Fernandea Melichar, 1912

Song, Zhi-Shun, Malenovský, Igor & Liang, Ai-Ping, 2016, Revision of the Afrotropical genus Fernandea Melichar, 1912 (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Dictyopharidae), with description of a new species from Equatorial Guinea, Zootaxa 4139 (1), pp. 106-116 : 107-109

Genus Fernandea Melichar, 1912

Fernandea Melichar, 1912: 53 ; Schmidt 1915: 349; Metcalf 1946: 48.

Type species. Fernandea conradti Melichar, 1912 ; by original designation.

Diagnosis. Fernandea can be distinguished by the following combination of characters: body ovoid, dorsally convex; head without distinct cephalic process; vertex narrow, with basal width much narrower than transverse diameter of eyes, lateral carinae strongly ridged and foliaceous, and median carina absent; frons with intermediate carinae gradually divergent ventrad and approaching beneath middle of eyes; frontoclypeal suture nearly straight; mesonotum with carinae very weak, lateral carinae nearly straight and abruptly incurved apically; forewings short, only slightly extending beyond abdomen apex, convex, coriaceous but translucent, veins with short setae, venation strongly reticulate with dense dendroid secondary veinlets among longitudinal veins on the whole surface, pterostigmal area absent; hindwings with anal area reduced, without secondary fold; legs elongate; fore coxae and femora greatly flattened, dilated, and foliaceous laterally, hind tibiae with seven apical spines; gonostyles with upper process dorsoventrally compressed; and male and female segment X with apical dorsal margin deeply excavated, so anal style not reaching beyond apical ventral margin of segment X.

Description. Body ovoid, dorsally convex ( Fig. 1 ). Head short, not produced in a distinct cephalic process. Vertex ( Figs 3 A, 5A) with basal width much narrower than transverse diameter of eyes; lateral carinae strongly ridged, foliaceous, and parallel between eyes, jointed with lateral carinae of frons in perfect arc in profile ( Figs 3 B, 5B); anterior margin angularly convex but more or less grooved centrally, just beyond anterior margin of eyes ( Figs 3 A, 5A); posterior margin ridged and broadly concave; disc of vertex swollen at half length, medially furrowed, and median carina absent. Frons ( Figs 3 C, 5C) slightly inflated and bulbous at apex, distinctly beyond apex of vertex; frons narrowest at apex, broadest at frontoclypeal suture; intermediate carinae not sharp, gradually divergent ventrad and approaching beneath middle of eyes; median carina distinctly ridged and complete. Frontoclypeal suture nearly straight. Postclypeus and anteclypeus convex medially, with distinct median carina. Rostrum long, extending nearly to middle of hind femora. Eyes very large and semiglobose, postocular swelling developed transversely. Antennae with scape very small; pedicel large and subglobose, with more than 50 distinct sensory plaque organs distributed over entire surface; flagellum long, setuliform.

Pronotum ( Figs 3 A, 5A) relatively large and broad, anterior central margin angularly convex, lateral marginal areas straight and sloping with two longitudinal carinae on each side between eyes and tegulae, lower lateral carinae convex and visible in dorsal view ( Figs 3 A, 5A); posterior margin nearly straight; disc flat, median carina weakly ridged, with a lateral pit on each side. Mesonotum ( Figs 3 A, 5A) broad, short and flat, carinae very weak, lateral carinae nearly straight and abruptly incurved apically.

Forewings ( Fig. 2 C) “brachypterous” in size, which corresponds to “koeliopterous” by Metcalf (1950) or “submacropterous” by Emeljanov (e.g. 2011). They are relatively short, slightly extending beyond abdomen apex, convex, coriaceous but translucent; veins with short setae. Venation patters variable in left/right wing; ScP+R, MP, and CuA bifurcated near basal 1/3, and branching successively accessory veins for several times; MP distinctly bifurcated posterior to CuA; venation strongly reticulate, dense dendroid secondary veinlets among longitudinal veins on the whole wings, including clavus; number of apical cells between R and CuA more than 25; pterostigmal area absent. Hindwings ( Fig. 2 C) well-developed, but anal area reduced, without secondary fold; venation pattern also variable in left/right wing; numerous veinlets among longitudinal veins.

Legs elongate; fore coxae ( Fig. 5 C) short, lateral carina strongly flattened and foliaceous; fore femora ( Fig. 2 A, B) elongate, greatly flattened, dilated, and foliaceous laterally, subapical part with a large depression on the inner side ventrally, bulging dorsally; middle femora elongate, slightly flattened and dilated; hind tibiae with 5–6 lateral spines and seven apical spines; hind tarsomeres I with ten and tarsomeres II with eight apical spines, respectively; apical spines of tarsomeres with long setae instead of platellae.

Abdomen with pregenital segments short and broad, without distinct median and intermediate carinae dorsally. Tergites III–VI with a large depression near lateral margin on each side. Sternites III–VI tuberculate (trace of sensory pits), with 6–10 tubercles on each side.

Male terminalia. Pygofer with dorsal margin slightly excavated to accommodate segment X, dorso-lateral margins angularly produced posteriorly in dorsal view ( Figs 3 D, 5D). Gonostyles ( Figs 3 E, 5E) symmetrical, expanding towards apex, broadest apically, apex straight; upper process acute apically in profile ( Figs 3 E, 5E), but actually compressed dorsoventrally in caudal view ( Fig. 5 G). Aedeagus ( Figs 3 G–I, 5H–J) with a pair of endosomal processes: membranous, distinctly inflated, apically acute, and directed dorsally ( Figs 3 H, 5H); phallobase sclerotized and pigmented at base and laterally, with paired membranous and inflated lobes. Segment X ( Figs 3 D, 5D) large and oval in dorsal view, apical dorsal margin deeply excavated to accommodate anal style; anal style large and elongate, but not extending beyond the apical ventral margin of segment X.

Female terminalia ( Fig. 4 A, B). Gonocoxae VIII with two membranous and flattened endogonocoxal processes (Gxp) on endogonocoxal lobe: Gxp1 large and elongate, with a long sclerotized plate in it; Gxp2 smaller and shorter. Gonapophyses VIII (first valvulae) with anterior connective lamina large and sclerotized, with seven teeth of varying sizes and shapes in lateral view ( Fig. 4 C). Gonapophyses IX (second valvulae) with posterior connective lamina triangular, symmetrical in ventral view ( Fig. 4 D), fused with the intergonocoxal plate (iGxp) at base; iGxp extended cephalad into genital cavity, forming wall of gonospiculum. Gonoplacs (third valvulae) with two lobes homologous; lateral lobe large and moderately sclerotized, with long setae at apex; the posterior lobe membranous, containing long sclerotized plate ( Fig. 4 E). Segment X large and broad in dorsal view ( Fig. 4 F), apical dorsal margin deeply excavated to accommodate anal style; anal style large and elongate, but not extending beyond the apical ventral margin of segment X. Female ectodermal genital ducts ditrysian: oviporus opening exteriorly from posterior vagina and surrounded by gonapophyses VIII and IX, and copulaporus opening anterior to gonapophyses VIII between abdominal sternites VII and VIII. Bursa copulatrix ( Fig. 4 A) superficially membranous, regularly gridded, without sclerotized ornamentations. A pair of large digitiform glands ( Fig. 4 A) branched at anterior extremity of the anterior vagina on each side of the spermatheca. Spermatheca ( Fig. 4 A) divided clearly into five parts: orificium receptaculi, ductus receptaculi, diverticulum ductus, pars intermedialis, and glandula apicalis.

Diversity and distribution. Fernandea comprises two species which are endemic to the Guineo-Congolian region of western Africa.

Remarks. Fernandea is similar to Macronaso Synave, 1960 , but can be distinguished from the latter by the head without distinct cephalic process, and the fore coxae and femora greatly flattened, dilated, and foliaceous laterally.

Fernandea and Macronaso are unique among African Orthopagini in sharing the following characters: body habitus ovoid, dorsally convex, forewings relatively short, only slightly extending beyond abdomen apex, convex and coriaceous, with dense dendroid secondary veins among longitudinal veins on the whole surface; hindwings with anal area reduced, without secondary fold. As modifications of the forewing size and venation are frequent among planthoppers and convergences have been documented in many unrelated groups ( Gnezdilov 2013; Bourgoin et al. 2015), the taxonomic status and a possible sister-group relationship of the two genera needs to be further confirmed by a phylogenetic analysis for the World Orthopagini .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habitus of Fernandea species. A. F. conradti, lectotype, female, dorsal view; B. F. conradti, lectotype, female, lateral view; C. F. latifemorata sp. nov., holotype, male, dorsal view.

FIGURE 2. Fernandea spp., fore femora. A. F. conradti; B. F. latifemorata sp. nov.; C. Forewing and hindwing of F. conradti.

FIGURE 3. Fernandea conradti. A. Head, pronotum and mesonotum, dorsal view; B. Head and pronotum, lateral view; C. Head and pronotum, ventral view; D. Segment X and pygofer, dorsal view; E. Pygofer, gonostyles, and segment X, lateral view; F. Pygofer and gonostyles, ventral view; G. Aedeagus, dorsal view; H. Aedeagus, lateral view; I. Aedeagus, ventral view.

FIGURE 4. Fernandea conradti. A. Female terminalia and ectodermal genital ducts, lateral view; B. Female genitalia, ventral view; C. Gonapophysis VIII, dorsolateral view; D. Gonapophysis IX, ventral view; E. Gonoplacs, lateral view; F. Female segment X, dorsal view.

FIGURE 5. Fernandea latifemorata sp. nov. A. Head, pronotum and mesonotum, dorsal view; B. Head and pronotum, lateral view; C. Head and pronotum, ventral view (white arrow showing fore coxa); D. Segment X and pygofer, dorsal view; E. Pygofer, gonostyles, and segment X, lateral view; F. Pygofer and gonostyles, ventral view; G. Gonostyle, caudal view (white arrow showing dorsoventrally compressed upper process); H. Aedeagus, dorsal view; I. Aedeagus, lateral view; J. Aedeagus, ventral view.