Balacha ancora, Quintas & Takiya & Cavichioli & Mejdalani, 2020

Quintas, Victor, Takiya, Daniela M., Cavichioli, Rodney R. & Mejdalani, Gabriel, 2020, Two new species of Balacha (Insecta: Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Cicadellinae) from Brazil with comments on their phylogenetic position and biogeography, Zootaxa 4878 (3), pp. 542-558 : 544-548

Balacha ancora sp. nov.

( Figs 1–17 and 20 )

Length. Male holotype: 5.2 mm, male paratypes 4.8–5.5 mm (n = 14), female paratypes 5.4–5.5 mm (n = 5).

Head ( Figs 1 and 17 ), in dorsal view, well produced anteriorly, median length of crown approximately threefifths of interocular width and two-fifths of transocular width; anterior margin subangulate, without carina at transition from crown to face; ocelli located slightly before imaginary line between anterior angles of compound eyes, each ocellus slightly closer to adjacent anterior eye angle than to median line of crown; coronal surface without sculpturing or setae; frontogenal suture extending onto crown to near ocellus. Antennal ledge, in dorsal view, not protuberant, not carinate dorsally; in lateral view, with anterior margin almost rectilinear and vertical. Frons convex, muscle impressions distinct; epistomal suture incomplete; clypeus not protuberant, in profile continuing contour of frons superiorly and more nearly horizontal inferiorly.

Thorax ( Figs 1 and 17 ) with pronotal width less than transocular width of head; lateral margins of pronotum parallel, posterior margin slightly emarginated; dorsolateral carina incomplete; disc with fine transverse striae on posterior half. Mesonotum with scutellum slightly transversely striate. Forewing coriaceous, without distinct apical membranous area; veins not elevated, distinct only at area of apical cells. Hind wing with vein R2+3 incomplete. Hind leg with femoral setal formula 2:1:0; length of first tarsomere greater than combined length of two more distal tarsomeres; with two parallel rows of small setae on plantar surface.

Color ( Figs 17 and 20 ). Dorsum dark brown to black. Crown with irregular reddish-brown marks on antennal ledges, frontogenal sutures, and area behind ocelli. Forewing with three conspicuous bluish-white markings: (1) transverse stripe on basal portion of clavus extending from claval sulcus to inner margin at area of scutellum apex; (2) spot on basal third of corium adjacent to claval sulcus; and (3) transverse stripe on corium from costal margin to apex of clavus. Face, thorax including legs, and abdomen mostly dark brown to black; lorum and adjacent portions of clypeus and frons with reddish-brown area. Some specimens collected in Serra do Cipó (Minas Gerais State) have more extensive reddish-brown areas on crown and face.

Male terminalia. Pygofer ( Fig. 2 ), in lateral view, moderately produced posteriorly; posterior margin broadly rounded; disc with few macrosetae on posterior two-thirds; without processes. Valve, in ventral view, short, subrectangular. Subgenital plate ( Fig. 3 ), in ventral view, short and broad, strongly narrowed only on apical third, apex obtuse; with curved row of few macrosetae located near outer margin; plates separated from each other throughout their length; in lateral view, not extending posteriorly as far as pygofer apex. Style ( Figs 3 and 4 ), in dorsal view, slender, elongate, extending posteriorly much farther than apex of connective; apophysis digitiform, curved outwards, without preapical lobe. Connective ( Figs 3 and 4 ), in dorsal view, T-shaped; stalk longer than arms, with median keel. Paraphyses ( Fig. 5 ) symmetrical; in dorsal view, elongate, anchor-shaped.Aedeagus ( Fig. 6 ) symmetrical; shaft, in lateral view, cylindrical, slender, elongate, not curved at base through 180º, curved ventrally on basal half; without processes or longitudinal rows of small cuticular dentiform processes; gonopore located apically.

Female terminalia. Sternite VII ( Fig. 7 ), in ventral view, not very produced posteriorly; anterior margin approximately straight; posterior margin with lateral portions oblique and median area narrowly concave. Sternite VIII without well-defined sclerites. Pygofer ( Fig. 8 ), in lateral view, moderately produced posteriorly; subtriangular; apex rounded; macrosetae distributed mostly on posterior half of disc and extending anteriorly along ventral margin. First valvifer ( Fig. 9 ), in lateral view, guttiform. First valvula ( Figs 9–11 ), in lateral view, with apex acute; dorsal sculptured area ( Fig. 10 ) extending from basal portion of blade to apex, formed by scale-like processes, mostly arranged in oblique lines; ventral sculptured area ( Fig. 11 ) restricted to apical portion of blade, formed by scale-like processes; ventral interlocking device ( Fig. 9 ) less than half blade length. Second valvula ( Figs 12–15 ), in lateral view, broadened on basal and median third, tapering gradually towards obtuse apex; blade bearing approximately 18 teeth along dorsal margin, most teeth ( Fig. 14 ) subtriangular, armed with irregular denticles; ducts extending towards teeth and apex; preapical prominence ( Fig. 15 ) inconspicuous. Gonoplac ( Fig. 16 ), in lateral view, distinctly expanded on distal portion of basal half and then narrowing gradually towards rounded apex.

Material examined. Southeastern Brazil, Minas Gerais State. Male holotype: “ BR / MG [Minas Gerais]—Morro do Pilar, P.N. [Parque Nacional] \ Serra do Cipó, Trilha para o \ Rio Salitreiro \ 19°20’56,8’’S 43°37’49,8’’W \ 20/XI/2018 763 m \ André L. D. Ferreira col.” ( DZRJ). Paratypes: eleven males and five females: same data as the holotype ( DZRJ, one couple in DZUP and one couple in MNRJ); three males: “ BR /MG—Catas Altas \ Pico do Sol [2,072 m a.s.l.], Caraça \ 12/VI/2013 \ [M. L.] Monné & [J. P.] Botero cols.” (specimens destroyed by the fire at MNRJ) .

Biological notes. Specimens from Serra do Cipó ( Fig. 20 ) were collected on Actinocephalus polyanthus (Bong.) Sano (Eriocaulaceae) . This is the first record of a Balacha species that is not associated with Eryngium (Apiaceae) .

Etymology. The new species name, ancora , refers to the anchor-shaped paraphyses ( Fig. 5 ).

Remarks. The color pattern of B. ancora sp. nov. ( Figs 17 and 20 ) is similar to that of B. similis . The new species can be easily distinguished from B. similis , as well as from the other species of the genus, by the male terminalia with the subgenital plates short and broad ( Fig. 3 ), paraphyses anchor-shaped ( Fig. 5 ), and aedeagus not curved at base through 180º, its shaft slightly curved ventrally on basal half and without apical processes ( Fig. 6 ). In our phylogenetic analysis, B. ancora appeared as the second terminal to diverge from the black Balacha clade (sensu Takiya & Mejdalani 2004) and was supported by four character state changes ( Fig. 38 ): (1) macrosetae of subgenital plates longer than one-half plate basal width (character 32, state 1); (2) aedeagus not curved at base through 180º (c. 44, s. 0, Fig. 6 ); (3) elongate basidorsal apodemes of the aedeagus (c. 45, s. 1, Fig. 6 ); and (4) absence of processes on apex of aedeagus (c. 53, s. 0, Fig. 6 ).

Figures

FIGURE 38. Preferred topology for the phylogenetic analysis of Balacha based on morphological data and obtained under implied weights (k = 1.599 to 7.412). OG: outgroup.Ancestral area distributions, as recovered by S-DIVA (based on eight equally most parsimonious trees under equal weights), and known distribution of species are given by colored circles. Each color represents an area shown in the accompanying maps (Figs 39 and 40). Sharpshooter images from Wilson et al. (2009), except those of B. lepida, B. rubripennis, and the two new species.

FIGURES 1–6. Balacha ancora sp. nov., male. (1) Head, pronotum, and mesonotum, dorsal view. (2–6) Terminalia: (2) pygofer, lateral view (most macrosetae are missing but their insertion points were illustrated); (3) style, connective, and subgenital plate, ventral view (only the insertion points of plate macrosetae were illustrated); (4) style and connective, dorsal view; (5) paraphyses, dorsal view; (6) aedeagus and anal tube, lateral view.

FIGURES 7–16. Balacha ancora sp. nov., female. (7) Sternite VII, ventral view. (8) Pygofer, lateral view (gonangulum also illustrated). (9–11) First ovipositor valvula and valvifer: (9) general lateral view; (10) dorsal sculptured area at median portion; (11) apex and ventral sculptured area. (12–15) Second ovipositor valvula: (12) general lateral view; (13) teeth at basal portion; (14) teeth at median portion; (15) apex. (16) Second valvifer and gonoplac, lateral view. DEN: denticle; DSA: dorsal sculptured area; DUC: duct; GON: gonangulum; PPR: preapical prominence; RAM: ramus; TOO: tooth; VID: ventral interlocking device; VL1: first valvifer; VL2: second valvifer; VSA: ventral sculptured area.

FIGURES 17–20. Body, dorsal view: (17) Balacha ancora sp. nov., male (length 4.8 mm); (18) Balacha nigroflava sp. nov., male (l. 5.8 mm); (19) Balacha rubripennis Cavichioli & Sakakibara, 1988, male (l. 9.4 mm). (20) Balacha ancora sp. nov. on a leaf of Actinocephalus polyanthus (Bong.) Sano (Eriocaulaceae) at Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó, Minas Gerais State (1,279 m a.s.l.); photo: André Almeida Alves, October 10, 2019.