Tenuacia quetzali, Gonçalves & Prando & Domahovski, 2025

Gonçalves, Clayton Corrêa, Prando, Jádila Santos & Domahovski, Alexandre Cruz, 2025, Review of the genus Tenuacia DeLong (Insecta: Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Gyponini), including two new species and Rubacea DeLong raised to generic status, Zootaxa 5604 (3), pp. 361-372 : 369-371

Tenuacia quetzali sp. nov.

( Figs 25–37 )

Diagnosis. Male pygofer ( Figs 30–32 ) subquadrate in lateral view; caudal margin emarginated on the ventral half, bearing an elongated process directed inward, process apex with small teeth at apical portion. Subgenital plate ( Fig. 33 ) with outer lateral margin expanded on basal portion. Style, in lateral view ( Fig. 35 ), with blade straight, constricted subapically. Aedeagus ( Figs 36, 37 ) apodemal processes with apical half strongly tapered; ventral margin expanded ventrally, forming a ventrocaudal lobe; shaft with subapical processes spiniform and positioned asymmetrically, right process very close to the apex, left process slightly further from the apex.

Total length. Males, 8.6–8.7 mm (n = 2).

Description. External morphological characters as in generic description.

Coloration. Face ( Fig. 27 ) with dorsal two-thirds light brown, ventral third yellow; frons with dark transverse bands over the muscular impressions; large dark macula adjacent to the inner margin of eye; clypeus with a pair of small dark maculae near apical margin. Pronotum ( Fig. 25 ) with a pair of small median dark spots near anterior margin. Proepimeron ( Fig. 26 ) black. Forewing ( Fig. 28 ) with membrane mostly brown, clavus with a broad yellow stripe adjacent to basal margin and with a large light brown subtriangular area throughout the apical half of the clavus; light brown area between the external anteapical cell and the costal margin. Other coloration characters as in generic description.

Male terminalia. Sternite VIII, in ventral view ( Fig. 29 ), approximately 1.1x wider than long; laterocaudal angles rounded. Valve, in ventral view, about 2.2x wider than long; deeply emarginated medially. Pygofer, in lateral view ( Fig. 30 ), subquadrate, approximately 1.1x longer than high; dorsal margin straight; caudal margin emarginated on ventral half bearing an elongated process inner directed, in dorsal view ( Fig. 31 ) with ventrocaudal process slightly spatulate at apex with small teeth in apical portion, slightly curved dorsally in caudal view ( Fig. 32 ). Subgenital plates, in lateral view ( Fig. 30 ), slightly surpassing the apex of pygofer; in ventral view ( Fig. 33 ), approximately 3.9x longer than maximum width; inner lateral margin almost straight, outer lateral margin expanded on basal portion, with a group of hair-like setae; ventral surface with several hair-like setae concentrated in basal half and few hair-like setae at apex; apex rounded. Connective, in dorsal view ( Fig. 34 ), D-shaped, about one-fifth of styles length. Style, in lateral view ( Fig. 35 ), with blade straight, constricted subapically; ventral margin serrated on apical two-thirds; apex slightly truncated. Aedeagus ( Figs 36, 37 ) in lateral view with apodemal processes as long as the shaft; apical half strongly tapered; ventral margin expanded ventrally, forming a ventrocaudal lobe; shaft long and tubular, directed dorsally and slightly curved anteriorly; subapical processes spiniform and positioned asymmetrically, right process very close to the apex, left process slightly further from the apex.

Female. Unknown.

Etymology. The new species epithet alludes to Quetzal Reserve where the specimens were collected. The name is a noun in apposition.

Material examined. Male holotype: “ Guatemala, Quetzal \ Reserve ; Dept. Baja Verapaz;\ 15°12’55”N, 90°13’09”W;\ 13–15 July\ 2009 \ T. McCabe; 1700 m.” “DNA voucher:\ Entomologia DZRJ\ ENT2421” ( NMNH); Paratype: 1♂: same holotype data, ( NMNH) .

Notes. Tenuacia quetzali sp. nov. is very similar to T. macera . However, Tenuacia quetzali sp. nov. differs in having the caudal process of the pygofer directed inwards, with a spatulate apex and with small teeth in the apical portion ( Figs 31, 32 ), whereas in T. macera it is directed caudally and with an acute apex ( DeLong 1977: 89, fig. 5); and by the shape of the apodemal processes, which are narrow in the apical half, with a distinct ventrocaudal lobe ( Fig. 36 ), while in T. macera it is tapered in the apical third, without a ventrocaudal lobe ( DeLong, 1977: 89, fig. 2).

Figures

FIGURES 25–37. Tenuacia quetzali sp. nov., male holotype. 25, habitus, dorsal view. 26, habitus, lateral view. 27, head, ventral view. 28, forewing. 29, sternite VIII, ventral view. 30, pygofer, valve, subgenital plate and anal tube, lateral view. 31, right pygofer lobe, dorsal view. 32, left pygofer lobe, caudal view. 33, subgenital plate, ventral view. 34, connective and style, dorsal view. 35, style, lateral view. 36, aedeagus, lateral view. 37, aedeagus, caudal view. Scale bars: 13, 14, 16 = 2 mm; 15 = 1 mm; 17–19, 21–25 = 0.5 mm. 20 = 0.3 mm.