Melanastera tristis, Serbina & Malenovský & Queiroz & Burckhardt, 2025

Serbina, Liliya Š., Malenovský, Igor, Queiroz, Dalva L. & Burckhardt, Daniel, 2025, Jumping plant-lice of the tribe Paurocephalini (Hemiptera: Psylloidea: Liviidae) in Brazil, Zootaxa 5585 (1), pp. 1-164 : 101-102

49 Melanastera tristis sp. nov.

( Figs 12J , 19D , 33A–G )

Type material. Holotype ♂: Brazil: PARANÁ: Morretes, PR-410, near Rio São João, S25.3757, W48.8692, 130 m, 26.vii.2017, Miconia tristis , roadside vegetation, Atlantic forest ( L. Serbina & I. Malenovský) #DIC4 ( UFPR; dry).

Paratypes. Brazil: PARANÁ: 7 ♀, Morretes, Embrapa , S25.4494 /4515, W48.8779 /8792, 40 m, 13.ix.2011, Miconia tristis (D. Burckhardt & D.L. Queiroz) #4(2) ( NHMB; slide, 70% ethanol; NMB-PSYLL0008100, NMB-PSYLL0008130–NMB-PSYLL0008132) ; 6 ♂, 10 ♀, 15 immatures, same as holotype but ( MMBC, NHMB, UFPR; dry, slide, 70% ethanol; NMB-PSYLL0008604, NMB-PSYLL0008152, NMB-PSYLL0008129 [LSMelmel-27]) .

Material not included in type series. Brazil: MINAS GERAIS: 1 ♂, 2 ♀, Catas Altas da Noruega, Beira da estrada, S20.58059, W43.72178, 720 m, 20.viii.2013, degraded Atlantic forest (D. L. Queiroz) #559 ( NHMB; slide; NMB-PSYLL0008141, NMB-PSYLL0008142 [LSMeltris-58], NMB-PSYLL0008143 [LSMeltris-58]) .— RIO DE JANEIRO: 1 ♂, 2 ♀, 1 immature, Itatiaia, Parque Nacional do Itatiaia , Travessia Ruy Braga, S224322 , W446251 , 1220 m, 18.iv.2019, Miconia cf. paniculata (D. Burckhardt & D.L. Queiroz) #336(3) ( NHMB; slide, 70% ethanol; NMB-PSYLL0008103, NMB-PSYLL0008134 [LSMeltris-104]); 2 ♂, 7 ♀, 8 immatures, 1 skin, same but Travessia Ruy Braga, S224322 , W446251 , 1220 m, 18.iv.2019, Miconia cf. paniculata (D. Burckhardt & D.L. Queiroz) #336(7) ( NHMB; dry, slide, 70% ethanol; NMB-PSYLL0008102, NMB-PSYLL0008140 [LSMelmel-102], NMB-PSYLL0008605) .— SÃO PAULO: 1 ♂, 5 ♀, 2 immatures, 2 skins, São José do Barreiro, Parque Nacional da Serra da Bocaina, Cachoeira das Posses, S22.7745, W44.6019, 1220 m, 7.iv.2019, Miconia sp. (D. Burckhardt & D. L. Queiroz) #319(3) ( NHMB; slide, 70% ethanol; NMB-PSYLL0008101, NMB-PSYLL0008133 [LSMeltris-104]) .

Description. Adult. Coloration. Orange; head and thorax with dark brown dots. Antenna with brown scape and pedicel, and dark brown apical portions of segments 3–9 and entire segment 10. Mesopraescutum with two brown patches at the fore margin; mesoscutum with four broad and one narrow median brown longitudinal stripes margined by dark brown dots. Forewing ( Fig. 19D ) amber-coloured with irregular brown dots, denser females; apices of veins Rs, M 1+2, M 3+4, Cu 1a and Cu 1b dark brown. Femora with dark patches.

Structure. Forewing ( Fig. 19D ) oblong-oval, widest in the middle, unevenly rounded apically; wing apex situated in cell r 2 near apex of M 1+2; C+Sc distinctly curved in distal third; pterostigma narrower in the middle than r 1 cell, weakly widening to apical third; Rs weakly irregularly convex; M longer than M 1+2 and M 3+4; Cu 1a irregularly convex, ending at M fork; surface spinules present in all cells, leaving very narrow spinule-free stripes along the veins, forming hexagons of a single and/or a double row of spinules, spinules sparse or absent from base of cell c+sc. Hindwing with 3–4 + 2–3 grouped or 7 ungrouped costal setae. Metatibia bearing 7–8 grouped apical spurs, arranged as 3–4 + 4, anteriorly separated by 4–5 bristles.

Terminalia ( Fig. 33A–G ). Male. Proctiger strongly produced posteriorly in basal third; densely covered with long setae in apical two thirds. Subgenital plate big, subglobular; dorsal margin strongly curved; posterior margin irregularly curved; with sparsely spaced long setae. Paramere, in lateral view, irregularly lanceolate, broadest in the middle; apex, in lateral view, relatively blunt, directed upwards, in dorsal view, apex subacute, directed dorsad and slightly inwards, lacking distinct sclerotised tooth; outer face with dense moderately long setae mostly in apical half; inner face with dense moderately long setae; posterior margin with long setae. Proximal segment of aedeagus with apical part well sclerotised, not distinctly subdivided. Distal segment of aedeagus weakly curved in basal half; ventral process situated slightly distal of the middle of segment, in lateral view, with short stem and lateral lobes, in dorsal view, ventral process approximately subcircular, broader than apical dilation; apical dilation, in lateral view, narrow, curved, unevenly rounded apically, in dorsal view, apical dilation narrowly obovate; sclerotised end tube short and slightly sinuate.—Female terminalia cuneate; densely covered with setae. Dorsal margin of proctiger, in lateral view, sinuate, apex pointed; in dorsal view, apex blunt; circumanal ring, in dorsal view, vaguely cruciform. Subgenital plate, in lateral view, pointed apically; in ventral view, apex blunt.

Fifth instar immature. Coloration. Pale to bright yellow; antennal scape and pedicel and segments 6–7 brown, segments 3–5 pale yellow, segments 8–10 dark brown; cephalothoracic sclerite, wing pads, legs and caudal plate dark brown.

Structure. Body densely covered with minute clavate and narrowly lanceolate setae. Eye with one short simple ocular seta dorsally. Antennal segments with following numbers of pointed sectasetae: 1(0), 2(2—one large, one small), 3(0), 4(2), 5(0), 6(2), 7(1), 8(1), 9(0), 10(0). Forewing pad with five marginal pointed sectasetae; hindwing pad with two marginal pointed sectasetae; both pads densely covered with minute clavate and narrowly lanceolate setae over their entire surface. Tarsal arolium fan-shaped apically, slightly longer than claws. Abdomen with three pointed sectasetae laterally on each side anterior to caudal plate. Caudal plate with anterior margin relatively distant from anterior margin of extra pore fields; with five (2 + 3) pointed sectasetae on well-pronounced tubercles on either side laterally, and three pointed sectasetae subapically on each side of circumanal ring dorsally. Extra pore fields forming continuous outer and inner bands, consisting of moderately large and small oval patches; outer band relatively short medially, end pointing outwards. Circumanal ring large.

Host plants. Miconia cf. paniculata (Mart. & Schrank ex DC.) Naudin , M. tristis Wurdack ( Melastomataceae ).

Distribution. Brazil (MG, PR, RJ, SP).

Derivation of name. Named after one of its hosts, M. tristis .

Comments. Within the duckei -group, Melanastera tristis sp. nov. differs from the other species by the posteriorly strongly produced male proctiger.

The samples DLQ#559 from Minas Gerais and DB-DLQ#336 (7) from Rio de Janeiro differ from the type series (#DIC4) in the DNA barcoding sequences: the uncorrected p-distances between #DIC4 and DLQ#559 are 7.45% for COI and 10.2% for cytb; between #DIC4 and DB + DLQ#336 (7) 3.07% for COI. Although we could not find any morphological differences between the samples, we did not include the material from MG, RJ and SP in the type series as the high genetic distance would suggest that M. tristis may represent cryptic species .

Figures

FIGURE 12. Melanastera spp., head, dorsal view.A, M. caramambatai sp. nov.; B, M.acuminata sp. nov.; C, M.melanocephala sp. nov.; D, M. brevicauda sp. nov.; E, M. michali sp. nov.; F, M. duckei sp. nov.; G, M. burchellii sp. nov.; H, M. barretoi sp. nov.; I, M. sericeae sp. nov.; J, M. tristis sp. nov.; K, M. discoloris sp. nov.; L, M. truncata sp. nov.

FIGURE 19. Melanastera spp., forewing. A, M. burchellii sp. nov.; B, M. barretoi sp. nov.; C, M. sericeae sp. nov.; D, M. tristis sp. nov.; E, M. discoloris sp. nov.; F, M. truncata sp. nov.; G, M. atlantica sp. nov.; H, M. stanopekari sp. nov.; I, M. sellowianae sp. nov.; J, M. simillima sp. nov. Scale bars: 0.2 mm.

FIGURE 33. Melanastera tristis sp. nov. A, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; B, paramere, inner face, lateral view; C, paramere, dorsal view; D, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; E–F, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; G, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. discoloris sp. nov. H, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; I, paramere, inner face, lateral view; J, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; K, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; L, paramere, dorsal view; M, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. truncata sp. nov. N, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; O, paramere, inner face, lateral view; P, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; Q, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; R, paramere, dorsal view; S, ♀ terminalia, lateral view.—M. atlantica sp. nov. T, ♂ terminalia, lateral view; U, paramere, inner face, lateral view; V, distal segment of aedeagus, lateral view; W, distal segment of aedeagus, dorsal view; X, paramere, dorsal view; Y, ♀ terminalia, lateral view. Scale bars: 0.1 mm.