Sonesimia nessimiani Felix, Lima, Mejdalani & Cavichioli

Felix, Márcio, Lima, Douglas Felipe Dos Santos, Mejdalani, Gabriel & Cavichioli, Rodney R., 2013, A new species and key to species of the agriculturally important sharpshooter genus Sonesimia Young (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Cicadellini), Zootaxa 3608 (2), pp. 151-157 : 152-155

Sonesimia nessimiani Felix, Lima, Mejdalani & Cavichioli , sp. nov.

( Figs 1–12 )

Length. Male holotype, 9.5 mm; male paratype, 9.9 mm; female paratype, 9.8 mm.

Male holotype. Head and thorax. Head ( Figs 1, 2 ) with anterior margin slightly angled; crown with median length 7/10 interocular width and 1/2 transocular width, surface slightly concave medially; ocelli located on line between anterior eye angles, each ocellus slightly closer to median line of crown than to adjacent anterior eye angle; frons with muscle impressions distinct. Pronotum ( Figs 1, 2 ) with width slightly less than transocular width; lateral margins convergent anteriorly; dorsopleural carina complete. Mesonotum ( Figs 1, 2 ) slightly striate behind scutoscutellar suture. Hind legs with femoral setal formula 2:0:0. Remaining morphological characteristics of head and thorax as in the generic description of Young (1977: 1084–1086).

Male genitalia. Pygofer ( Figs 3, 4 ) moderately produced posteriorly in lateral view; basiventral portion with conspicuous cleft; apical portion strongly narrowed; disc with numerous short macrosetae grouped on midventral portion, extending sparsely along ventral margin to apex, numerous short sparse microsetae on ventral and apical portions; dorsoapical margin with inner unciform process, long and medially turned. Valve ( Fig. 5 ) broad and subpentagonal; posterior margin angled, well produced. Subgenital plates ( Fig. 5 ) triangular; dorsal surface with sclerotized tubercle-like process on basal half, on which apical portions of styles rest, and with slight curved carina mostly on apical half. Styles ( Fig. 6 ) extending posteriorly slightly farther than connective apex; outer preapical portion with long sparse setae; apical portion elongate, directed outward. Aedeagus ( Fig. 7 ) with basiventral unpaired process; process, in lateral view, approximately twice longer than broad, with anterior margin concave and apex produced, acute, and curved anteriorly; shaft short and curved ventrally, with dorsal preapical rounded lobe; apex narrowly rounded; gonopore apical; dorsal apodemes long and strongly curved posteriorly. Remaining morphological characteristics of male genitalia as in the generic description of Young (1977: 1084–1086).

Color. Anterior dorsum ( Figs 1, 2 ) with ground color yellow with dark brown maculae. Crown ( Figs 1, 2 ) with pair of anteromedian elongate dark brown maculae; pair of longitudinal dark brown stripes on antennal ledges; pale brown macula on apex of coronal suture; irregular dark brown maculae surrounding ocelli; posterior margin with pair of dark brown maculae behind ocellar maculae. Pronotum ( Figs 1, 2 ) anteriorly with pair of narrow, irregular longitudinal dark brown stripes, variably interrupted and thus forming pairs of approximately aligned maculae; lateral portions with irregular elongate dark brown stripe. Mesonotum ( Figs 1, 2 ) with pair of irregular longitudinal dark brown stripes on mediolateral portions; mesoscutum with anteromedian, longitudinal narrow dark brown stripe; pair of transverse, evanescent dark brown maculae anterior to scutoscutellar suture. Forewings ( Fig. 1 ) tanned-yellow with longitudinal veins pale yellow to white. Hind wings pale brown with veins dark brown. Face yellow with dark brown maculae. Frons with narrow dark brown stripe on dorsomedian portion; narrow dark brown stripes on muscle impressions. Clypeus with median, irregular dark brown stripe extending from epistomal suture and becoming evanescent ventrally. Lora with inner margin dark brown. Genae with inner margin dark brown; irregular dark brown stripe extending vertically from ventral margin of eye to lorum. Thoracic pleura yellow with dark brown stripes and maculae; lateral lobe of pronotum with two narrow, longitudinal dark brown stripes on anterodorsal portion, variably connected posteriorly. Legs yellow with variable dark brown areas. Thoracic sternum yellow with some dark brown areas. Abdomen dark brown with apical portion yellow.

Female genitalia (based on one paratype). Sternite VII ( Fig. 8 ) with posterior margin with pair of short, narrowly rounded lateral processes; median portion with broad concavity with central emargination. Pygofer ( Fig. 9 ) moderately produced posteriorly in lateral view; apex narrowly rounded; surface with some short macrosetae along ventral margin and a few grouped near apex. Internal sternite VIII ( Fig. 10 ) without well-defined sclerites but with more sclerotized lateral areas. First valvulae ( Fig. 11 ) of ovipositor slightly expanded on apical portion; apex acute; sculptured dorsally on about apical fourth, ventrally on about apical fifth; dorsal sculpturing sharply linear, subparallel and oblique. Second valvulae ( Fig. 12 ) with preapical prominence inconspicuous, rounded; apex subacute. Remaining morphological characteristics of female genitalia as in the generic description of Young (1977: 1084–1086).

Intraspecific variation (based on male and female paratypes). Crown with median length slightly more than 6/ 10 interocular width and slightly more than 4/10 transocular width (female paratype). Pronotum, in female paratype, with lateral margins parallel and dorsopleural carina incomplete. Aedeagus with ventral unpaired process, in lateral view, with anterior margin rectilinear. Transverse pale brown macula on apex of coronal suture extending over this suture in female paratype; pair of irregular brown maculae around ocelli connected to pair of brown maculae on posterior margin of crown; pair of narrow, irregular longitudinal dark brown stripes on pronotum continuous in female paratype; pair of small dark brown maculae transversely elongated on mesonotum, located anteriorly to scutoscutellar suture, not evanescent; narrow dorsal median dark brown stripe on frons absent in female paratype.

Etymology. The specific epithet, nessimiani , is in honor of Prof. Dr. Jorge Luiz Nessimian (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro), in recognition of his important contributions to the development of Brazilian entomology.

Type material. Bolivia. Holotype: male, “ BOLIVIA \ Santa Cruz,\ Monte agudo\ 17-IX-1983 ”; “Sp. 84.126\ C. J. Pruett\ on sugar cane\ C.I.E.A. 16124”, BMNH. Paratypes: one male, one female, same data as holotype, DZUP.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 7. Sonesimia nessimiani, sp. nov. Male holotype: 1, dorsal habitus; 2, head, pronotum, and mesonotum, dorsal view; 3, pygofer, lateral view; 4, apical left portion of pygofer, dorsal view; 5, valve and subgenital plates, ventral view; 6, styles and connective, dorsal view; 7, aedeagus, lateral view. Scale bars in mm.

FIGURES 8 – 12. Sonesimia nessimiani, sp. nov. Female paratype: 8, abdominal sternite VII, ventral view; 9, pygofer, lateral view; 10, internal abdominal sternite VIII, dorsal view; 11, first valvula of ovipositor, apical portion and dorsal sculpturing in detail, lateral view; 12, second valvula of ovipositor, dorsal and apical portions in detail, lateral view. Scale bars in mm.