Quilessa martinensis, Haas & Bartlett, 2024

Haas, Matthé Cornelis De & Bartlett, Charles R., 2024, A new species of Quilessa Fennah from Saint Martin (Fulgoromorpha: Fulgoroidea: Kinnaridae: Prosotropini), Zootaxa 5537 (4), pp. 551-560 : 553-555

Quilessa martinensis sp. nov.

( Figs 2–9 )

Material examined. Holotype ♂: “leg. R. H. Cobben / Simson Bay / Devils Swamp / 10/1 1957 / St. Maarten // RMNH Leiden / ex. Collectie / WAU 2010 // Holotypus / Quilessa martinensis sp. nov. ♂.” In coll. RMNH.

Paratypes: 2♂, 7♀ “leg. R. H. Cobben / Simson Bay / Devils Swamp / 10/1 1957 / St. Maarten // RMNH Leiden / ex. Collectie / WAU 2010 // Paratypus / Quilessa martinensis sp. nov. ” In coll. RMNH .

Additional material: same data as type-series, two specimens of unknown sex .

Type locality. Devils Hole Swamp, Simpson Bay, St. Martin ( Fig. 1 ).

Description. Measurements. Length: ♂ 2.28–2.36 (average 2.32) mm (n=3); ♀ 2.40–2.56 (average 2.51) mm (n=6).

Colouration. Ground colour of head, thorax and abdomen dull-orange ( Fig. 2 ). Genae ventrad of antennae brown. Rostrum stramineous, apex black. Colouration intensity variable. Legs stramineous. Forewings hyaline with indistinct yellowish tinge, veins stramineous ( Figs 2B–C ). Hindwings hyaline, clear.

Structure. Head (including eyes) 0.66 times width of pronotum. Vertex quadrate, about as long as broad, narrowest at anterior margin, posteriorly expanding, posterior margin evenly rounded, concave; median carinae of vertex complete, but hardly elevated; lateral carinae distinct; in lateral view sloping anteriorly, confluence with frons smooth, without apical transverse carina. Frons broadest in lower half, at broadest point (just above frontoclypeal suture) 1.15x as broad as long. Frons and clypeus with complete median carina. Rostrum reaching hind-coxae. Pronotum with median carina slightly elevated, anterior margin of pronotum keeled, carina between eye and tegula distinct (forming lateral margin of pronotum from dorsal view); paradiscal region relatively broad, distinctly exceeding ventral margin of antenna, apex smoothly rounded. Tegulae without carinae. Mesonotum much longer at midlength than vertex and pronotum combined (approximately 1.6x), bearing three distinct, slightly elevated, straight parallel carinae; mesonotum in lateral view convex with concavity at transition to scutellum. Forewings elongate-ovate ( Fig. 3 ; costal margin arched, trailing margin straight), deflexed medially at nodal line, clavus reaching wing margin at nodal line, crossveins absent prior to nodal line; vein MP 1+2 usually simple to apex (rarely forked), branching pattern RA 1-branched, RP 3-branched, MP 2- or 3-branched, CuA 1-branched; C5 cell open at wing margin. Hind legs without lateral teeth on tibiae, apical spinulation: 7(3+4)-6-5.

Male terminalia. Pygofer in lateral view slender, irregular in outline, narrowest in middle with the anterior margin convex and posterior margin concave, bearing an oblong, distally rounded lateroventral process, medially inflected, directed posterodorsally, pygofer appearing incised between process and ventral margin (medioventral process absent) ( Fig. 4 ). Gonostyli in lateral view relatively slender, cupped, and upcurved, with lateral margin (near midpoint) bearing an elongated slender upcurved, hooked appendage; apices of gonostyli in lateral view flat and broadened into a relatively wide plate; in ventral view median margin bearing a broad, thick hook-shaped structure (also visible from lateral view) ( Fig. 5 ). Phallotheca tubular, simple, weakly downcurved in lateral view, dorsal margin of base hooked, apex posteriorly directed; aedeagal shaft in lateral view of nearly equal width for about 3/5 length, apical 2/5 expanded into flattened spatulate structure with broadly rounded apex; left lateral lobe more elongated than right lateral lobe; in ventral view phallotheca proximally with wide lateral slightly asymmetrical flanges (collectively appearing nearly cordate, base distad) wide at base, medially fused, with the left lobe slender and long, right lobe shorter; aedeagal apex bulbous; in dorsal view phallotheca widest at base, compressed medially, apex with left lobe slender and long, right/medial lobe bulbous, extending somewhat to the right and covering the apical dorsal part; gonopore subapical on ventral margin ( Figs 6–7 ). Connective tubular. Anal tube in lateral view long and slender, downcurved; in dorsal view deeply bifurcated forming elongated (forming horseshoe-shape), weakly asymmetrical, lateral appendages, both appendages curved slightly anteroventrally; apices of appendages distally broadening and with small apical denticle; epiproct short, apical margin straight; paraproct nearly three times as long as epiproct, with apex approximately straight ( Fig. 8 ).

External female terminalia. Sternite VIII (gonocoxae) in ventral view funnel-shaped, six-sided, base 4.86x as broad as apex ( Fig. 9B ). Sternite VIII in lateral view broad, covering most of distal terminalia ( Fig. 9A ). Tergite IX in dorsal view short and arched.Anal tube in dorsal view as long as wide; epiproct short, apically rounded, paraproct relatively large, disc-shaped ( Fig. 9C ).

Diagnosis. The new species can be separated from all other species in Quilessa by the absence of markings on the forewings, the pygofer with an oblong rounded ventrolateral process and the long, bifurcated anal tube. The most similar species may be Quilessa lutea from St. Lucia ( Fennah 1942, figs 42–50), from which Q. martinensis sp. nov. differs most obviously in male terminalia where the pygofer bears an oblong, distally rounded lateroventral process (versus a narrow elongate process in Q. lutea , viz. Fennah 1942, fig. 45), Gonostyli (lateral view) bearing an elongated slender upcurved, hooked appendage (absent in Q. lutea ), and the apex of the aedeagus spatulate (in Q. lutea bearing ‘two large prongs’, viz. Fennah 1942, figs 43–44).

Distribution. Saint Martin ( Fig. 1 ). Only known from the type location (Devils Hole Swamp) which is now a residential area.

Biology. No specified information on the ecology of Quilessa martinensis sp. nov. is available. At the time the type series was collected in Devils Hole Swamp, the habitat was a tidal saline pool in coastal limestone, mud and Avicennia L. ( Acanthaceae , presumably Avicennia germinans (L.) L., black mangrove; Hummelinck 1981, fig XIb).

Etymology. The specific epithet ‘ martinensis ’ is derived from Saint Martin with the termination ‘-ensis’ (meaning ‘of’ or ‘from’ i.e., ‘from Saint Martin’), and is intended as feminine in gender.

Remarks. Two specimens of this species are damaged and are excluded from the type series, one with a missing abdomen and one with wings glued to the specimen card so the abdomen cannot be seen.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Type-location of Quilessa martinensis sp. nov. on Saint Martin.

FIGURE 2. Habitus of Quilessa martinensis sp. nov., male holotype A) head, frontal view, B) habitus lateral view, C) habitus dorsal view.

FIGURE 3. Right forewing of Quilessa martinensis sp. nov., A) venation, B) line-drawing and interpretation of venation (nomenclature based on Bourgoin et al. 2015).

FIGURE 4. Male terminalia of Quilessa martinensis sp. nov., left lateral view, A) pygofer, phallotheca, left gonostylus and anal tube, B) same, line-drawing.

FIGURE 5. Left gonostylus of Quilessa martinensis sp. nov., A,C) left lateral view, B,D) ventral view.

FIGURE 6. Phallotheca of Quilessa martinensis sp. nov., A) left lateral view, B) right lateral view, C) ventral view, D) dorsal view.

FIGURE 7. Phallotheca of Quilessa martinensis sp. nov., line-drawings, A) left lateral view, B) right lateral view, C) ventral view, D) dorsal view.

FIGURE 8. Anal tube of Quilessa martinensis sp. nov., A) left lateral view, B) caudal view, C) dorsal view.

FIGURE 9. Female terminalia of Quilessa martinensis sp. nov., A) left lateral view, B) ventral view, C) dorsal view.