Geelus lemdraad, Stiller, 2020

Stiller, Michael, 2020, A new leafhopper genus Geelus and 12 new species (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae Deltocephalinae) from Southern Africa, Zootaxa 4786 (3), pp. 301-344 : 337-340

Geelus lemdraad sp.n.

( Figs 20 A–E, 21A–L)

Diagnosis. Aedeagal shaft sublinear, tubular, anterior and posterior margin with ridge; preatrium depressed, sinuous in lateral view; dorsal apodeme reduced. Pygofer lobe rectangular, apices rounded, dorso-apical process, orientated medioventrad. Female sternite 7 with sclerotized, sinuous, recessed ligula in shallow, wide notch.

Etymology. Named in the Afrikaans language, nouns in apposition, lem, blade, and draad, wire, for the ridges or blade-like structures on the aedeagal shaft. Gender masculine.

Color. Male & female. Yellow, faded or more colorful ( Figs 20 A–C), specimens collected into 60% alcohol. Face with faint, light brown horizontal arcs ( Fig. 20E )

Male. Measurements. n=4. Length from apex of crown to apex of tegmina 4.95–5.13 mm. Crown median length 0.34–0.37 mm. Crown length next to eye 0.29–0.32 mm. Pronotum length 0.54–0.55 mm. Head width across eyes 1.51–1.55 mm. Pronotum width 1.34–1.40 mm. Ocellus diameter 56.0–70.0 μm; interocular distance 56.0– 70.0 µm. Apical angle of crown 130.7°±2.0°.

Pygofer lobe. Process orientation, medioventrad ( Figs 21F, G ); process edentate, apical half sublinear; process origin, dorso-apical; pygofer lobe widely merged with pygofer, lobe rectangular, distal apices rounded; anterior apodeme short, dorsolateral. Subgenital plate extending beyond apex of pygofer lobe ( Fig. 21F ).

Anal tube. Tubular ( Fig. 21H ).

Subgenital plate. Number of macrosetae, approx. 20, long and short macrosetae, 1–2 irregular rows, along lateral margin to submargin; apex acute, rounded; distal lateral margin straight, basal lateral margin curvate; medioposterior angle acute; length: width, 1.3–1.5 ( Fig. 21J ). Position of style relative to subgenital plate and valve, situated about half-way into subgenital plate.

Valve. Shape semicircular ( Fig. 21J ).

Style. Apophysis straight, angled lateroposteriad, at about 45° ( Fig. 21E ), with single subapical, ventral tooth ( Fig. 21D ); apophysis half as wide as width across preapical lobe; ratio length to width of apophysis 4–5 ( Fig. 21E ).

Connective. Stem length relative to arm length, one third length of arms; stem width relative to width across arms, about half as wide as width across arms ( Fig. 21I ).

Aedeagus. Shaft thick, tubular; apex of shaft broadly rounded with narrow rim laterally, shaft with anterior and posterior margins with narrow, longitudinal ridge, of similar length as shaft, subbasally drawn into point; shaft sublinear in lateral view; dorsal apodeme, in lateral view, reduced. Preatrium depressed, circular in anterior or posterior view; sinuous in lateral view. Aedeagus in natural position with apex in membranous recess in anal tube ( Figs 21 A–C, 21F).

Female. Measurements. n=3. Length from apex of crown to apex of tegmina 5.38–5.60 mm. Crown median length 0.38–0.40 mm. Crown length next to eye 0.34 mm. Pronotum length 0.58–0.59 mm. Head width across eyes 1.60-1.65 mm. Pronotum width 1.43–1.52 mm. Ocellus diameter 70.0 μm; interocular distance 68.1–81.3 µm. Api- cal angle of crown 128.8°±1.8°.

Sternite 7. Posterior margin with wide, shallow excavation, with short, median, sinuous, sclerotized ligula; ligula about half as long as depth of notch and about one third as wide as width of sternite 7. ( Figs 20D , 21K ).

Valvifer 1. In lateral view, triangular to amorphous, angled acutely to dorsal part of valvifer 1, anterior margin acute; in dorsal view with valvifers broadly merged ( Fig. 21L ).

Material examined. Holotype male. South Africa, Western Cape Province, CCDL26278 , Calitzdorp west, - 33.646, 21.6416, 8.v.2015, M. Stiller, DVac Portalucaria afra Portalucaceae ( SANC) . Paratypes. 3♂, 3♀. Western Cape Province , 3♂, 3♀, ibid. holotype ( SANC) .

Remarks. Three of the four examined males, and two of the three females, were dissected, without signs of parasitism. The aedeagus of this species is thick, with the elongate, longitudinal, lateral ridges on the anterior and posterior margins, giving the shaft a compressed appearance. The shaft is sublinear, that is slightly curved in lateral view, straight in dorsal view, and the apex slightly expanded into a rim. There seems to be no relation between shaft thickness, dorsal apodeme, preatrium shape and orientation. In species with the thin shaft the preatrium is short, the dorsal apodeme is prominent, of various shapes, and acute or right-angled to the shaft. In species with the thick shaft the dorsal apodeme is short or usually reduced and the preatrium enlarged and variously angled to the shaft. Species with the thin shaft are G. dundraad , G. platdraad , G. vurkdraad and G. driehoekdraad . Thick shafts occur in G. haakdraad , G. kinkeldraad , G. lemdraad , G. nektanddraad , G. stompdraad and G. viertanddraad . In addition to the aedeagus, another feature in G. lemdraad is the style with the apophysis angled at 45°, which in all other species of Geelus are linear or sublinear to the sagittal plane through the style. The female sternite 7 is unique with the short, sclerotized, sinuous ligula, unlike that of other species of Geelus where the ligula is rectangular, more elongate, recessed deeper and less strongly sclerotized. This species was collected on a plant, commonly called spekboom, loosely translated as beacon tree, which is considered an important part of the Albany Thicket Biome of the Eastern Cape Province and its range extending in a narrow band north easterly. It is widely used as a hedge plant, sometimes eaten by people and used for erosion control. Sampled easily by vacuuming in three places in the Eastern and Western Cape, and produced at least two new species of Hadroca from near Oudtshoorn and Woodbush railway siding. However, this species was only found near Calitzdorp.

Figures

FIGURE 20. Geelus lemdraad gen.n. & sp.n., male and female, habitus views.A. Male, dorsally; B. Female, dorsally; C. Head, pronotum and scutellum, dorsally; D. Female, sternite 7; E. Male, face.

FIGURE 21. Geelus lemdraad gen.n. & sp.n., male and female genitalia, line drawings. A. Aedeagus, dorsally; B. Aedeagus, ventrally; C. Aedeagus, laterally; D. Style, apophysis, laterally; E. Style; F. Genital capsule, laterally; G. Genital capsule, caudally; H. Genital capsule, dorsally; I. Connective; J. Subgenital plate; K. Female, sternite 7; L. Valvifer 1, dorsally.