Pravistylus brachyplacus, Stiller, 2010

Stiller, M., 2010, Revision of the Southern African leafhopper genus Pravistylus (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae) 2468, Zootaxa 2468 (1), pp. 1-81 : 11-12

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.2468.1.1
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10537689
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EFD356-FFD1-FFD9-6CFF-72C08E9BD3A9
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Pravistylus brachyplacus
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Pravistylus brachyplacus View in CoL sp. n.

( Figs 1 c View FIGURE 1 ; 2 View FIGURE 2 aq; 3 f; 4 f; 5 m; 6 e; 7 d; 8 c & d)

Diagnosis. Plate short, 0.6–0.7 times as long as maximum width; lateral margin with a right-angled step medially; posterior margin truncate, or somewhat triangular ( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 aq). Aedeagal shaft short, tubular, Ushaped in lateral view ( Figs 3 f View FIGURE 3 , 4 f View FIGURE 4 ).

Etymology. Greek, for the plate (plakos) that is very short (brachys).

Male and female. Yellowish ochraceous. Vertex with fuscous marking near ocellus, some fuscous spots on pronotum. Tegmina with fuscous lining mainly in inner anteapical, posterior discal and brachial cells ( Figs 8 c View FIGURE 8 , male, 8 d, female). Hind wing triangular, less than half length of tegmina.

Male. Dimensions. (n = 8) Length: apex of vertex to apex of tegmina 2.0– 2.2 mm; apex of vertex to apex of abdomen 2.2–2.4 mm; vertex medially 0.4 mm; vertex next to eye 0.3 mm; pronotum medially 0.3 mm. Width: head 0.8 mm; pronotum 0.7 mm. Ocellar diameter 19.2–29.8 µm; ocellocular distance 42.0 µm.

Genital capsule. Pygofer short; ventral posterior margin with small bulbous lobe; dorsal posterior margin subapically lobate ( Fig. 1 c View FIGURE 1 ). Pygofer lobe short, triangular, base about one third as wide as pygofer ( Fig. 1 c View FIGURE 1 ). Plate short, mediolateral margin right-angled; tufts of setae proximad and distad of angle; posterior margin truncate or slightly triangular; 3–4 submarginal macrosetae ( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 aq); length 0.6–0.7 times as long as wide. Aedeagus, in lateral view, U-shaped; shaft short, parallel-sided, arising medially from atrium, in dorsal view slightly depressed; gonopore apical ( Figs 3 f View FIGURE 3 , 4 f View FIGURE 4 ). Style distal part close to short anterior medial lobe; apophysis straight, tapering to blunt point; preapical lobe rounded; basal lateral lobe long; apophysis with one major ventral tooth as well as fine serration ( Fig. 5 m View FIGURE 5 ). Connective in lateral view with stem slightly angled dorsally; in dorsal view, stem triangular, about 0.25 times as long as arms ( Fig. 6 e View FIGURE 6 ).

Female. Dimensions. (n = 14) Length: apex of vertex to apex of tegmina 2.3–2.4 mm; apex of vertex to apex of abdomen 2.5–2.9 mm; vertex medially 0.5 mm; vertex next to eye 0.3 mm; pronotum medially 0.3 mm. Width: head 0.8–0.9 mm; pronotum 0.8 mm. Ocellar diameter 14.7–23.3 µm; ocellocular distance 39.3– 46.7 µm.

Genitalia. Sternite 7 base rectangular; posterior marginal ligula rounded, short, narrow ( Fig. 7 d View FIGURE 7 ).

Material examined. Holotype male. South Africa, Mpumalanga. Belfast 1 km W, 25°41ʹS, 29°58ʹE, 1900 m, 17.ii.2005, M. Stiller, DVac, grazed grassland ( SANC) GoogleMaps . Paratypes. 8♂, 16♀. Mpumalanga . 7♂, 16♀, same data as holotype. KwaZulu-Natal GoogleMaps . 1♂, Dundee , 28°10ʹS, 30°14ʹE, 21.i.1981, J.G. Theron, sweeping ( BMNH, SANC) GoogleMaps .

Remarks. This species is distantly related to the other species with a short, tubular shaft with variable length, such as P. deltoplacus sp. n. ( Fig. 3 c View FIGURE 3 ), P. mecophysis sp. n. ( Fig. 3 d View FIGURE 3 ), P. bidentidiscus ( Fig. 3 e View FIGURE 3 ) and P. mollidiscus sp. n. ( Fig. 3 g View FIGURE 3 ). The former three species have a short, tubular or somewhat depressed shaft, with the apex curved or angled dorsally, except in P. mollidiscus sp. n. where the shaft is very thick and does not have the apex curved. No plate of any other species of Pravistylus is similar to that of P. brachyplacus ( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 aq). The colour of this species ( Figs 8 c & d View FIGURE 8 ) is similar to that of P. eductus ( Figs 8 m, o & q View FIGURE 8 ). The short, blunt ligula of sternite 7 of the female ( Fig. 7 d View FIGURE 7 ) is unique within Pravistylus .