr. 2009, collected by X.-H. Hou; 1 ♂, CHINA: Volcano Park (19°55'N, 110°13'E), Hainan Province, 6-8 Apr. 2009, collected by X.-H. Hou; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, CHINA: Datian National Natural Reserve (19°06'N, 108°47'E), Hainan Province, 9 Jul. 2007, collected by Z.-G. Zhang.

Host plant.

Paspalum orbiculare Forst.

Distribution.

China (Hainan, Taiwan), Philippines, West Caroline Is., Bonin Is., Sri Lanka, New Caledonia, Fiji, Australia.