Miclucha australiensis Löcker, 2006

Löcker, Birgit, Fletcher, Murray J., Larivière, Marie-Claude & Gurr, Geoff M., 2006, The Australian Pentastirini (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Cixiidae), Zootaxa 1290 (1290), pp. 1-138 : 16-17

Miclucha australiensis Löcker sp. nov.

( Figs 4A–D, 32A–F)

Type material

Holotype, ♂, AUSTRALIA, NT: 9 km N by E of Mudginbarry HS, 12.31S 132.54E, 26.v.1973 (Upton, McInnes) ( ANIC).

Colour

Vertex dark brown, carinae light brown; face light to mid brown, carinae light brown; pronotum light brown, carinae paler; mesonotum mid brown, carinae paler; legs light brown; forewing hyaline colourless with brown marks along crossveins and apices of apical veins, veins light to mid brown, tubercles concolorous with veins, pterostigma light to mid brown; abdominal sternites mid to dark brown.

Morphology

Body length: ♂ 6.3 mm.

Head: Vertex (total length) 3.0 times longer than wide; basal emargination acutely angled or rectangular. Postclypeus with well­developed median carina.

Thorax: Hind margin of pronotum obtusely angled. Mesonotum with well­developed median and sublateral carinae and evanescent to well­developed lateral carinae. Forewing 3.5 times longer than wide; costa with 9 tubercles; 9 apical cells. Hind leg: tibia with 3 lateral spines; 6 large apical teeth; 1 st tarsomere with 8–9 apical teeth and no platellae; 2 nd tarsomere with 7 apical teeth and no platellae.

Male genitalia: Anal tube as in Figs 32D–F; pygophore and genital styles with long, slender, sclerotised, dorsal process as in Figs 32B–C. Aedeagus (Fig. A): Phallotheca with a moderately curved spine (a); a slightly curved spine (b); an almost straight spine (c); and a very long, strongly curved spine (d); phallotheca ventrally with 3 sheetlike ridges. Flagellum sclerotised, unarmed.

Remarks

The general structure of the aedeagus and the shape of the genital styles is similar to those of M. niuginiensis (Van Stalle) , a species described from Papua New Guinea. M. australiensis differs, however, in the forking of the subapical carina from the lateral margin which is about 2/3 of the total length in M. australiensis and more than 3/ 4 in M. niuginiensis and the two other species in Miclucha . Regarding the chaetotaxy of the hind legs, M. australiensis and M. niuginiensis share 7 apical teeth on the second tarsomere (7–8 in M. incerta and 9 in M. laratensis ) but differ in the number of apical teeth on the first hind tarsomere which is 7 in M. niuginiensis and 8–9 in M. australiensis (7–8 in M. incerta and 9 in M. laratensis ). Further features in which M. australiensis differs from other species in the genus are: median carina in M. australiensis 1/4–1/2 (in M. laratensis and M. incerta 1/2–3/4) as long as median length of vertex, and hind tibia with 6 large apical teeth (in M. laratensis and M. incerta 5 large and 1 very small apical tooth). Nevertheless, M. australiensis has been placed in Miclucha , because it has the characteristic feature of the genus as defined by Emeljanov (2001b): genital styles with a long, slender, sclerotised dorsal process. A similar process also occurs in the acanthopygophoris group of Oliarus , although slightly less sclerotised and shorter, and in Cordoliarus , where is mounted in a different position.