Thagria irregularis Fan & Dai

Fan, Zhi-Hua, Li, Zi-Zhong & Dai, Ren-Huai, 2015, Taxonomic study of the leafhopper genus Thagria Melichar (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Coelidiinae) from Guangxi, China, Zootaxa 3918 (4), pp. 451-491 : 462

Thagria irregularis Fan & Dai sp. nov.

( Figs. 119–129 )

Description. Body length of male 7.0–7.2 mm, female unknown.

Slender, medium sized species ( Fig. 119 ). Crown light yellow-green, midline deep color, coronal suture brown; ocelli and eyes dark brown ( Fig. 121 ). Face with clypeus and clypellus yellow, central area of clypeus and remainder of face light yellow ( Fig. 122 ). Pronotum brown, covered with light brown nubs ( Fig. 121 ). Mesonotum brown ( Fig. 121 ). Forewing yellowish brown, with irregular dark patches, venation brown to black ( Figs. 119, 120 ).

Head anteriorly arced, crown wider than eye width, extended about 1/3 median length anterad of eyes, coronal suture evident, about half of midline ( Fig. 121 ). Face with clypeus long and broad, lateral margins slightly convex; clypellus basal half broad and swollen, distal half constricted ( Fig. 122 ). Crown, pronotum and mesonotum midline ratio about 1:1:1.4 ( Fig. 121 ). Forewing long, apex rounded, appendix narrowed ( Figs. 119, 120 ).

Male genitalia. Pygofer in lateral view with paired stout processes on caudodorsal margin, end pointed ( Fig. 123 ). Segment X ventral processes in dorsal view concealed, slender ( Fig. 124 ). Subgenital plate with marginal long setae ( Fig. 125 ). Dorsal connective Y-shaped, stem short, rami long, distally attached to base of segment X ventral processes by membrance ( Fig. 124 ). Aedeagus symmetrical, reaching subapex of paraphysis, in lateral view curved dorsad ( Figs. 126, 127 ); paraphysis asymmetrical, nearly triangular, apex attenuate, spinelike, lamellate process with irregular edge below, in lateral view slightly curved dorsad ( Figs. 126, 127 ). Style long, reaching about midlength of paraphysis, narrowed to apex ( Figs. 128, 129 ).

Type material. Holotype: ♂, CHINA: Guangxi, Yuanbaoshan, Alt. 580–1300 m, 14 July 2004, coll. Yang Maofa ( GUGC). Paratype: ♂, same as the holotype ( GUGC).

Etymology. The specific name is derived from Latin “ irregularis ”, referring to the irregular edge of the lamellate process on the paraphysis.

Remarks. This species is similar to T. apiculata Xu & Kuoh, 1998 in color shape, but it mainly differs in having the paraphysis with a spine-like process and a lamellate process distally ( Fig. 126 ) compared to one spine in T. apiculata ( Xu & Kuoh 1998: 312, Fig. 2 e, f).

Figures

FIGURES 119 – 129. Thagria irregularis Fan & Dai, sp. nov. Holotype: 119. habitus, dorsal view; 120. habitus, lateral view; 121. head and thorax, dorsal view; 122. face; 123. pygofer, lateral view; 124. dorsal connective, pygofer and segment X processes, dorsal view; 125. subgential plate, lateral view; 126. aedeagus and paraphysis, dorsal view; 127. aedeagus and paraphysis, lateral view; 128. connective and style, dorsal view; 129. style, lateral view. Scale bars: 119 – 122 = 1.0 mm; 123 – 129 = 0.5 mm.

FIGURES 2 – 5. Distribution of newly described Thagria species from China.