Litura Knight

Viraktamath, C. A. & Anantha Murthy, H. V., 2014, Review of the genera Hishimonus Ishihara and Litura Knight (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) from the Indian subcontinent with description of new species, Zootaxa 3785 (2), pp. 101-138 : 117

Litura Knight

Litura Knight 1970b: 179 . Type species: Litura unda Knight , by original designation.

Knight (1970b) has adequately characterised the genus. It can be readily recognized externally as follows: small black spot one on either side of median line on the hind margin of crown and another spot posterior to it on pronotum; forewings as in Hishimonus but dark brown border to median spot much wider laterally and forming conspicuous oval patch in inner discal cell; aedeagus with two shafts each elongate, simple, directed posteriorly at base and curving dorsally with gonopore apical or subapical on posterior surface, with or without lamellate expansion near midlength; preatrium extending ventrally with pair of elongate posteriorly directed processes.

Profemur with AD row of setae in basal 0.75 length, short; AM1 large, AV setae stout, of uniform size in basal half length; intercalary row in abbreviated semicircle consisting of slender long setae. Fore tibia with 1+4 (AD+PD) setae. Hind femoral chaetotaxy 2+2+1.

Female first and second pair of valvulae as in Hishimonus . Seventh sternite with posterior margin medially produced into lobe with deep V-shaped median notch.

Remarks. The genus was so far reported only from Sri Lanka. Though Malhotra and Sharma (1977) reported Litura bharatiensis Malhotra & Sharma , this species does not belong to Litura but probably to the African genus Libengaia Linnavuori. However , more detailed studies are needed on this species. A careful examination of the male genitalia of Hishimonus tripunctatus Li (in Li et al. 2011) revealed that it belongs to this genus and hence Litura tripunctatus (Li) comb. nov. is proposed here.