Pravistylus scolophallus, Stiller, 2010

Stiller, M., 2010, Revision of the Southern African leafhopper genus Pravistylus (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae) 2468, Zootaxa 2468 (1), pp. 1-81 : 43-44

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.2468.1.1
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10537723
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EFD356-FFF1-FFF9-6CFF-72108E03D4EC
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Pravistylus scolophallus
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Pravistylus scolophallus View in CoL sp. n.

( Figs 1 View FIGURE 1 ae; 2 as; 3 aj; 4 ah; 5 ab; 6 ah; 7 bu & bv; 8 be)

Diagnosis. Aedeagal preatrium with spine; shaft, lateral view, base short, C-shaped; apex straight, very narrow, spine-like, gonopore medial, dorsal ( Figs 3 View FIGURE 3 aj, 4 ah). Plate medial basal margin lobate, apex sclerotized dorsally, distal medial margin straight, recessed laterad of basal lobe, sclerotized dorsally; lateral margin broadly rounded ( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 as). Style distal part far from base ( Fig. 5 View FIGURE 5 ab); dorsal apophysis visible below plate ( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 as). Female sternite 7 base rectangular, posterior margin with two paired, delicate processes on either side of medial, shallow notch ( Figs 7 View FIGURE 7 bu & bv).

Etymology. Greek, for the pointed process (skolos) on the preatrium of the aedeagus (phallus).

Male and female. Pale ochraceous; paired, brown longitudinal band on vertex; apex of band on vertex darkened; 3 pairs on pronotum. All cells of tegmina with light brown lining. Hind wing triangular, about one quarter as long as tegmina ( Fig. 8 View FIGURE 8 be).

Male. Dimensions. (n = 3) Length: apex of vertex to apex of tegmina 2.4–2.6 mm; apex of vertex to apex of abdomen 2.7–2.8 mm; vertex medially 0.4–0.5 mm; vertex next to eye 0.3 mm; pronotum medially 0.3 mm. Width: head 0.8 mm; pronotum 0.8 mm. Ocellar diameter 21.6–29.7 µm; ocellocular distance 70.0 µm.

Genital capsule. Pygofer, in lateral view, with ventral, dorsal posterior margins broadly rounded; lobe absent ( Fig. 1 View FIGURE 1 ae). Plate medial basal margin lobate, sclerotized dorsally, distal medial margin straight, recessed laterad of basal lobe, sclerotized dorsally; lateral margin broadly rounded; 5–7 uniseriate macrosetae ( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 as); plate 0.8–1.0 times as long as wide. Aedeagus, in lateral view, with shaft arising basally from atrium; preatrium produced into narrow spine; shaft base C-shaped, tapering towards apex; apical half narrow, straight, spine-like, narrower diameter than base of shaft; gonopore dorsomedial, at junction between spine and curved shaft base ( Figs 3 View FIGURE 3 aj, 4 ah). Style distal part far from anterior medial lobe; apophysis uniformly tapering to narrow point; preapical lobe acute; apophysis protruding medially beyond margin of plate ( Fig. 5 View FIGURE 5 ab). Connective stem, arms of about similar length and width ( Fig. 6 View FIGURE 6 ah).

Female. Dimensions. (n = 3) Length: apex of vertex to apex of tegmina 2.6–2.8 mm; apex of vertex to apex of abdomen 3.3–3.4 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 28.0 µm; ocellocular distance 80.6–96.7 µm.

Genitalia. Sternite 7 base rectangular, posterior margin with fine tooth-like paired process on either side of small, shallow cup-shaped notch, with notch recessed ( Fig. 7 View FIGURE 7 bv) or superficial ( Fig. 7 View FIGURE 7 bu).

Material examined. Holotype male. South Africa, Western Cape. Wiedouw Farm, base of Gifberg Pass , 31°44ʹS, 18°46ʹE, 120 m, 3.x.2002, M. Stiller, sweeping, low growing vegetation (grass and forbs) in area where bush vegetation was cleared mechanically or by burning ( SANC) GoogleMaps . Paratypes. 1♂, 3♀. Western Cape . 1♂, 3♀, same data as holotype ( SANC) GoogleMaps .

Remarks. This species is characterised by the aedeagus that has the preatrium spinose, the shaft with the apex that is long, narrow and spine-like, the mediodorsal gonopore, and the shape of the female sternite 7. Possibly only two other species show some form of modification to the aedeagus. These are P. caenophallus and P. odontiophallus . In P. odontiophallus the apex of the shaft is sometimes expanded laterally but always with one or the other side bearing small teeth ( Figs 4 k & l View FIGURE 4 ). In P. caenophallus the aedeagal shaft has a medial, dorsal keeled bilobate structure, and the apex is expanded laterad ( Figs 3 View FIGURE 3 ak, 4 ai). Pravistylus bidentidiscus has a similar structure of the plate ( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 ar). In this species the medial apical margin of the plate is concave, with apical and medial teeth, with the style apophysis protruding beyond its margin. All the other species have the lateral or posterior margin of the plate modified or produced or acute, or narrowly or broadly rounded. Species of Platentomus Theron , are characterised by the bilobate medial margin of the plate, but have the aedeagus with the apex of the shaft modified.