Assiringia Distant

Viraktamath, C. A. & Yeshwanth, H. M., 2023, Leafhopper subfamily Hylicinae (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae) in the Indian subcontinent with description of new species, Zootaxa 5319 (4), pp. 451-500 : 455-456

Genus Assiringia Distant

Type species: Assiringia exhibita Distant , by original designation.

Diagnosis. Crown moderately produced in front of eyes, lateral margins concave, acute and almost perpendicularly reflexed. Frontoclypeus with short longitudinal carina dorsally. Clypellus slightly narrowed distally, extending beyond outer margins of genae. Ocelli placed a little in front of anterior margins of eyes. Face depressed between anterior margins of eyes, including eyes longer than wide. Pronotum with two transverse ridges at anterior margin, shorter than crown, anterior margin truncate, posterior subtruncate or slightly concave medially, lateral areas depressed. Mesonotum longer than both pronotum and crown. Anterior tibiae moderately dilated. Forewing with three apical and four subapical cells. Metafemoral distal macrosetae 2+1+1; meta tibia with 10 AV and AD row of setae; plantar surface of metabasitarsomere with one stout seta in addition to a few scattered hair-like narrow setae and apical transverse row with 4 platellae. Male pygofer with ventral process, Subgenital plates broadest at basal 0.33. Style apophysis reduced with apical 2–3 setae. Connective plate-like, distal margin broader than proximal, with median keel in distal region and apically recurved anteriorly. Aedeagus with well-developed dorsal apodeme and ventral surface of atrium anteriorly prolonged; shaft tubular without processes, gonopore apical.

Remarks. Assiringia externally closely resembles Kalasha but can be differentiated by the concave lateral margins of the crown (straight in Kalasha ), absence of lateral pronotal carinae (present in Kalasha ), and presence of transverse ridges on the pronotum anteriorly (absent in Kalasha ). The crown is shorter than the pronotum in Kalasha whereas in Assiringia the crown is longer than the pronotum. At present, Assiringia contains only two species: A. exhibita , the type species from Myanmar and A. tibeta Shen & Zhang (1995a) from Tibet ( China).