Yoyetta corindi, Popple & Emery, 2022

Popple, Lindsay W. & Emery, David L., 2022, Five new species of Yoyetta Moulds (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Cicadettinae) from south-eastern Australia, Zootaxa 5141 (5), pp. 401-441 : 415-417

Yoyetta corindi n. sp.

( Plate 2 ; Figs 1 , 2C , 3C , 4C , 9–11 )

Types. Holotype ♂, Lorikeet Tourist Park, Arrawarra, 30°02’32’’S 153°11’22’’E, 20.xi.2014, L. W. Popple, 711- 0004, K594158 ( AM).

Paratypes. NEW SOUTH WALES. 1♀, Lorikeet Tourist Park, Arrawarra , 30.0446°S 153.1921°E, 6.xii.2015, L. Popple & A. McKinnon, at light 711-0007, K594159 ( AM) ; 1♂, Arrawarra, North Coast , 8.xii.1962, C. W. Frazier, at light, University of New England coll. Donated 1983 ( ANIC) . 2♂, Tyringham , 10.xii.[19]39 ; 2♂, 3♀, ‘Buccarumbi’ via Grafton , 29°50’S 152°35’E, 12–13.i. 2001, 160 m, D. J. Cook, at MV light, open forest, 9591 ( QM) . 1♂, same data as holotype, 711-0002 ; 1♂, Ellem Close, Arrawarra , 30º03’30’’S 153º11’38’’E, 17.x.2021, L. Boyd ; 1♀, same data as previous, 29.x.2021 ; 4♂, 2♀, Railway Rd, Gurranang , 29°27’47”S 152°59’43”E, 24.xii.2021, T. J. Bush, ( EME0711-009 to EME0711-014 ) ; 7♂ 1♀, Flaggy Creek Nature Res., 5km S Kremnos, 29°59’01”S 152°58’40”E, 3.xii.2021, T. Bush ( EME0711-001 to EME0711–008 ) ( DE) . 2♂, same data as previous ( TJB) . 1♂, Halfway Creek , 29°54’59’’S 153°04’04’’E. 20.xii.2013, L. W. Popple, recorded, 711-0001 ; 1♂, same data as holotype, 711-0003 ; 2♂, 1♀, Lorikeet Tourist Park, Arrawarra , 30.0446°S 153.1921°E, 6.xii.2015, L. Popple & A. McKinnon, at light 711-0005, 711-0006, 711-0008 ; 1♂, Lorikeet Tourist Park, Arrawarra , 30.0456°S 153.1927°E, 7.xii.2015, at light, L. Popple & A. McKinnon, at light, 711-0010 ( LWP) . 1♂, Lorikeet Tourist Park, Arrawarra , 30.0456°S 153.1927°E, 6.xii.2015, at light, L. Popple & A. McKinnon, at light, 711-0009 ( MSM) .

Audio records (LWP). NEW SOUTH WALES. Mororo , 29°18’09’’S 153°12’49’’E, 17.x.2013 ; Trustums Hill district , 29°07’12’’S 153°19’39’’E, 18.xi.2014 ; Lake Hiawatha , 29°49’02’’S 153°15’29’’E, 11.xii.2015 .

Aural records (LWP). NEW SOUTH WALES. 3.5 km NE. of Tucabia , 29°37’53’’S 153°08’28’’E, 19.xi.2014 ; 4.2 km SSE. of Tucabia , 29°42’03’’S 153°07’14’’E, 19.xi.2014 ; Parker Street, Wells Crossing , 29°53’27’’S 153°03’27’’E, 20.xi.2014 ; Range Road, Dirty Creek , 29°59’31’’S 153°08’37’’E, 20.xi.2014 ; Corindi Beach district, 30°00’59’’S 153°10’40’’E, 20.xi.2014 ; Kangaroo Gully Road, Corindi Beach , 30°01’47’’S 153°11’20’’E, 20.xi.2014 ; New Italy Museum , 29°08’54’’S 153°18’18’’E, 1.iii.2017 .

Distribution, habitat and seasonality ( Fig. 1 ). This species occurs in north-eastern New South Wales from Trustums Hill near Woodburn south to Arrawarra and west to Buccarumbi and Tyringham. Populations occur in open forest dominated by eucalypts. The adults are found in the low to middle storey on shrubs and on the trunks and branches of eucalypts. Adults have been observed from mid-October to early March. At Gurranang, several females were observed ovipositing in Allocasuarina littoralis on the edges of eucalypt woodlands (T. J. Bush observations, pers. comm. with DE, email dated 27.xii.2021).

Etymology. A noun in apposition, named after the locality Corindi, which is adjacent to the type locality, and where this species is common.

Description of adult male ( Plates 2A, 2B, 2G, 2H ; Figs 2C , 3C , 4C , 9 ).

Head about as wide as lateral margins of pronotum; mostly brown, with black areas surrounding lateral ocelli; supra-antennal plates black, edged brown; ocelli light pink; postclypeus black with inner dorsal surface brown; central line and margins of ventral surface orange-brown; anteclypeus black; rostrum reaching bases of hind coxae, mostly brown basally becoming dark brown apically; antennae black.

Thorax mostly brown. Pronotum with a broad black fascia along midline split with a brown medial line, otherwise brown with black areas along paramedian and lateral fissures; pronotal collar brown, tending dark brown to black on lateral angles. Mesonotum brown with prominent black submedian and lateral sigilla; cruciform elevation brown apart from a broad black midline and black anterior arms; wing grooves brown, tending dark brown interiorly. Metanotum mainly dark brown but shiny black near hind wing bases. Thorax below brown.

Legs mostly brown. Coxae brown, sometimes dark brown on anterior side; fore femora brown with two dark brown longitudinal bands on dorsal side; mid and hind femora brown to light brown, brown to dark brown on anterior dorsal side; tarsi brown; claws dark brown; meracantha dark brown with pale brown margins, terminating at anterior margin of opercula.

Wings with fore wing costal margin orange-brown, otherwise venation mainly dark brown to black but usually light brown at base to vein CuP+1A; basal membrane light brown to orange. Hindwing venation brown to dark brown; plaga brown.

Opercula ( Fig. 2C ) very pale brown, plates broadly rounded, undulating, broader towards apex, each with a black area under meracanthus; each 2.0– 2.8 mm wide.

Timbals ( Fig. 3C ) with five long ribs; ribs 1–4 spanning the timbal membrane, fused dorsally on basal spur; rib 5 comparatively shorter, detached from others, occupying dorsal four-fifths of timbal only; timbal plate with well developed, elongate dome bearing a distinct point of apodeme attachment near centre.

Abdomen with tergite 1 black; tergite 2 a mixture of dark brown to black and orange-brown, with a low anterior, backwardly-curved ridge; tergites 3–7 predominantly orange to yellow, each with a prominent black mark on dorsal midline (broadest in anterior half of tergite 3, though not overlapping laterally with the timbal cavity); tergites 3–7 also with a diffuse black marking sublaterally against posterior margin, ill-defined or absent in some individuals; tergite 8 dark orange-brown to black. Sternite I mainly very pale brown, dark brown to black anteriorly; sternite II black except for partly brown subventral posterior margin; sternites III–VII yellow-brown except for small black spot on VII at centre of posterior margin; sternite VIII brown.

Genitalia ( Figs 4C , 9 ) with pygofer upper lobe of moderate size, gradually tapering to a broadly rounded apex; basal pygofer lobe small, weakly developed, broadly rounded; median lobe of uncus long, about as long as the distance between the apices of the upper pygofer lobe and dorsal beak, slightly concave ventrally, in lateral view narrow, slightly expanding distally, with rounded apex; claspers robust, claw-like, abutting, in ventral view their inner margins diverging and their outer margins gently turned outwards; aedeagus recurved distally through 180 degrees, the vesica weakly toothed either side subapically, apex terminating in a short, slender ‘beak’ pointing outwards and a pair of small, toothed, ear-like lobes pointing inwards; pseudoparameres very long, nearly reaching most distal part of theca, slender, hair-like, with bluntly pointed apex.

Description of adult female ( Plates 2C, 2D, 2H ). Similar to male but differing as follows.

Thorax brown, with dark brown surrounding midline of pronotum and along adjacent fissures; submedian sigilla dark brown; lateral sigilla partly dark brown, often diffuse.

Abdomen mainly pale brown. Tergites 3–8 with an uninterrupted, broad, black dorsal midline and each with a sublateral black spot. Mark on tergite 3 confined, not overlapping laterally with the timbal cavity. Sternite II mainly dark brown; sternites III–VIII pale brown or pale orange, sometimes with broad, brown to dark brown central markings. Abdominal segment 9 brown with a pair of sharply defined, paramedian black bands on anterior three-quarters; and a small black lateral spot below distal end of each black band. Ovipositor sheath black, extending between 0.5 and <1.0 mm beyond apex of abdominal segment 9.

Measurements (in mm; range with mean in parentheses for 10 males and 5 females, including smallest and largest specimens). Length of body including head: male 15.7–21.1 (18.57); female 15.8–23.4 (19.53). Length of fore wing: male 19.1–24.2 (22.65); female 21.0–30.6 (25.64). Width of fore wing: male 6.1–8.1 (7.49); female 6.8–9.9 (8.21). Width of head (including eyes): male 4.5–5.5 (4.99); female 4.9–6.9 (5.71). Width of pronotum (across lateral angles): male 4.5–5.3 (4.95); female 4.9–6.7 (5.76). Width of abdomen: male 4.5–5.4 (4.97); female 4.7–6.2 (5.55). Length of ovipositor: female 4.9–6.7 (5.73). The smallest specimens were from Buccarumbi at the north-western edge of the species’ geographical distribution and the largest were from Gurranang near the northern limit of the distribution.

Morphological distinguishing features. Together with Y. humphreyae , males of Y. corindi n. sp. can be easily distinguished from other species in the Y. tristrigata species group by having an exceptionally long median lobe of the uncus, which is about as long as the distance between the apices of the upper pygofer lobe and dorsal beak. They can be distinguished from Y. humphreyae by the following combination of characters: (1) black dorsal mark on tergite 3 confined, not overlapping laterally with the timbal cavity, and (2) median lobe of uncus narrow throughout (cf. narrow at base, widest around mid length and tapering towards apex). Females can be distinguished from most other species in the Y. tristrigata species group apart from Y. humphreyae by having the following combination of characters: (1) thorax mainly brown (with black sigilla), (2) sternites III–VIII pale brown or pale orange, sometimes with a broad brown to dark brown midline, and (3) ovipositor sheath extending between 0.5 and <1.0 mm beyond apex of abdominal segment 9. Females of Y. corindi n. sp. cannot consistently be distinguished from those of Y. humphreyae , although the two species are not known to overlap in distribution.

Calling song ( Figs 10 , 11 ). The male calling song of Y. corindi n. sp. has two modes (i.e. the male may produce calling songs in two different forms, each for an extended period). One mode (combination mode) has a combination of short buzzes and clicks. The other mode (clicking mode) comprises only clicks. Both modes can be produced by stationary males; however, the clicking mode is produced predominantly in flight.

The combination mode is composed of repeated phrases, illustrated in Figure 10 , and described as follows (all statistics, n =2 recordings from the type locality). Each phrase contains an echeme (0.20– 0.40 s) followed by a short gap (0.04 s), then by three prominent syllables (0.015 –0.025 s). A longer gap (0.30– 0.40 s) follows each syllable. The long gap is often interrupted by a soft macrosyllable or short echeme (0.07– 0.10 s). The soft macrosyllable or short echeme (when present) occupies the first half of the long gap between the prominent syllables. Long gaps of 2.5– 4.5 s separate each phrase. One recording shows a female responding with wing-flicks within 0.04– 0.09 s after the first and/or second prominent syllable. This song mode has a broad frequency plateau spanning approximately 6 to 10 kHz, with a dominant frequency in the vicinity of 8.1 kHz ( Fig. 10C ).

The clicking mode consists of simple, repeated single syllables, as illustrated in Figure 11 . These are equivalent in structure to the prominent syllables in the combination mode. Irrespective of whether the male is stationary or calling in flight, gaps of 0.5– 1.3 s separate each syllable (all statistics, n =13 recordings from across the distribution of the species). It is considered likely that females respond with wing-flicks following each syllable in this mode (at least to gain the attention of the male), given that they respond to equivalent sounds made in the combination mode. Males can be attracted to simulated wing-flicking using finger snapping or tongue clicks between syllables when they are producing the clicking mode in flight. This song mode has a broad frequency plateau spanning approximately 8 to 11 kHz, with a dominant frequency of approximately 10.4 kHz ( Fig. 11D ).

The calling song and overall singing behaviour of Y. corindi n. sp. is closest to Y. humphreyae , though is less complex. The long buzz produced by Y. humphreyae has not been recorded in Y. corindi n. sp. Additionally, Y. corindi n. sp. has a longer syllable structure (syllable duration ≥15 ms, 6–9 pulses; Figs 10C , 11C ) cf. Y. humphreyae (syllable duration <15 ms, 5 pulses) ( Moulds & Popple, 2018).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Map of south-eastern mainland Australia showing the geographical distribution of Yoyetta australicta n. sp. (circles), Y. corindi n. sp. (stars) and Y. delicata n. sp. (squares).

PLATE 2. Yoyetta corindi n. sp. (A), paratype male, Arrawarra, New South Wales (30°02’32’’S 153°11’22’’E), dorsal habi- tus; (B), paratype male, as previous, ventral habitus; (C), paratype female, Arrawarra, New South Wales, dorsal habitus; (D), paratype female, as previous, ventral habitus; (E), habitat, Halfway Creek, New South Wales (29°54’59’’S 153°04’04’’E); (F), habitat, Dirty Creek, New South Wales (29°59’31’’S 153°08’37’’E); (G), male, dorsal view, Arrawarra, New South Wales; (H), male and female coupled in copulatory pose, Gurranang, New South Wales (29°27’48”S 152°59’44”E) (photo credit: T. J. Bush). Scale bars = 10 mm.

FIGURE 2. Photos of male left opercula, with dorsal edge at left and posterior margin at bottom: (A), Yoyetta australicta n. sp., Mount Taylor, Australian Capital Territory (35°22’08’’S 149°03’52’’E); (B), Y. australicta n. sp., Glenalta, South Australia (35°01’S 138°38’E); (C), Y. corindi n. sp., Arrawarra, New South Wales (30°02’32’’S 153°11’22’’E); (D), Y. delicata n. sp., 4 km SSE. of Stannum, New South Wales, (29°21’12”S 151°48’11”E); (E), Y. ignita n. sp. Armidale, New South Wales (30°31’18”S 151°38’33”E); (F), Y. robusta n. sp., Blatherarm Camp, Torrington, New South Wales (29°15’08”S 151°42’26”E). Scale bars = 1 mm.

FIGURE 3. Photos of male left timbals, with dorsal edge at left and posterior margin at bottom: (A), Yoyetta australicta n. sp., Mount Taylor, Australian Capital Territory (35°22’08’’S 149°03’52’’E); (B), Y. australicta n. sp., Glenalta, South Australia (35°01’S 138°38’E); (C), Y. corindi n. sp., Arrawarra, New South Wales (30°02’32’’S 153°11’22’’E); (D), Y. delicata n. sp., 4 km SSE. of Stannum, New South Wales, (29°21’12”S 151°48’11”E); (E), Y. ignita n. sp. Armidale, New South Wales (30°31’18”S 151°38’33”E); (F), Y. robusta n. sp., Blatherarm Camp, Torrington, New South Wales (29°15’08”S 151°42’26”E). Scale bars = 1 mm.

FIGURE 4. Lateral views of the caudal abdomen of: (A), Yoyetta australicta n. sp., Mount Taylor, Australian Capital Territory (35°22’08’’S 149°03’52’’E); (B), Y. australicta n. sp., Glenalta, South Australia (35°01’S 138°38’E); (C), Y. corindi n. sp., Arrawarra, New South Wales (30°02’32’’S 153°11’22’’E); (D), Y. delicata n. sp., 4 km SSE. of Stannum, New South Wales, (29°21’12”S 151°48’11”E); (E), Y. ignita n. sp. Armidale, New South Wales (30°31’18”S 151°38’33”E); (F), Y. robusta n. sp., Blatherarm Camp, Torrington, New South Wales (29°15’08”S 151°42’26”E). Scale bars = 1 mm.

FIGURE 9. Yoyetta corindi n. sp.: illustration of male pygofer and internal genitalia; (a), viewed laterally from the left; (b), viewed ventrally; (c), aedeagus; (d), theca; (e), apex of theca. Characters depicted as in Figure 5. Specimen from Arrawarra, New South Wales (30°02’32’’S 153°11’22’’E).

FIGURE 10. Male calling song structure of Yoyetta corindi n. sp. illustrated in waveform plots, including: (A), a 25 s sample illustrating six phrases from the combination mode of the song; (B), a 2.0 s sample expanded from the plot above, showing a single phrase; (C), a 20 ms sample expanded from the plot above showing the detailed structure of a single syllable; and (D), a power spectrum illustrating song frequency. The specimen was recorded in the field by LWP at Arrawarra, New South Wales (30°02’32’’S 153°11’22’’E) using RS2 (see Methods and Terminology).

FIGURE 11. Male calling song structure of Yoyetta corindi n. sp. illustrated in waveform plots, including: (A), a 6 s sample illustrating 10 repeated syllables from the clicking mode of the song; (B), a 1.0 s sample expanded from the plot above showing the structure of two syllables; (C), a 20 ms sample expanded from the plot above showing the detailed structure of a single syllable; and (D), a power spectrum illustrating song frequency. The specimen was recorded in a fabric cage by LWP using RS2 (see Methods and Terminology). Specimen from Halfway Creek, New South Wales (29°54’59’’S 153°04’04’’E).