Valenciolenda Hoch & Sendra, 2021

Hoch, Hannelore, Sendra, Alberto, Montagud, Sergio, Teruel, Santiago & Ferreira, Rodrigo Lopes, 2021, First record of a cavernicolous Kinnaridae from the Old World (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha, Fulgoromorpha, Kinnaridae, Adolendini) provides testimony of an ancient fauna, Subterranean Biology 37, pp. 1-26 : 1

Valenciolenda Hoch & Sendra gen. nov.

Type species.

Valenciolenda fadaforesta sp. nov. (type locality: Spain, València, Murciélagos cave).

Diagnosis.

Small kinnarid (ca. 3-4 mm body length), strongly troglomorphic: compound eyes and ocelli absent, tegmina reduced in length but surpassing lateral body margins, wings vestigial, body whitish, pigmentation largely reduced (Fig. 1a ). Valenciolenda gen. nov. can be distinguished from all other genera of the Kinnaridae by the unique combination of the following characters: narrow and short vertex; short and wide tegmina, in life held nearly horizontally over the body and, in dorsal view, forming a near circle; male genitalia with genital segment in caudal aspect longish ovate, not constricted; anal segment short, ventrocaudally with two arm-like processes, genital styles slender at base, apically strongly enlarged, medially concave; aedeagus tubular stout, distally widening, ventrocaudal margin with a short, acute tip.

Description.

Head (Fig. 2 ). Vertex short, with a very obtuse median carina, area of vertex slightly tilted against area of frons, slightly wider posteriorly than anteriorly, anterior margin slightly concave or nearly straight, posterior margin shallowly concave. Frons narrow, ca. 1.45 × longer than maximally wide (widest between level of antennae and frontoclypeal suture); ca. 2.1 × longer than post- and anteclypeus combined; surface medially smooth, devoid of a median carina; lateral margins distinctly ridged and directed laterally. Frontoclypeal suture shallowly arched, in a furrow between frons and postclypeus. Post- and anteclypeus with a distinct median carina, carina gradually vanishing towards frontoclypeal suture. Rostrum elongate; in repose well surpassing caudal margin of hind coxae; third joint shorter than second. Compound eyes and ocelli absent. Antennae with short scape, subcylindrical; pedicel subcylindrical, ca. 1.8 × as long as wide, with distinct sensory plate organs; sensory plate organs of the "flattened star-shaped plate" as reported for Kinnaridae (partim) by Bourgoin and Deiss (1994); arista ca. 3.5 × as long as pedicel.

Thorax. Pronotum tricarinate, ca. 2.3 × wider than head at level below antennae, short, ca. 5 × wider than medially long, posterior margin shallowly concave; carinae distinct, median carina reaching, but not surpassing anterior margin of pronotum; lateral carinae very shallowly S-shaped, joining hind margin laterally; mesonotum distinctly tricarinate, slightly wider than medially long; tegulae vestigial. Hind tibiae laterally unarmed, distally with 6-7 slender, terete spines, indistinctly grouped (3+4), and forming a shallow arc. First metatarsal joint with 4-5, 2nd metatarsal joint with 3-5 sturdy denticles (bilaterally and individually variable). Pretarsal claws and arolia small, inconspicuous. 2nd and 3rd metatarsal joints together slightly shorter than 1st metatarsal joint. Tegmina (Fig. 3 ) in males short and wide, ca. 1.6 × longer than wide, with terminal margin obliquely transversely truncate; in life held nearly flat over the body and forming a near circle, in the female narrower: ca. 2 × longer than wide, laterally considerably exceeding the lateral margins of thorax and abdomen. Costal vein strong, in life covered with conspicuous filamentous waxy exudations (so far only observed in males). Venation in proximal part as in epigean Kinnaridae with a large and wide subcostal cell, clavus cixioid (sensu Emeljanov 1984), i.e., common claval vein (Pcu and A1) reaching hind margin of clavus (vein A2); basal cell of forewing open, i.e., not closed by anastomosis of M and CuA, no arculus developed; tegmen distally of nodal line distinctly reduced, with 6-7 marginal cells (Fig. 3 : vein terminology according to Bourgoin et al. 2015). Hindwings vestigial, ca. 1/6 the total length of tegmen; venation strongly reduced.

Male genitalia (Figs 4 , 5 ). Genital segment, anal segment, genital styles and aedeagus bilaterally symmetrical. Genital segment in caudal aspect longish ovate, not constricted medially, anal segment short, ventrocaudally with two arm-like processes, and ventrobasally with a median blunt process; genital styles slender at base, apically strongly enlarged, medially concave, aedeagus tubular, stout, distally widening.

Females (Fig. 6 ). Females with abdominal tergites VI, VII, and VIII bearing wax fields. Female genitalia as in other Kinnaridae of the non-piercing type; sternite VII in ventral view trapezoidal, with lateral margins diverging caudally, caudal margin straight; gonocoxae VIII bilobate; anal segment tubular.

Etymology.

The genus name is a combination of Valencia, the capital city of the Valencian Community, an autonomous region of Spain in the east of the Iberian Peninsula where the type locality is located, and the tribe of Kinnaridae , Adolendini , to which the type species is assigned. The gender is feminine.

Figures

Figure 1. Valenciolenda fadaforesta sp. nov., habitus, dorsal view a adult male, dorsal view b nymph (IV. instar) from ' Murcielagos' cave (Vilamarxant, Valencia) (photos by: Sergio Montagud Alario) c morphological analogy in the troglobitic Solonaima baylissa Hoch & Howarth, 1989 (Cixiidae) from Australia: habitus, adult male, dorsal view. Body length 4.5 mm (photo by H. Reimer, Marburg, used with permission).

Figure 2. Valenciolenda fadaforesta sp. nov. a head and thorax, dorsal view b head, ventral view c same, left lateral view. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

Figure 3. Valenciolenda fadaforesta sp. nov. Right tegmen, male. Scale bar: 0.5 mm. Abbreviations: ScP + R + M + Cu, subcosta posterior + radius + media + cubitus; scc, subcostal cell; ScP + RA, subcosta posterior + radius anterior; RP, radius posterior; PCu, cubitus posterior; A 1, first anal vein; A 2, second anal vein; CuA, cubitus anterior; PCu + A 1, cubitus posterior + first anal vein; CuP, cubitus posterior; MP, media posterior; C 1 - C 5, nodal cells.

Figure 4. Valenciolenda fadaforesta sp. nov. Male genitalia in situ, left lateral view; paratype. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.

Figure 5. Valenciolenda fadaforesta sp. nov. Male genitalia a genital segment, caudal view b anal segment, dorsal view c left genital style, left lateral view d same, ventral view e aedeagus, left latero-dorsal view f same, ventral view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.

Figure 6. Valenciolenda fadaforesta sp. nov. Female genitalia a left lateral view b same ventral view. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.