Mugadina superba, Ewart & Moulds, 2021

Ewart, A. & Moulds, M. S., 2021, An impressive new species of mugadina from queensland with notes on a congeneric species (cicadidae: cicadettinae: cicadettini), Zootaxa 4963 (3), pp. 563-576 : 564

Mugadina superba sp. n.

( Figs 1A–B , 2–4 , 7–8 )

Figures

FIGURE 1. Mugadina species, dorsal view: (A) M. superba sp. n., male, Hughenden, Queensland; (B) same but female; (C) M. marshalli, male, Talwood, Queensland; (D) the same female.

FIGURE 2. Mugadina superba sp. n., male, Hughenden: (A) lateral view of abdomen; (B) fore wing; (C) timbal; (D) operculum.

FIGURE 3. Mugadina superba sp. n.: (A) and (B), lateral and ventral view of pygofer with pubescence fully shown, collected February 1978 at Blackall; (C) and (D), lateral and ventral view of pygofer without pubescence shown, collected January 1984 at Hughenden; (E) and (F), dissected aedeagus; (E), dorsal view, apex at left, showing basal plate and two sharply defined apical ‘ears’ (these are pseudoparameres); (F), lateral view with apex on left, this also showing strong undulation of the basal plate and fusion with ventral rib.

FIGURE 4. Map of Queensland showing the currently known distribution of M. superba sp. n. The shaded area in the southwestern corner of the map shows the approximate northern and eastern boundaries of the ecoregion which defines the dominance of deserts and xeric shrublands within inland Australia (based on National Reserve System map, published by the Australian Government). The fine lines are major roads, with the names and locations of some prominent towns listed.

FIGURE 7. Three separate sets of time expanded waveform plots (each FIR filtered to 1 kHz), comparing the details of the pulse doublets of M. superba sp. n. from three well separated locations (illustrating the stability of the structures and timing of the pulses over a distance in excess of 400 km). The individual waves comprising dominant pulse doublets are followed by weaker sets of waves (inferred to be the emissions from the following smaller timbal ribs (see Fig. 2C). The final isolated but prominent short pulses (marked S in Fig. 7), are inferred to represent the final relaxed ‘OUT’ movements of the timbals, following the emission of each of the sets of pulse doublets. The three sets of recordings (each field recording made in open nets) are from: (A), 1 km west of Barcaldine (central Queensland); (B) 2.3 km east of Longreach (central Queensland); (C) 41.9 km north of Wyandra, southern Queensland. Each recording is filtered (FIR) to 1 kHz.

FIGURE 8. The amplitude spectra of M. superba sp. n. from the three recordings shown in Figs 7 A to C, together with a spectrum of M. marshalli recorded from near Wee Waa, west of Narrabri, NSW (recorded by L.W. Popple). Each spectrum is based on approximately 10 s duration, and filtered FIR to 1 kHz. These clearly show bimodal frequencies exhibited by the spectra of both Mugadina species. Each of the M. superba spectral peaks show maxima at 8.7 and between 10.4 to 11 kHz (locations for each of these locations as in Fig. 7). The structures of these each three spectra are closely similar. Fig. D in contrast, although still exhibiting doublet amplitudes, do exhibit significantly higher spectral frequencies. This, however, is consistent with the smaller body sizes of M. marshalli compared to M. superba. The reason for the doubly paired spectra for these cicadas is not established. It is suggested, however, that it is a resonance developed in the abdomen of these species by the double, very sharp emission pulses.