Scaphoideus palingus Li & Dai, 2004

Wen, Chao, Chen, Fangying & Dai, Wu, 2017, A review of the leafhopper genus Scaphoideus (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae) from Guangxi of China, with description of one new species, Zootaxa 4247 (4), pp. 351-377 : 363-365

Scaphoideus palingus Li & Dai, 2004

( Figs. 2 B, G, L, 10A–G)

Scaphoideus palingus Li & Dai, 2004: 284 ; Li et al., 2011: 235.

Body length (including tegmen): Male 4.8–5.9mm; Female 5.2–6.1mm.

Yellow to fuscous with well expressed brown or black pattern. Four median spindle-shaped markings on vertex broad and complete, lateral most one on either side narrower and sometimes incomplete, not reaching hind margin. Scutellum yellow with a faint orange brown stripe on either side of median line, basal triangles dark brown.

Head including eyes slightly narrower than pronotum. Crown longer medially than next to eyes but shorter than width between eyes; anterior margin acutely rounded in dorsal view; disc somewhat flat. Transition from vertex to frontoclypeus rounded. Eyes fairly large. Ocelli situated on anterior margin of crown and separate from eye by distance equal to ocellar diameter. Frontoclypeus narrow, longer than width between eyes. Clypellus slightly expanded apically. Pronotum with anterior margin roundly produced and posterior margin slightly concave. Mesonotum and scutellum nearly 1½ times length of head, suture curved. Forewings semi-transparent with veins dark-brown and most cells infuscated; brown maculae present on commisural margin at apex of each anal vein, at apex of clavus and on costal margin at apex of each transverse vein; forewing appendix wide; 4 apical cells present; outer subapical cell acute apically, three reflexed cross veins between outer anteapical cell and costal margin, with basal reflexed vein basad of outer anteapical cell.

Male genitalia. Pygofer in lateral aspect longer than broad, tapering posteriorly, with two subapical tufts of long macrosetae in addition to scattered macrosetae on apical half. Subgenital plate triangular, longer than width at base, lateral margin evenly convex, with uniseriate row of 4-5 macrosetae along lateral margin of basal half. Style long and thin, with broad anterior part and well developed preapical lobe; apophysis slight curved laterally with several fine setae at base. Connective with stem shorter than arm; connective processes parallel, tapered apically in dorsal view and curved dorsally in lateral view, with a short process or tooth subapically. Aedeagus with well developed dorsal apodeme, shaft slender and cylindrical, with a pair of recurved apical processes on dorsal surface near midlength; gonopore subapical on dorsal surface.

Material examined. 2♂♂ 6♀♀, Guangxi, Napo, Defu , 5. iv.1998, Huang Fusheng (IOZ).

Distribution. China (Guangxi, Yunnan).

Remarks. This species was described by Li and Dai in 2004 from China. Dr. Jichun Xiang (personal communication) confirmed that the male genitalia illustrated here agree with the male genitalia of the holotype and that Li and Dai (2014) incorrectly described and illustrated only one apical process at the apex of the aedeagal shaft. This species is very similar to Scaphoideus assamensis Distant, 1918 but there is a slight difference in the robustness of the aedeagal shaft and the dorsal apodeme between the two species. Here both are tentatively retained as valid species. S. palingus can be distinguished by the shorter spindle-shaped markings on the vertex, and the short and straight aedeagal shaft with a pair of short apical processes.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Habitus. A – E, Dorsal views. F – J, Lateral views. K – O, Face. A, F, K, Scaphoideus maulatus; B, G, L, Scaphoideus palingus; C, H, M, Scaphoideus nigrigenatus; D, I, N, Scaphoideus exsertus; E, J, O, Scaphoideus bilineus.