Maiestas irwini, Duan, Yani, Dietrich, Christopher H. & Zhang, Yalin, 2017

Duan, Yani, Dietrich, Christopher H. & Zhang, Yalin, 2017, A new species of the leafhopper genus Maiestas Distant from Australia (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae, Deltocephalini), ZooKeys 646, pp. 73-78 : 75-76

Maiestas irwini sp. n. Figs 1, 2

Length.

Male: 2.6-3.0 mm.

Coloration and morphology.

Ground color stramineous marked with orange and fuscous (Fig. 1 A–C). Fore margin of head with fuscous marks and light fasciae extending to scutellum, coronal sulcus prominent (Fig. 1 A–B). Face mostly brown, with paired white arcs corresponding to muscle scars of frontoclypeus (Fig. 1D). Pronotum with three pairs of fasciae. Scutellum with three fasciae (Fig. 1 A–B). Forewing pale ochraceous, with two distinct, irregular fuscous maculae, one at the apex of the clavus and the other at the base of the central anteapical cell, veins contrastingly pale, veins of apex bordered with fuscous. Mesosternum light brown. Femora and tibiae with fuscous marks (Fig. 1C).

Head wider than pronotum, crown depressed, anterior margin distinctly angulate in dorsal view, slightly longer than distance between eyes (Fig. 1 A–B). Ocellus closely adjacent to eye on anterior margin of vertex (Fig. 1 A–C). Anteclypeus tapering toward the apex, not extended to ventral margin of face. Lorum semicircular, narrower than anteclypeus, well separated from lateral margin of face (Fig. 1D). Pronotum nearly as long as vertex (Fig. 1 A–B). Forewing macropterous, with four apical and three anteapical cells, inner anteapical cell open basally, costal area with one cross vein (Fig. 1C).

Male genitalia.

Pygofer lobe with numerous apical macrosetae, longer than its height, hind margin rounded (Fig. 2 A–C). Subgenital plate subtriangular, lateral margin convex, length nearly as long as width. Valve rectangular (Fig. 2D). Style preapical lobe angulated, apophysis digitate, slightly laterally curved (Fig. 2E). Connective slightly longer than aedeagus. Aedeagal shaft short, stout, more or less of uniform width, curved dorsally with ventral margin produced into small spine beyond gonopore (Fig. 2 F–G).

Material examined.

Holotype: 1 male, 4km up Black Mountain Road, via Kuranda, 14.ix.-12.x.1982, malaise trap (QM, T234944, ex QDPI). Paratypes: 1 male, same data as holotype (QDPI); 2 males, same data as previous but 14. ix– 12.x.1982, G. Simpson (QDPI); 1 male, 1 female, same data as holotype but 12-26.x.1982 (QDPI); 3 males, 3 females, Moggill State Forest, 26 km W Brisbane, Queensland, 17.x.1983, M. E. Irwin, malaise trap in gully in eucalyptus (INHS); 1 male, Mount Baldy Rd via Atherton, N Queensland, vi.1981, J. D. Brown, malaise trap (QDPI); 1 male, Tully Falls Rd, 10.iii.1956, J. L. Gressitt, light trap (BPB).

Remarks.

The male genitalia of this species are similar to those of Maiestas scriptus (Distant), from India (Webb & Viraktamath, 2009, Fig. 33) with a short and broad subgenital plate with lateral margin well rounded (Fig. 2D), style apophysis relatively long and straight (Fig. 2E), and aedeagal shaft short (Fig. 2 F–G), but Maiestas irwini differs in color pattern, the more strongly produced head (Fig. 1 A–B), and less acute aedeagal apex in dorsal view (Fig. 2F). The new species differs from other Australian species (see Fletcher, 2016) in coloration and genital morphology.

Etymology.

This species is named for M. E. Irwin who collected much of the type series.