Amrasca (Sundapteryx) biguttula (Ishida)

Xu, Ye, Wang, Yuru, Dietrich, Christopher H., Fletcher, Murray J. & Qin, Daozheng, 2017, Review of Chinese species of the leafhopper genus Amrasca Ghauri (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Typhlocybinae), with description of a new species, species checklist and notes on the identity of the Indian cotton leafhopper, Zootaxa 4353 (2) : -

Amrasca (Sundapteryx) biguttula (Ishida)

( Figs 1–5 )

Chlorita biguttula Ishida, 1913: 1

Empoasca biguttula Shiraki, 1913: 96

Zygina punctata Melichar, 1914: 146 , syn. nov.

Empoasca bipunctata Schumacher, 1915: 108 , synonymised by Dworakowska, 1970: 712

Chlorita bimaculata Matsumura, 1916: 393 , synonymised by Dworakowska, 1970: 712

Empoasca devastans Distant, 1918: 93 , synonymised by Dworakowska, 1970: 712

Empoasca uniguttata Jacobi, 1941: 311 , syn. nov.

Empoasca quadrinotatissima Dlabola, 1957: 296 , synonymised by Dworakowska, 1970: 712

Empoasca biguttula (Ishida) , Kuoh, 1966: 96

Amrasca devastans (Distant) , Ghauri, 1967: 163

Sundapteryx biguttula biguttula (Ishida) , Dworakowska, 1970: 712

Sundapteryx biguttula punctata (Melichar) , Dworakowska, 1970: 712

Empoasca schumacheri Metcalf, 1968: 353 , nom. nov. for Empoasca bipunctata Schumacher, 1915 , preoccupied by Chloria bipunctata Oshanin, 1871 , synonymised by Linnavuori, 1975: 616

Amrasca biguttula (Ishida) , Chopra, 1973: 88

Amrasca biguttula punctata (Melichar) , Chopra, 1973: 88; Dworakowska, 1976: 4

Amrasca biguttula biguttula (Ishida) , Dworakowska, 1977b: 285

Material examined: 10♂♂, China, Sichuan, Miyi, Binggu , 4-VII-2015, coll. Ye XU & Huanrong LUO ; 3♂♂ 2♀♀, Shaanxi, Wugong county , 22-IX-1980, coll. Ning MA ; 1♂ 1♀, Hunan, Chenzhou , 18-VIII-1985, coll. Yalin ZHANG & Yonghui CHAI ; 1♀, 23-IV-1983; 3♂♂, 26-IV-1983; 1♂, 28-IV-1983, Hainan, Xinglong; 1♂2♀♀, 11-V-1983; 2♂♂5♀♀, 12-V-1983; 7♂♂6♀♀, 13-V-1983; 3♂♂3♀♀, 14-V-1983; 1♀, 16-V-1983; 1♂, 8- VI-1983; 1♂8♀♀, 15-V-1983; Hainan, Yacheng; 1♂5♀♀, 29-V-1983; 6♂♂4♀♀, 31-V-1983; 1♂1♀, 1-VI-1983; 2♂♂ 2♀♀, 15-VI-1983; Hainan botanical garden ; 3♂♂ 1♀, Hainan, Changjiang , 22-V-1983 ; 1♂ 1♀, Hainan, Diaoluoshan , 2-V-1983 ; 1♀, 5-V-1983, 1♂2♀♀, 7-V-1983, Hainan, Lingshui; 1♂ 1♀, Hainan, Tongshi , 7-VI-1983 ; 6♂♂26♀♀, 25-V-1983; 1♂, 27-V-1983, Hainan, Bawangling; 2♀♀, 17-V-1983; 2♀♀, 19-V-1983, Hainan, Jianfengling, coll. Yalin ZHANG ; 1♀, 4-VII-1985; 1♀, 25-XII-1999, Yunnan, Jinghong, coll. Irena Dworakowska ; 1♂ 1♀, Guangxi, Huaping , 1-IX-2000, coll. Zhenjiang LIU, Zhongli SHA, Xiangqun YUAN .

Notes: Males of A. biguttula exhibit distinctive, previously unreported modifications of the pregenital abdominal tergites (VII and VIII) apparently not found in other described species of Amrasca . Tergum VII has a pair of large lateral apodemes that extend anterad into segment VI and tergum VIII has a pair of arched internal ridges ( Fig. 5 ). Other Chinese species of Amrasca included herein have male abdominal terga VII and VIII unmodified, but similar (although not identical) modifications occur in some undescribed Amrasca species from Southeast Asia (Dietrich, unpublished).

The whereabouts of the type material of C. biguttula Ishida, 1913 are currently unknown. Shiraki’s collection at Taiwan National University, Taipei, includes a single female specimen identified as “ Empoasca biguttula ” (H. T. Shih, pers. comm.). Apparently, neither Ishida (1913) nor Shiraki (1913) intended to establish a new species in their publications because both attributed the species name “ Chlorita biguttula ” to Matsumura. Unfortunately, Matsumura, who identified Ishida's and Shiraki’s specimens, did not publish a formal description of the species until 1916 and then gave it a different name, Chlorita bimaculata . Matsumura (1916) based his description on specimens from Okinawa; Taiwanese specimens identified as belonging to this species have not been found in Matsumura's collection (K. Yoshizawa, pers. comm.; see also Discussion, below).

Dworakowska (1970) based her concept of the species on Japanese specimens identified as “ bimaculata ” in the Matsumura collection, designating a lectotype male. The oldest known type specimen for the names listed above is the holotype female of Empoasca bipunctata Schumacher recently located in the Senckenberg Institute, Müncheberg, Germany (examined) but this is of little use in establishing the identity of the species, being a female. Distant’s type material of E. devastans is available in the Natural History Museum, London and includes a male lectotype. Ghauri (1983) proposed that Distant’s material be used as the reference material for the species and that A. devastans be used in preference to A. biguttula for this reason. However, subsequent usage has favored A. biguttula based on the Principle of Priority.

Our re-examination of the male lectotypes of Chlorita bimaculata Matsumura , Zygina punctata Melichar , and information provided by M. D. Webb on the lectotype of Empoasca devastans Distant , confirms that these three taxa are conspecific. All three specimens share the distinctive modifications of the pregenital abdominal tergites (VII and VIII) mentioned above (and shown in Fig. 5 ). Therefore, we believe that stability of nomenclature is best served by accepting Dworakowska’s (1970) interpretation and, therefore, designate Dworakowska’s lectotype male specimen of C. bimaculata Matsumura , deposited in the Hokkaido University (Sapporo) entomology collection, as the neotype of C. biguttula Ishida in order to fix the identity of the species. Thus, the correct scientific name for the Indian cotton leafhopper is Amrasca biguttula (Ishida) or, more completely, Amrasca (Sundapteryx) biguttula (Ishida) .

Because we found no distinct morphological differences between the lectotypes of Z. punctata Melichar and C. bimaculata Matsumura , there seems to be no justification for treating the former as a distinct subspecies. Thus, Zygina punctata Melichar and its synonyms listed by Dworakowska (1970) are listed as synonyms of A. biguttula above.

Distribution. China (Northeast China, Hebei, Shaanxi, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Hainan, Taiwan), Japan, Oriental region, India, Indonesia (Java, Sumbawa), Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Micronesia.

Figures

FIGURES 1–5. Amrasca (Sundapteryx) biguttula (Ishida). 1. adult, dorsal view; 2. adult, left lateral view; 3. head and thorax, dorsal view; 4. face; 5. male abdomen and male genitalia, dorsal view. Scale bars = 0.5 mm (Figs 1, 2), 0.2 mm (Figs 3, 4).