Aurimastris, Evangelista, Olívia & Sakakibara, Albino M., 2007

Evangelista, Olívia & Sakakibara, Albino M., 2007, Aurimastris, new genus of the treehopper tribe Amastrini (Hemiptera, Membracidae, Smiliinae) *, Zootaxa 1652, pp. 63-68 : 64-65

Aurimastris new genus

Type species: Aurimastris expansa new species

Description. Head triangular, vertical, approximately 2x wider than long, densely punctate and covered with minute hairs; vertex slightly convex, weakly sculptured, superior margin sinuate, supra-antennal ledges in same plane of vertex, margins straight, convergent to apex of postclypeus; epistomal suture distinctly grooved; eyes ovoid, not prominent; ocelli conspicuous, equidistant from each other and to eyes, situated on imaginary line that passes through center of eyes; postclypeus diamond-shaped, about as wide as long, projected below margins of supra-antennal ledges in hairy, ovoid apex.

Pronotum well developed, tectiform, somewhat compressed laterally, with median carina sharp from behind metopidium to apex of posterior process; surface uneven, fine and densely punctured, sparsely pubescent; metopidium variable, convex; posterior process highly elevated after humeral angles, slightly arched downwards, with acute apex, terminating before apex of tegmina; post-ocular lobules adpressed to thorax, with distance between eye and humerus less than largest diameter of eye; humeral angles well developed, more or less triangular, foliaceous, projected laterally in ear-like lobe, base extended from behind eyes to beyond humeri, near internal angle of clavus.

Tegmina about 1/3 concealed by pronotum, internal discoidal cell almost entirely visible; two discoidal and five apical cells present, third cell petiolate, as wide as long; crossveins s and two m-cu present. Hind wings normal, with four apical cells, second cell petiolate.

Legs with tibiae prismatic; pro- and mesotibiae without cuculate setae; metatibiae with cuculate setae on row I and II-III (wide band); hind basitarsi with plantar cuculate setae.

Comments. Aurimastris resembles Amastris Stål, 1862 , more than any other amastrine genus. Both genera share such features as: pronotum compressed and elevated; tegmina with tips not concealed by pronotum, presence of crossveins s and two m-cu. Aurimastris differs from Amastris , however, in the highly developed humeral angles, which expand laterally into a foliaceous, triangular lobe.

Etymology. The generic name is a compound word formed by: Auri- from the Latin auris (= ear) plus - mastris from Amastris , the genus to which the new taxon is closely related.