Mnaomaia bellovaciorum, Szwedo, Jacek, Bourgoin, Thierry & Lefebvre, Fabrice, 2006

Szwedo, Jacek, Bourgoin, Thierry & Lefebvre, Fabrice, 2006, New Mnemosynini taxa (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha: Cixiidae) from the Palaeogene of France with notes on their early association with host plants, Zootaxa 1122, pp. 25-45 : 35-38

Mnaomaia bellovaciorum sp. nov.

( Figs. 19–26 )

MATERIAL: Holotype, male. Specimen MNHN PA 1781, 1/15; collection “Langlois­ Meurinne / De Ploëg”, mounted in Canada balsam, deposited in Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris. State of preservation: anterior part of body cracked, and covered with milky veil, ventral portion partly covered with milky veil, apical portion of tegmina partly destroyed, but traces of venation visible. Specimen probably parasitized, two round foramens visible on abdomen, one with remnants of parasite sac ( Diptera : Pipunculidae ?).

TYPE LOCALITY: Farm Le Quesnoy, Chevrière, region of Creil, Oise department (Northern France).

STRATIGRAPHIC POSITION: Lowermost Eocene, circa 53 Ma, Sparnacian, level MP7, of the mammal fauna of Dormaal ( Feugueur 1963; De Ploëg et al. 1998; Nel et al., 1999, Nel et al. 2004; Cavagnetto 2000).

ETYMOLOGY: Named after Gallo­Celtic tribe Bellovaci, inhabiting river Oise valley.

DIAGNOSIS: Combination of characters: vertex in mid line about twice as long as wide at base; mesonotum about as long in mid line as wide; postclypeus in mid line about twice as long as frons in mid line, tegmen 3.6 times as long as wide, RA with single terminal, RP with three terminalia, M with five terminalia, CuA with two terminalia; tibiometatarsal formula 3 + 2 + 1: 5: 4; male anal tube with lateral lobes, about twice as long as wide.

DESCRIPTION: Coloration in amber ochraceous, with slightly darker tegmina, and probably darker veins. Tegmina, both cells and veins covered with short chaetae.

Total length 10.5 mm. Head with compound eyes 1.76 mm wide, distinctly wider than long, narrower than pronotum. Anterior margin of head angulate­arcuate in dorsal view. Vertex with lateral margins elevate, posterior margin arcualtely incised; vertex at base (0.4 mm) distinctly narrower than long in mid line (0. 72 mm), narrowing apicad. Face with median carina distinct and median ocellus visible. Two longitudinal carinae at the margin of vertex and frons. Frons about 1 mm long in mid line, with slightly concave disc; frontoclypeal suture distinctly arcuate. Postclypeus 1.35 mm long, with distinct lateral carinae. Anteclypeus about 0.9 mm long in mid line with median carina.

Pronotum slightly narrower in mid line (0.4 mm) than in lateral portions, with postocular carinae visible.

Mesonotum 2.2 mm long in mid line, 2.12 mm wide, with five longitudinal carinae.

Tegmen 9 mm long, 2.5 mm wide, clavus not exceeding 2/3 of tegmen length, stigma distinct, elongate, about six times as long as wide, costal margin mildly curved at base, almost straight in median portion, rounded in apical portion; basal cell about twice as long as wide, ScR forked near base, ScRA1 reaching the stigma, RA with single terminal, RP forked basad of nodal line, then RP 1 forked apicad, with three terminalia; M simple at base, forked slightly basad of ScRA1 forking, with five terminalia; CuA with two terminalia; first row of transverse veinlets uniting RP and M and M and CuA1 basad of nodal line, transverse veinlets of apical quite regular; claval veins Pcu and A1 united apicad of half of length of clavus.

Hind wing with m­cu veinlet very short, and M branching slightly apicad of ir veinlet.

Fore femur 1.96 mm long, fore tibia quadrangular in cross section, 1.4 mm long, foretarsus 0.6 mm long, with tarsomeres subequal in length. Hind coxa with distinct spine, hind femur about 1.6 mm long, hind tibia 2. 76 mm long, with two distinct lateral spines, basal one smaller and the second, bigger, placed basad of half of hind tibia length; hind tibial apical row of spines 3 + 2 + 1. Hind tarsus 2.12 mm long, basitarsomere 1.32 mm long with 5 apical spines, longer than combined length of mid and apical tarsomeres; mid tarsomere 1 mm long with four apical spines; apical tarsomere 0.68 mm long with disitnct tarsal claws and pulvilla.

Male pygofer 1.4 mm long in mid line, with median process, posterior margin incised laterad of median process, lobes of pygofer in lateral view almost straight, without projections. Anal tube twice as long (1.2 mm) as wide (about 0.6 mm) flattened, apical portion with distinct, wide ventrad, punctate lobes; Anal style quite long (0.3 mm); Genital styles quite short, without distinct widenings at apex, apical margin covered with chaetae.

Figures

FIGURES 19 – 23. Mnaomaia bellovaciorum gen. et sp. nov. Fig. 19. Anterior part of body in dorsal view; Fig. 20. Face and rostrum; Fig. 21. Anterior part of body in lateral view; Fig. 22. Right tegmen; Fig. 23. Part of hind wing. Scale bar: 1 mm.

FIGURES 24 – 26. Mnaomaia bellovaciorum gen. et sp. nov. Fig. 24. Left hind tibia and tarsus; Fig. 25. Left tarsus; Fig. 26. Male genital block in left ventrolateral view. Scale bar: 1 mm.