Bhatia serrata, Murthy, Shankara, 2009

Murthy, Shankara, 2009, Two new species of the genus Bhatia (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) from south India with new locality records of other species, Zootaxa 2245, pp. 47-53 : 50-52

Bhatia serrata sp. nov.

Figs 14–27

Chocolate brown. Face pale brown with dark brown markings as shown in figure 16. Vertex pale brown with transverse arcuate dark brown band across ocelli and more posterior band often interrupted at places across eyes; 2–3 spots mesad of eye behind band dark brown. Pronoutm pale brown with connected dark brown maculae surrounding paler spots (in some specimens maculae coalesce to form irregular spot near hind margin). Scutellum brown with dark brown connected maculae surrounding paler areas in median area and bordering scutellar triangles. Fore and hind wings uniformly chocolate brown, venation slightly darker, apices of claval veins, costal margin and apical region darker. Female seventh sternite medially darkly pigmented.

Head declivous anteriorly smoothly curving to face, vertex shorter at middle than next to eye. Face in profile convex, shagreen. Ocelli placed 3 times own diameter away from adjacent eye. Pronoutm gibbous. Hind basitarsus with 4 platellae on apical transverse row.

Male genitalia: Pygophore without oblique ridge or processes, caudo-dorsal angle conical, ventral margin rounded. Subgenital plate dorsally upcurved in distal half, with short slender setae on outer margin more numerous in basal half than in distal half. Style with well developed preapical lobe, apophysis with lateral, beak-like projection, surface rugose. Aedeagus with paired ventral process from long preatrium, each process slender and oppressed to each other; dorsal apodeme well developed; shaft curved dorsally, half length of ventral processes, laterally serrated with subapical gonopore on posterior surface.

Female genitalia: Seventh sternite with V-shaped excavation on hind margin. Second pair of valvula with smooth margined teeth, distal cutting edge occupying about 0.47 of valvulae.

Measurements: Male 7.4 (7.4–7.5) mm long and 2.6 (2.5–2.7) mm wide across eyes. Female 8.9 (8.8–9.0) mm long and 3.1 mm wide across eyes.

Material examined: Holotype male, INDIA: Kerala: Nilambur, 11.18o N, 76.15o E, 20.xi.2008, at light, Shankar Murthy ( UASB). Paratypes: 9 males and 4 females same as holotype, but 3 males and 1 female collected on 19.xi.2008 ( BMNH, IARI, UASB).

Remarks: Bhatia serrata sp. nov. resembles B. guamensis (Metcalf) from Guam in head shape and shares the lateral serrated aedeagus with B. koreana Kwon & Lee from Korea but differs from both species in having an elongate preatrium and the ventral processes oppressed to each other. The new species shares the structure of style with B. satsumensis (Matsumura) from Japan but lacks the subapical processes to the shaft.

Figures

FIGURES 14 – 27. Bhatia serrata sp. nov. 14. Head and thorax, dorsal view; 15. Head and thorax, profile; 16. Face; 17. Forewing; 18. Male genital capsule, lateral view; 19. Subgenital plate, dorsal view; 20. Male style, dorsal view; 21. Connective, ventral view; 22. Aedeagus, lateral view; 23. Aedeagus, caudal view; 24. Apex of aedeagal shaft and ventral process, cephalic view; 25. Female seventh sternite, ventral view; 26. Second pair of valvula, left lateral view; 27. Magnified view of second pair of valvula, left lateral view.