Ackbaria Campodonico & Zahniser

Zahniser, James N., 2021, Revision of the New World leafhopper tribe Faltalini (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae) and the evolution of brachyptery, Zootaxa 4954 (1), pp. 1-160 : 16-17

Ackbaria Campodonico & Zahniser

Type species: Ackbaria vermiformis Campodonico & Zahniser, 2017 ; designated.

Ackbaria Campodonico & Zahniser, 2017: 382 [original description, morphology, illustration, new species]; Freytag & Gaiani, 2017 [online catalogue]

Diagnosis. Ackbaria can be differentiated from other Faltalini by the combination of the following characters: brachypterous; texture of discal portion of crown partially smooth; ocelli present, positioned nearly halfway from eye to crown apex; body narrow, length 3.5x or more than greatest width across forewings; strongly dorsoventrally flattened; forewing without reticulate venation; and male and female pygofers setose.

Body. Male, 4.3–5.2 mm. Female, 4.9–6.0 mm. Body narrow, length 4.2–4.5x width of pronotum (males), 4.6–4.8x (females); strongly dorsoventrally flattened. Anterior margin of head shagreen near eyes, rugose toward apex. Crown length 1.0–1.2x interocular width; texture shagreen laterally near eyes, rugose toward apex, smooth or lightly rugose in discal area; slightly depressed at apex. Ocelli on anterior margin of head, positioned slightly less than halfway from eye to crown apex. Pronotum carinate laterally; straplike; texture irregularly shagreen to vermiculate anteriorly, transversely furrowed posteriorly. Scutellum texture completely shagreen. Frontoclypeus texture shagreen laterally and shagreen and/or smooth or rugose medially; evenly rounded to anterior margin of head. Antennal sockets situated near upper corners of eyes. Protrochanter with stout apical seta. Profemur row AV with 3–6 stout setae; intercalary row with 4–6 fine setae; AM1 present; dorsal apex with pair of short stout setae. Protibia dorsal setae 3+4 or 4+4, with proximal setae of row AD smaller than distal setae. Mesotrochanter with stout apical seta. Mesofemur row AV with several short, stout setae. Mesotibia dorsal macrosetae 4+4. Metafemur apical setae 2+2 or 2+2+1, seta PD of penultimate pair reduced in size and thickness. Metatibia nearly straight in dorsal view. Metatarsomere I about as long as II and III combined; distinctly widening apically; apex with row of 5 platellae flanked on each side by tapered seta; plantar surface with two short rows of stout setae. Brachypterous. Forewing without discernable reticulate or regular venation. Hindwing present only as small tabular flap; anterior margin of hindwing meeting metanotum near midlength; posterior margin of hindwing not differentiated much beyond posterior margin of metanotum.

Color. Mostly ivory colored with brown and black markings; with brown arcuate lines anteriorly on frontoclypeus; laterally with dark brown from beneath eye to posterior margin of metacoxa, sometimes continuing onto abdomen; abdominal apex sometimes distinctly darkened; abdominal segments with small brown spot laterally on each side; bases of macrosetae dark brown. Eyes greenish, especially so in live individuals.

Male. Pygofer dorsally incised 1/3–1/2 length from apex to base; in lateral view subrectangular in shape; each side with 8–15 macrosetae; posterodorsal margin dentate or not, with or without distinct tooth; posteroventral margin with distinct tooth; anteroventral corner notched allowing for insertion of valve; basolateral cleft distinct, forming line of inflection along pygofer side. Subgenital plate triangular; longer than wide; somewhat to distinctly concave laterally; macrosetae uniseriate laterally or with macrosetae in several rows or scattered across plate. Valve short and broad; length ~0.4x width; longer medially than laterally; lateral margin truncate, wrapping laterally and inserting into anteroventral notch of pygofer. Connective Y-shaped. Style broad at base; with distinct preapical lobe; with digitate apophysis. Aedeagus with base truncated or with distinct base; shaft simple, curved anterad; articulated with connective. Phragma with small, darkly sclerotized, broad, H-shaped sclerite dorsad of aedeagus base, with pair of lightly sclerotized small bulbous lobes with apical patch of setae. Segment X membranous.

Female. Pygofer with numerous macrosetae. Ovipositor extending slightly beyond pygofer apex. Sternite VII shorter than wide, length about 3/4 width; with blunt lobe at apex. First valvula relatively straight in lateral view; dorsal sculpturing pattern granulose, submarginal with distinct unsculptured band on dorsal margin; VSA present, distinctly delimited, texture granulose. Second valvula lanceolate, without dorsal teeth. Gonoplac with several to numerous macrosetae ventroapically.

Distribution. Argentina, Chile

Remarks. Ackbaria is a recently described genus currently known from three species. The two representatives included in the phylogenetic analyses here were strongly supported as a monophyletic group and the genus was resolved as sister to the remaining Faltala group genera. However, its exact relationship to other genera requires more data to resolve. Among other characters (see Diagnosis), it differs from the other Faltala group genera in lacking reticulate venation on the forewing.

Included species:

jujuyensis n. sp. ( Argentina)

ojosverdes n. s p. ( Argentina)

vermiformis Campodonico & Zahniser, 2017 ( Argentina, Chile)