Ledropsella Evans, 1966

Jones, Joshua R. & Deitz, Lewis L., 2009, Phylogeny and systematics of the leafhopper subfamily Ledrinae (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) 2186, Zootaxa 2186 (1), pp. 1-120 : 47-48

Genus Ledropsella Evans

(Pl. 2E, 9E)

Ledropsella Evans, 1966: 101 .

Type species. Platyledra monstrosa Evans, 1939: 45 , fig. 17G, by original designation.

Synonymy. None.

Description. Evans (1966): “The face of the head is longer than wide and the labium reaches as far as the mesothoracic coxae. The ante-clypeus is pear shaped and the lora anteriorly concave and posteriorly convex. The front-clypeus, which is oval in shape, is margined by deep channel-like longitudinal depressions. The antennal pits are basin-like depressions and antennal ledges are obsolete. The crown of the head, which is equal in length to the pronotum, is spatulate. There is a median longitudinal carina which is raised into a small crest in alignment with the ocelli, which are on oblique prominences.”

The pronotum, anteriorly, is in alignment with the crown and has 3 longitudinal ridges in line with those on the crown. It is raised posteriorly and has a median longitudinal crest. The propleura form overhanging flaps which partly enfold the face of the head. The scutellum is anteriorly flat and raised posteriorly. The tegmina, which are broadest beyond the apex of the claval suture, have reticulate venation. The tibiae of all 3 pairs of legs are externally flattened, and the metathoracic tibiae are margined by a row of minute, even spines. The ovipositor does not extend beyond the folded tegmina.”

Species. [1]: monstrosa (Evans) .

Range. Australia (Western Australia: King George’s Sound, Midland).

Host plants. Unknown.

Material examined. L. monstrosa : (type specimen) 1 female, Australia, ASCU, JRJ _Led1_087; Ledropsella sp. 1 male, labeled as Jukaruka grisea , Australia, ASCU, JRJ _Led1_088 .

Remarks. Ledropsella is monobasic, previously known only from the type specimen (a female), which was made available for this study. It was in very poor condition, being completely covered in fungus. Despite this netlike covering, nearly all of the important features could be seen, including the shape of the crown and pronotum.

In describing Ledropsella, Evans (1966: 101) stated that it differs from Platyledra “particularly in the shape of the pronotum.” He did not say, however, how it differs from Jukaruka , with which it is more similar (and with which it came out as sister group in the present analysis). From comparison of the type specimen of L. monstrosa with specimens made available for this study of J. grisea , Ledropsella appears to be distinguishable by several features. First, the median longitudinal carina on its pronotum is raised at its most dorsal point to a small but high crest, higher than that of J. grisea . Second, its face is smaller, with the margins of the crown drawn in close to the frontoclypeus (Pl. 9E). In L. monstrosa , the proximity of the crown margin to the convex and almond-shaped frontoclypeus (Pl. 9E_2) results in the lateral margins forming deep invaginations or “channels”. These diagnostic features can be extracted from Evans’ (1966) description. Also, in L. monstrosa the outer margin of the crown is carinate, and the inner margin is subcarinate, giving the impression that in cross section the margin is thickened and quadrate (Pl. 9E_3), while the margin of Jukaruka is thinner and not quadrate (Pl. 9D_1). This difference is of uncertain phylogenetic importance.

A single specimen (JRJ_Led1_088) among four males from the ASCU labeled as J. grisea keyed to Ledropsella ( Fletcher 2006) * by virtue of its pronotal crest. Further examination showed that it also exhibited the facial features of Ledropsella , and appears to be a new species for the genus, the first male observed. It differed from the type specimen of L. monstrosa in size (it was approximately 9 mm long, while L. monstrosa was 6 mm), coloration ( L. monstrosa is darker overall, with a pattern of lightly colored nodules and spots on the faces between setal rows 2 and 3 of the foliate tibia) and wing shape ( L. monstrosa ’s wings are shorter and subovoid—see Pl. 2E), in which it was more like the J. grisea specimens. From comparison of these two specimens, the differences in size and color appear to be phylogenetically insignificant at the intrageneric level. It also appears that wing shape is a sexually dimorphic character in the genus. The terminalia of this new male was not dissected for this study and will be described in a future publication.

Considering the fact that ledrine males tend to be shorter and more compact than females where sexual dimorphism exists, males of L. monstrosa must be among the smallest in size of the highly derived, reticulatewinged brown ledrines. To this end it will be very informative to capture in a single sample conspecific males and females.

*Photographs of Ledropsella in the “Identification Key and Checklists for the Leafhoppers and Treehoppers of Australia and neighbouring areas ( Hemiptera : Cicadellidae , Membracidae )” ( Fletcher 2006) appear to be of an undescribed male (elongate crown and parallel-sided wings), and possibly a species different than the type specimen—perhaps the same as the new male specimen discussed here.