Patara euryfrons Bahder & Bartlett, 2024

Bahder, Brian W., Myrie, Wayne, Helmick, Ericka E. & Bartlett, Charles R., 2024, A new species of planthopper in the genus Patara (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Fulgoroidea: Derbidae) from central Jamaica, Zootaxa 5463 (3), pp. 429-440 : 432-437

Patara euryfrons Bahder & Bartlett sp. n.

( Figures 2–7 )

Type locality. Castleton Botanic Garden , Portland Parish, Jamaica (18.170892, -76.823239) ( Fig. 1 ) .

Diagnosis. Fuscous with white legs, white forewing margin with apex of branches of primary veins white. Vertex broadly triangular, broader than long, lateral margins of vertex well-separated at head apex, head apex with a transverse carina (medially incomplete). Face relatively broad, face deeply concave, lateral margins of face not in close contact. Forewing with CuA forked (Cu 1 joining with MP 3+4) forming marginal C5 cell. Aedeagus with large bifid subapical process on right lateral side of aedeagus, a small bifid process on left lateral side, and three processes arising on left lateral side of endosoma.

Description. Color. Body generally fuscous (in places with reddish wash, on abdomen and antennal joints) with white venter and legs ( Figs 2–3 ). Head uniformly fuscous except clypeus and stylet white. Thorax fuscous, except venter and legs white. Forewings mostly fuscous, with pale vein tips and apical margin.

Structure. Head. In dorsal view ( Fig. 3A ), vertex trapezoidal, narrowing apically, broader at base than long (width approximately 2x length at midline), median carina present, obsolete anteriorly, slightly extending beyond eyes, anterior margin angulately incised (bearing apical transverse carina, medially incomplete), posterior margin broadly and shallowly concave, lateral margins linear, narrowing anteriorly. In lateral view ( Fig. 3B ), rounded (clypeus strongly angled from frons), extending slightly beyond eyes, lateral ocelli anterior to eye at level of antennae ( Fig. 3C ). Eyes elongate and deeply emarginated near antennae. In frontal view ( Fig. 3C ); frons relatively broad, lateral margins foliate and well-separated (nearly touching at apical transverse carina at fastigium) bearing irregularly arranged fine pale spots (sensory pits) with deep median concavity, lateral margins sinuate, nearly parallel-sided. Antenna elongated, scape short, much wider than tall, pedicle in males elongated, club-like (enlarging distally over entire length), nearly cylindrical, approximately 3x long as wide at widest point (near apex), uniformly covered with small sensory plaques.

Thorax. Pronotum in dorsal view ( Fig. 3A ) narrow, anterior margin convex, carinate; posterior margin broadly concave, bearing median carina, carina of anterior margin appearing (in dorsal view) to continue across disc between eye and tegula to form lateral margin of pronotum; in lateral view ( Fig. 3B ) pronotum declined anteriorly, paradiscal region relatively narrow, lateral margins sinuate, taping slightly distally to rounded apex just exceeding antenna. Mesonotum broad, humped in lateral view ( Fig. 3B ), tricarinate, carinae obsolete posteriorly, lateral carinae narrowing posteriorly, strongly arched in posterior 1/3 ( Fig. 3A ).

Forewing spatulate (distally broadened, Fig. 4 ), leading and trailing margins sinuate, bearing sensory pits along Pcu, and sparsely along ScP+R, and a few solitary pits on other veins (especially CuA). Clavus just exceeding wing midlength, closed (composite vein Pcu+A1 reaching wing margin before CuP). MP combined with ScP+R near base forming short composite stem from basal cell apex. CuA forked after the m-cu crossvein to form open, marginal C5 cell, CuA 1 fused with MP 3+4 to form leading margin of cell. CuP sinuate. Branching pattern RA 2-branched, RP 2-branched, MP 3-branched, CuA 2-branched.

Terminalia. Pygofer in lateral view narrow ( Fig. 5A ), elongate and irregularly quadrate, widest ventrally, anterior and posterior margin sinuate, sinuate carina extending from dorsal margin ventral to near midlength; in ventral view ( Fig. 5B ), rectangular, lacking medioventral process. Gonostyli in lateral view large and spatulate ( Fig. 5A ), apex rounded, subapical dorsal margin arched, dorsal margin bearing large flange with two projections, distal projection large and elongated, avicephaliform, apex scythe-like, pointed dorsocephalad; proximal projection a short hook, curving caudad; in ventral view ( Fig. 5B ), elongated, narrowly spatulate (constricted proximally, expanded in proximal 1/4 th, constricted subapically to blunt incurved apices, inner margin sinuate, outer margin curved mesad. Aedeagus short ( Figs 6 , 7 ), shaft straight and simple bearing a subapical bifid process on left side (A1a & A1b), dorsal projection (A1a) elongated, slender, sinuate, directed dorsad, ventral projection (A1b) slightly shorter than A1a, directed cephalad. Endosoma complex, bilaterally asymmetrical, short, largely membranous bearing several sclerotized processes (labeled E1-4. Fig. 7 ), apical process (E1) arising on left lateral side of apex, slender, sinuate and elongated, directed retrorsely; a short subapical process arising on right lateral side (E2), left lateral side with a short, pointed process (E3), and a pair of closely approximated process (E4a, E4b) arising subbasally on left lateral side on caudal margin from common base. Anal segment from lateral view ( Fig. 5A ) short and relatively stout, ventrocaudal margin prolonged, apex rounded, directed caudad, ventral margin linear, from dorsal view (Fig, 5B) appearing roughly quadrate; paraproct robust, apex exceeding anal segment.

Distribution. Jamaica (Portland Parish).

Etymology. The specific epithet ‘ euryfrons’ is derived from the Greek word ‘ eurys’ (meaning ‘broad’) joined with ‘frons’. The name is given in reference to the broad frons from frontal view.

Material examined. Holotype male, Jamaica, Portland Parish / Castleton Botanic Garden / 15.II.2022 / sweeping palms / Coll.: B.W.Bahder // Holotype / Patara euryfrons ♂ (FLREC) . Paratypes: 2 males, same data as holotype ( FLREC) .

Sequence Data. For the COI gene, a 569 bp product was generated for the barcoding region (5’ half), for the 18S rRNA gene, a 1,348 bp product was generated, and a 734 bp product was generated for the D9-D10 expansion region of the 28S rRNA gene. GenBank accession numbers are presented in Table 2 .

For each of the individual genes and the combined data set, phylogenetic analyses using Maximum Likelihood ( Fig. 8 ) places P. euryfrons sp. n. in association with Patara . For the 18S rRNA gene ( Fig. 8A ), there was strong bootstrap support (100) for the placement P. euryfrons sp. n. with Patara adjacent to P. cooki and P. vanduzei (98). Additionally, there was strong bootstrap support (97) for the placement of P. euryfrons sp. n. adjacent to P. cooki and P. vanduzei based on the 28S rRNA gene (D9-D10, Fig. 8B ). For COI ( Fig. 8C ), there was relatively strong bootstrap support (81) for P. euryfrons sp. n. resolving within Patara ( Fig. 8C ). Finally, the consensus tree generated from concatenated 18S, 28S and COI data ( Fig. 8D ), show strong bootstrap support for the P. euryfrons sp. n. resolving with the genus Patara as a monophyletic clade.

We note that these phylogenetic results ( Figure 8 ) do not appear to support the current tribal-level classification, however, these analyses were not intended to test higher-level rankings and our taxon sampling is not adequate to draw convincing deductions.

Remarks. Superficially, P. euryfrons sp. n. resembles other dark-bodied Patara such as P. vanduzei , P. fumipennis Fennah, 1952 , and P. cyanea Fennah, 1952 . However, P. euryfrons sp. n. differs from all other Patara in having a broad face (with the lateral margins of the frons not in contact), and a relatively broad trapezoidal vertex. The form of the head in P. euryfrons sp. n. is sufficiently different from congeners that the species may warrant placement within a new genus. However, we felt that, aside from the head, the features of P. euryfrons sp. n. are closely aligned with Patara , and we would prefer to obtain greater sampling (both molecular and morphological) to support the characterization of a new genus.

A second feature where P. euryfrons sp. n. may be different from other Patara are details of wing venation, most notably the MP and CuA veins. In P. euryfrons sp. n., the CuA is forked distad of the m-cu crossvein (as is usual for the genus), but the CuA 2 meets the CuP instead of the wing margin as occurs in other species (alternatively, the CuA may be unbranched and is here connected to CuP by an icu crossvein). Unfortunately, only about half of the species of Patara have the wings illustrated (of the 14 New World species, forewings of four, including the type species, were illustrated in Fennah, 1952, and additional two in Fennah, 1945, plus we had examples of P. vanduzei and an undescribed species for comparison), and among these is substantive variation in branching pattern between MP and CuA, leading to many possible equally parsimonious interpretations depending on underlying assumptions. For example, P. pakaraima Fennah, 1952 , appears to possess a distinctively simple arrangement ( Fennah 1952 fig. 25A), with a 3-branched MP and a 2-branched CuA with these two longitudinal veins connected by a single m-cu crossvein (unusually situated distad of the CuA fork). Patara guttata (illustrated by Fennah 1952, fig. 22A, redrawn in Emeljanov 1996, fig 8, #9) has features that are more similar to other taxa in the genus where the m-cu crossvein is much more proximal on the wing and the MP 3+4 attains and fuses with CuA. Subsequent interpretation depends on whether the composite vein is thought to subsequently fork or instead reach the wing margin unramified (and the related question of the position of the im crossvein). Also, a stipulation that two m-cu crossveins might be present suggests other possible interpretations. Collectively, while it appears that the direct connection between CuA and CuP is unique to P. euryfrons sp. n., the wing venation seems insufficiently studied to comfortably assert the diagnostic importance of that feature.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habitat and type locality of Patara euryfrons sp. n.

FIGURE 2. Adult male habitus of Patara euryfrons sp. n.; (A) lateral view and (B) dorsal view; scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 3. Adult male Patara euryfrons sp. n.; (A) head, pronotum, and mesonotum dorsal view, (B) same, lateral view, and (C) head frontal view; scale = 1 mm.

FIGURE 4. Forewing venation of Patara euryfrons sp. n. Wing venation terminology following Bourgoin et al. (2015); black = vein, italic = crossvein, green = cell.

FIGURE 5. Adult male Patara euryfrons sp. n. terminalia; (A) right lateral view, (B) ventral view and (C) dorsal view.

FIGURE 6. Aedeagus of Patara euryfrons sp. n.: (A) right lateral view, (B) left lateral view, (C) dorsal view and (D) ventral view.

FIGURE 7. Line art for aedeagus of Patara euryfrons sp. n.: (A) right lateral view, (B) left lateral view, (C) dorsal view and (D) ventral view.

FIGURE 8. Maximum Likelihood trees (1,000 replicates) exhibiting relationship of Patara euryfrons sp. n. to available Patara (in-group) and other otiocerines (out-group taxa); (A) 18S rRNA gene, (B) 28S D9–D10 expansion region, (C) 5’ half for the COI gene and (D) consensus tree based on concatenated 18S, 28S and COI data; scale bar = percent nucleotide difference.