Myotrioza eremophili Taylor

Taylor, Gary S., Fagan-Jeffries, Erinn P. & Austin, Andy D., 2016, A new genus and twenty new species of Australian jumping plant-lice (Psylloidea: Triozidae) from Eremophila and Myoporum (Scrophulariaceae: Myoporeae), Zootaxa 4073 (1), pp. 1-84 : 39-41

Myotrioza eremophili Taylor , sp. nov.

( Figs 47–54 , 79–80 , 87 ; Tables 1–8 )

Types. AUSTRALIA, Western Australia: Holotype: 1 ♂ (dried, point) Credo Station Reserve, - 30°13'18''S, 120°41'53''E GDA94, M. Cheng & C. Symonds, swept Eremophila scoparia , MC042 (WAM). Paratypes: 4 ♂, 7 ♀ (dried, point), same data as holotype (WAM, WINC); 4 ♂, 5 ♀ (dried, point), Credo Station Reserve, SW, 30º32.140'S, 120º45.890'E, G.S. Taylor, 31.viii.2011, swept Eremophila scoparia, 2011 126, CR7 (WAM, WINC); 1 ♂, 1 ♀ (dried), Credo Station, - 30°13' 18.00''S 120°41' 53.00''E, 432m., 5 ix.2011, M. Cheng & C. Symonds, beat Eremophila scoparia , UNSW Host No. HA17 (WINC); 5 ♂ (dried, point), Credo Station Reserve, Coolgardie North Rd, 30º25.402'S, 120º48.242'E, G.S. Taylor, 3.ix.2011, Eremophila oppositifolia ssp. angustifolia, 2011 148, CR29 (WAM). South Australia: 5 ♂, 5 ♀ (dried), Gawler Range NP, 32º40.085'S, 135º29.835'E, G.S. Taylor, 15.xi.2012, swept Eremophila scoparia, 2012 113 (H27) (SAM, WAM, WINC).

Description. Adult ( Figs 47–50 ). Colouration. Male: [specimens point-mounted] Light yellow brown: vertex with distinct brown marking in vicinity of fovea; eyes greyish brown; antennal segments 8–10 progressively dark brown; mesopraescutum with a pair of orange brown anterior submedial markings; mesoscutum with a narrow medial and two pairs of orange brown submedial markings; fore and hind wings clear; fore wing veins equally pigmented brown; legs pale yellow-brown; abdominal tergites 1–5 dark brown to black; sternites brown to dark brown; abdominal membrane colouration pale green; proctiger, subgenital plate and parameres yellow-brown; anterior face of proctiger with brown infuscation; subgenital plate with a brown to dark brown marking anteriolaterally; apices of parameres black. Female: [specimens point-mounted] as for male except slightly paler with greyish green suffusion; abdominal sternites with brown transverse band with pale submedial marking; proctiger brown, darker anteriorly with apex dark brown to black; subgenital plate pale yellow-brown, dark brown anteriorly and medially and apex dark brown to black.

Structure. Measurements as in Tables 4–8 . Body short, compact ( Figs 47–50 ). Head ( Figs 51–52 ); vertex with weak medial suture, moderately sunk in vicinity of fovea; genal processes short, 0.35–0.42 times as long as vertex; antenna very short, 0.56–0.72 times width of head, with a single subapical rhinarium on each of segments 4, 6, 8 and 9; segment 10 with a short bluntly rounded seta and a minute bluntly rounded seta. Fore wing ( Figs 53–54 ) 3.90–4.50 times as long as head width, 2.50–2.75 times as long as wide, short, broad with rounded apex; vein Rs straight, slightly upturned distally, terminating short of wing apex, about same length as vein M, RsM: 0.81–1.06; medial and cubital cells subequal; veins M1+2 and M3+4 short, broadly diverging with corresponding low m1 cell value: 1.12–1.59; veins Cu1a short, arched and Cu1b short, each widely divergent with corresponding low cu1 cell value: 1.03–1.36; metatibia 0.64–0.96 times as long as width of head, longer than metafemur, without sclerotised apical spurs. Male terminalia ( Figs 79–80 ); proctiger conoid, without expanded lateral lobes; subgenital plate broadly rounded; parameres ( Fig. 80 ) short, narrow, blade-like, evenly tapering to incurved sclerotised apices; distal portion of aedeagus moderate in length, with asymmetrical apical expansion ( Fig. 79 ). Female terminalia ( Fig. 87 ): proctiger short, triangular, posterior margin flat from lateral aspect and with strongly sclerotised sharply pointed apex; subgenital plate, triangular with tapering, strongly sclerotised sharply pointed apex; distal portion of proctiger with dense long pale setae and sparse field of pale weakly hooked setae and subgenital plate with sparse long setae.

Comments. Myotrioza eremophili sp. nov. can be distinguished by the following unique combination of characters: habitus as in Figs 47–50 , antenna with normal arrangement of rhinaria, fore wing broad with rounded apex, Rs about same length as vein M ( Figs 53–54 ), female proctiger with sparse field of hooked setae, rounded profile and weak terminal upward inflection, valvula ventralis little curved, ventral profile of female subgenital plate concave ( Fig. 87 ), male proctiger conoid, aedeagus thin, elongate, paramere ovate with broadly rounded apex ( Figs 79–80 ). For diagnosis from closely related species, see Comments for M. darwinensis sp. nov.

Etymology. Named after Eremophila , the host genus.

Host-plant association and distribution. ( Tables 2–3). Myotrioza eremophili sp. nov. is recorded from Eremophila oppositifolia from Credo Station, near Coolgardie, Western Australia and Eremophila scoparia (R.Br.) F.Muell. (Silver Emubush, Scotia Bush) from the Gawler Ranges, South Australia. It is likely to occupy a broad distribution given that it occurs on multiple hosts that are widely distributed in southern Australia. It is one of 11 species of Myotrioza gen. nov. and 17 species of Triozidae recorded for Western Australia and one of 10 species of Myotrioza gen. nov. and 24 species of Triozidae recorded for South Australia. It is one of 4 species of Myotrioza , namely M. darwinensis sp. nov., M. eremophili sp. nov., M. oppositifoliae sp. nov. and M. scopariae sp. nov. from E. oppositifolia ; and one of 3, namely M. eremophili sp. nov., M. gawlerensis sp. nov. and M. scopariae sp. nov. from E. scoparia . For distribution of M. oppositifolia , refer to M. darwinensis sp. nov. Eremophila scoparia is a broom-like shrub to 3 m high with upright branches. It occurs in dryland mallee communities on sandy red earths in inland WA, SA, NSW, Vic ( Chinnock 2014).

Figures

FIGURES 47 – 54. Myotrioza eremophili, sp. nov. (47), habitus, male, (dorsal aspect); (48), habitus, female (dorsal aspect); (49), habitus, male (lateral aspect); (50), habitus, female (lateral aspect); (51), head, male (dorsal aspect, from slide); (52), head, female (dorsal aspect); (53), fore wing, male (from slide); (54), fore wing, female. Scale = 1.0 mm.

FIGURES 79 – 86. Figs 79 – 80: Myotrioza eremophili, sp. nov. (79), male terminalia (lateral aspect); (80), paramere (inner face, lateral aspect); Figs 81 – 82: M. flindersiana, sp. nov. (81), male terminalia (lateral aspect); (82), paramere (inner face, lateral aspect); Figs 83 – 84: M. gawlerensis, sp. nov. (83), male terminalia (lateral aspect); (84), paramere (inner face, lateral aspect); Figs 85 – 86: M. insularis, sp. nov. (85), male terminalia (lateral aspect); (86), paramere (inner face, lateral aspect). Scale = 0.2 mm for male terminalia, 0.1 mm for parameres.

FIGURES 87 – 90. Female terminalia (87), Myotrioza eremophili, sp. nov.; (88), M. flindersiana, sp. nov.; (89), M. gawlerensis, sp. nov.; (90), M. insularis, sp. nov. Scale = 0.5 mm (all at same scale).