Coframalaxius Bourgoin & Le Cesne, 2022

Le Cesne, Maxime, Bourgoin, Thierry, Hoch, Hannelore, Luo, Yang & Zhang, Yalin, 2022, Coframalaxius bletteryi gen. et sp. nov. from subterranean habitat in Southern France (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha, Cixiidae, Oecleini), Subterranean Biology 43, pp. 145-168 : 145

Coframalaxius Bourgoin & Le Cesne gen. nov.

Type species.

Coframalaxius bletteryi Le Cesne & Bourgoin (by present designation and monotypy).

Etymology.

Arbitrary combination of the first syllabus of author (T. Bourgoin) four grandsons with suffix -xius from Cixius , type genus of the family Cixiidae .

Diagnosis.

Small cixiids, in habitus resembling Trigonocranus Fieber, 1875, but can be distinguished from the latter by the combination of the following characters: 1) pygofer longer in lateral view, expanded in a triangular lobe on its latero-posterior margin, 2) anal tube with proximal pair of lateroventral teeth, 3) posterior part of gonostyli wider and 4) aedeagus with one internal spine-like process. Female pygofer elongated, without wax plates.

Description.

Head capsule. Vertex with posterior compartment sub-rectangular, anterior compartment triangular; subapical carina straight weakly marked, apical carina well distinct, median carina weak vanishing at subapical carina level; in lateral view, slightly surpassing lateral carina. Frons wider at ventral level of antennae in frontal view; frontoclypeal suture slightly arched dorsally, median carina weak, distinct only in dorsal part and not reaching median ocellus; in lateral view, regularly convex, slightly surpassing laterofrontal carina. Postclypeus with lateral margins slightly concave in basal 1/3; in frontal view, median carina weak in ventral 2/3. Anteclypeus lacking median carina. Compound eye thinly elongated in dorsal view. Antennal socket wide, emarginated, almost touching ventral margin of compound eye; scape short, pedicel globular with distinct transversal margin in frontal view, flagellum with basal swelling well developed, almost five times as long as pedicel, surpassing in length the level of lateral side of abdomen (Fig. 2 ). Lateral ocelli present, separated from compound eye by 1X their length. Labium almost reaching metacoxae; apical segment 1/4 length of subapical one, slightly thinner medially, proximal segment half as long as subapical one.

Thorax. Prothorax anterior margin widely roundly concave (Fig. 2 ); posterior margin more sharply roundly concave (Fig. 2 ); median carina present, not reaching posterior margin; postocular carinae well distinct, not meeting posterior margin and running subapically to its ventral margin in frontal view (Fig. 2B, C ). Mesonotum tricarinate with median and lateral carinae. Forewing elongated; stem ScP+R+MP slightly longer than basal cell length, forking at 1/4 of forewing length, before level of PCu+A1 fusion; anterior and posterior margins subparallel. C1 cell distinctly curved; anterior branch of MP (MP1+2) forking twice: in MP1 and MP2, then MP1a, and MP1b. Posterior branch MP3+4 single, unforked. C5 cell short, diamond-shaped, ending with CuA1+CuA2 fused; icu reaching apex of clavus (Fig. 3A ). Hindwing with MP and CuA connecting in I-type (Fig. 3C ).

Hindleg with metatibia laterally unarmed, with 6 apical teeth separated in two groups of 3 by a wide diastema, and outermost tooth largest; first metatarsomere elongate, not dilated apically, with 8-9 apical teeth; second metatarsomere with (7-8) apical teeth, without setae under the first one or two teeth on each side, with one long straight setae under the three to five medium teeth; metatibitarsal formula: 0-(3d3)/(8-9)/(7-8)

Male genitalia. Anal tube symmetrical, with an anterior pair of lateroventral conspicuous hook-like spines. Pygofer symmetrical, dorsocaudally produced into a triangular lobe; suspensorium developed, X-shaped, attached to ventral margin of anal tube (Fig. 4 ). Male copulatory organ with periandrium tube-like, elongated, bearing spines and processes. Aedeagus s.s. very short, endosoma not or very shortly developed. Gonostyli bilaterally symmetrical, with proximal portion slender, apically developed into a spoon-shaped extension with a nearly pentagonal outline, directed dorsally.

Female genitalia of orthopteroid type, sword-shaped ovipositor, following paired hemisternite VII medially divided by a membranous portion (Fig. 5 ). Pygofer of elongated type without ventral wax plate. Gonoplac fused, apically separated. Ductus receptaculi regular, short, not developed in a helix-twirled structure (Fig. 5C ).

Nymphs. Two short laterometatibial spines in 5th instar (Fig. 6 ). With abdominal paired tergal wax plates on tergites VI to VIII divided into 6 subplates separated by one sensory pits, those ones ranged in raw in subanterior position (Fig. 6 ). In instars 3 to 5: procoxa with one sharp anterior process bearing small (sensorial?) dark triangular microcuticular sculptures; profemur with a conspicuous latero-extern process bearing a row of short sensorial setae-like structures, protibia short distally truncate, bearing two tarsomeres.

Figures

Figure 2. Coframalaxius bletteryi gen. et sp. nov. head capsule A dorsal B frontal C dorsofrontal and lateral view. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

Figure 3. Wings of Coframalaxius bletteryi gen. et sp. nov. A tegmina venation pattern B variation of tegmina venation C hind wing venation pattern. Scale bars: 1 mm (A, C); 0.5 mm (B).

Figure 4. Coframalaxius bletteryi gen. et sp. nov. Male genitalia A pygofer lateral view B anal tube, dorsal view C suspensorium D, E male genitalia left lateral view F, G male genitalia apex, right side. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

Figure 5. Coframalaxius bletteryi gen. et sp. nov. Female genitalia A, B ventral view C ectodermal internal ducts of female genitalia. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.

Figure 6. Coframalaxius bletteryi gen. et sp. nov. Fifth instar nymp A, B proleg, ventral view and anteroventral view C Sternite VI, wax plates. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.