Okanagana georgi, Heath & Sanborn, 2007

Heath, M. S. & Sanborn, A. F., 2007, A New Species of Cicada of the Genus Okanagana (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Cicadidae) from Arizona, Annals of the Entomological Society of America 100 (4), pp. 483-489 : 485-488

Okanagana georgi , n. sp.

Type Material. UNITED STATES. Arizona, Coconino County. Holotype: female, Schnebly Hill Road , 2 miles south saddle, 26-VI-1973, J. & M. Heath coll., between 12:00 noon & 2:00 p.m. ( INHS). Paratypes: 4 females and 1 male, same data as holotype (all MSHC except one female AFSC); male, Schnebly Hill Road, 4.5 miles east of Sedona, 23-VI-1972, 4500', James Heath & Maxine Heath coll., Pinus edulis Engelm. Pinyon Pine (INHS); 5 males, Schnebly Hill Road, 2.5-5 miles from Intersection, 29-VI-1982, Ex.Alligator Juniper, J.E. & M.S. Heath coll. (MSHC); male, Schnebly Hill Road, 30-VI-1985, M.S. Heath & Al Sanborn coll. (MSHC); male, Schnebly Hill Road, 2 miles east of Sedona, 25-VI-1990, M.S. & J.E. Heath coll. (MSHC); female, Schnebly Hill Road, 4.9 miles east of Sedona, 25-VI-1990, M.S. Heath coll., Ex. Scrub Oak (AFSC); male, Schnebly Hill Road, 2 miles east of Sedona, 25-VI-1991, M.S. & J.E. Heath coll. (MSHC); male, Schnebly Hill Road, 2.5 miles east of Sedona, 26-VI-1991, M.S. & J.E. Heath coll. (MSHC); male, Schnebly Hill Road, 2.3 miles east of Sedona, 3-VI-1995, A. Sanborn coll. (AFSC); male, Schnebly Hill Road, 2.9 miles east of Arizona 179, 20-VI-1995, J.E. & M.S. Heath coll., Ex. Arizona Cypress (MSHC); female, 2.5 miles east of Sedona, 34° 52.56' N, 111° 42.78' W, 23-VI-1997, J.E. Heath & S. Diewald coll. (MSHC); female, 2.5 miles east of Sedona, 34° 52.56' N, 111° 42.78' W, 23-VI-1997, James Diewald coll. (MSHC); female, 2.5 miles east of Sedona, 34° 52.56' N, 111° 42.78' W, 25-VI-1997, James Diewald coll. (MSHC); male, 2.8 miles from pass of Schnebly Hill Road, 34° 52.24' N 111° 43.33' W, 4722 feet, 12-VI-2001, A. Sanborn coll.(AFSC); male, Schnebly Hill Vista, 34° 53.38' N 111° 42.14' W, 5981 feet, 12-VI-2001, A. Sanborn coll. (AFSC).

Etymology. This species is named for M.S.H.'s father, the late George Estell Shoemaker, whose patience and constant encouragement taught her to look for new things.

Okanagana georgi is a black species with bright orange markings ( Fig. 1 ).

Head. Black, narrower than anterior pronotal margin. Narrow pale lateral border on postclypeus, a small, pale spot between postclypeus and anteclypeus. Basal segment of rostrum lightly colored. Additional small spots on superio-lateral genae near lateral supraantennal plate and within sulcus of coronal suture along dorsal midline near posterior border in paratypes. Entire postclypeus with diffuse orange border in one paratype. Antennal scape pale, only distally in some paratypes. Postclypeus protrudes prominently ( Fig. 1 ). Ventral head and posterior eye with heavy pile.

Thorax. Pronotum black with a thin pale line along posterior border, anterior border thinly margined with orange in a paratype. Faint line along anterior third of midline not reaching anterior border in paratypes. Anterior angles prominent; humeral angles rounded. Anterior half of lateral border irregular. Mesonotum black, edged laterally with orange. Two faint orange spots on anterior half of cruciform elevation, entirely black in some paratypes. Pale orange spot at end of each anterior arm of cruciform elevation, two additional pale spots slightly anterior and mediad to spots at ends of arms of cruciform elevation at posterior ends of anterior longitudinal parapsidal suture. Orange lines, some incomplete, extend anteriorly from two medial spots forming sides of the mesonotal W in some paratypes. Two additional spots on lateral mesonotum, one at base of tegmina and one opposite spots at end of anterior arms of cruciform elevation. Metanotum edged posteriorly with orange. Operculum short, not reaching abdominal segment I, black with posterior orange border ( Fig. 2 ). Medial border rounded, extending to middle of meracanthus. Meracanthus orange.

Tegmina and Wings. Hyaline. Basal membranes of tegmina bright orange. Basal cell opaque, blackened around edges, completely blackened in some paratypes. Basal portion of anal cell blackened. Costa pale almost to end of radial cell, darkened beyond. Sub-costal vein black. Radius crossing basal cell pale. Remaining veins dark in tegmina and wings.Wing orange proximally then blackened at base, orange extending further into cubital and anal cells and jugal area.

Legs. Predominantly black with some pale striping. Fore femora illustrated in Fig. 3 . Knob on the anterior side of the anterior spine distinctive. Distal coxa and trochanter pale orange in foreleg, lateral and dorsal castaneous longitudinal stripes on foreleg femur, dorsal stripe longer, neither reaching distal orange annulus.Distal and medial segments of middle and hind legs pale orange, castaneous longitudinal stripes laterally. Tarsi and claws black.

Abdomen. Tergum black. Posterior tergal segment margins orange laterally, extending dorsally across segments VII and VIII. Sternal segments black, edged posteriorly with orange. Double notch in ventral female segment VIII, inner notch rounded ( Fig. 4 ). Male uncus black, a shallow, somewhat angular, notch in terminus ( Fig. 5 ). Pygofer black, edged posteriorly in orange between basal lobe and lateral pygofer process. Orange ring around anal valve. Sternite VIII orange, variegated with black laterally and on posterior ventral surface.

Measurements (Millimeters). n = 16 males or 8 females, mean (range). Length of body: male 26.33 (24.72-29.00), female 25.34 (23.32-27.36); length of fore wing: male 31.57 (28.24-33.40), female 32.30 (29.94 -34.20); width of fore wing: male 10.64 (10.08 - 11.30), female 11.29 (10.80-12.18); length of head: male 4.43 (4.02- 4.62), female 4.48 (4.12-5.08); width of head including eyes: male 7.61 (7.16 -8.10), female 7.72 (7.52- 8.10); width of pronotum including suprahumeral plates: male 10.01 (9.50 -10.88), female 10.18 (9.62-10.88); width of mesonotum: male 8.34 (7.94 -8.94), female 8.68 (8.40 -9.36). Live mass was determined to be 752 ± 158 mg (n = 24).

Diagnostic Character States. The black lateral margins of the pronotum, the pale radial vein, the shape of the spines on the fore femora and the prominently produced postclypeus will distinguish this species from other Okanagana species found in Arizona. The genitalia and spines on the fore femora are obvious features to identify the species.

The sympatric Okanagana species can be separated further using a few additional characters. Okanagana magnifica is the largest Okanagana (body length ≈31.2 mm), it lacks notal markings, has a bright orange costal margin on the tegmina, and is pilose. Okanagana rubroƲenosa is much smaller (body length ≈22.5 mm), is red or covered with rufus pubescence and the wing venation is red. Okanagana mariposa is the most similar species in size with a body length of ≈25.9 mm but differs in having yellow markings instead of orange, having a single pale dot dividing the anteclypeus from the postclypeus, and the lateral edges of the pronotum are jagged.

Distribution. This species was found in Arizona, Coconino County, east of Sedona primarily at elevations between 1,300 and 1,500 m. The species seems to be very restricted in its distribution along the canyon in which Schnebly Hill Road is found. The majority of specimens have been collected within ≈10 km of one another. A single male was captured in 2001 at Schenbly Hill Vista at an elevation of 1,823 m, but it was well separated from all other specimens we have collected and in a transitional plant community at the summit of the canyons.

We found O. georgi living sympatrically with O. mariposa , O. magnifica , and O. rubrovenosa along Schnebly Hill Road. Each species is associated with specific host plants. Okanagana magnifica is found on pinyon pine, Pinus edulis Engelm. ; O. rubroƲenosa is cryptically colored to match the bark of manzanita ( Arctostaphylos spp. ), and O. mariposa is most frequently collected from scrub oak, Quercus turbinella Greene. In addition, each of the sympatric species has a distribution that covers several western states ( Metcalf 1963c).

Biological Notes. The species is associated with what Ku¨ chler (1964) calls chaparral. The chaparral in Arizona is a transition type vegetation between oakjuniper woodland and mountain mahogany-oak scrub. On Schnebly Hill, it interfingers with the juniper-pin˜ on woodland. The specimens of O. georgi have been collected primarily from Arizona cypress, Cupressus arizonica Greene , in a riparian habitat within the canyon. Additional specimens have been collected from alligator juniper, Juniperus deppeana Steud. ; scrub oak; and riparian trees. An aggregation was observed in the upper portions of a large Lowell ash, Fraxinus anomala variety lowelli [Sarg.]Little, in 2001, which quickly dispersed when a single individual was captured. Arizona Cypress seems to be the preferred plant for association and may be the host for the nymphal stages. The other plant species from which specimens were collected seem to be perching sites, because we have isolated references to the cicadas using these plants as perches rather than the repeated associations recorded between the cicadas and Arizona cypress.

Calling Activity and Calling Song. Okanagana georgi were highly active between 10:30 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. and again late in the afternoon between 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. mountain standard time. Calling activity is regulated by the availability of solar radiation. Calling does not begin until the sun has been available to the animals for several hours, and calling activity ceases as the shadows fall over the canyon. These restrictions are probably the result of an inability to maintain the elevated body temperature necessary to coordinate calling as has been described in many cicada species (for reviews, see Sanborn 2002, 2005). Similar acoustic behavior is exhibited by the sympatric species of Okanagana along Schnbly Hill Road.

The cicadas were observed in both juniper and ash calling from the leaves instead of the branches or trunks. The call is a continuous train of sound pulses without frequency or amplitude modulation. The sound pulses are produced at a rate of 106.92 ± 1.331 Hz (n = 10 segments of the single call recorded). The alarm call has an average peak intensity of 97.4 dB (n = 1) at 50 cm (2 X 10 ¯4 dynes cm ¯2). The intensity of the O. georgi call does not differ from what would be predicted based on the size relationship described by Sanborn and Phillips (1995).

Thermal Responses. Minimum flight temperature of O. georgi was determined to be 19.76 ± 2.50°C (n = 21). Maximum voluntary tolerance temperature was determined to be 33.13 ± 2.37°C (n = 19). Heat torpor temperature was determined to be 43.00 ± 1.73°C (n = 20). The values are related to the habitat and behavior of individual species (see summary in Sanborn 2002). Minimum flight temperature has been related to several morphological parameters of the flight system ( Sanborn et al. 2001). The mean maximum voluntary tolerance temperature is lower than reported from the cicadas inhabiting Arizona ( Heath and Wilkin 1970, Heath et al. 1972, Heath 1972, Sanborn et al. 1992) except the small crepitating Platypedia putnami lutea Davis ( Sanborn et al. 2002), which is also a montane species. The value determined for O. georgi is similar to that of cicadas from cooler microclimates or endothermic animals ( Sanborn et al. 1995 a, 2003; Sanborn 2000, 2004). This may be an adaptation to maximize the time of acoustic signaling, because the availability of solar radiation was necessary for the animals to call as stated above. Heat torpor temperature is strictly related to the habitat in cicadas ( Sanborn 2002). The heat torpor temperature determined for O. georgi is similar to other cicadas found at altitude such as O. hesperia (Uhler) ( Heath 1972) and Cacama ƲalƲata (Uhler) ( Heath et al. 1972) or those that inhabit cooler environments or microclimates such as Magicicada cassinii (Fisher) ( Heath 1967) , Fidicina torresi Boulrad & Martinelli , Guyalna bonaerensis (Berg) , Quesada gigas (Olivier) , and Proarna insignis Distant ( Sanborn et al. 1995 a, 1995b).

Figures

Fig. 1. Okanagana georgi, sp. n. holotype female (top) and paratype male (bottom). Bar = 2 cm.

Fig. 2. Operculum of Okanagana georgi, sp. n. (A) Female. (B) Male.

Fig. 3. Fore femur of Okanagana georgi, sp. n. The anterior spine is enlarged below to illustrate the diagnostic knob on the anterior side.

Fig. 4. (A) Lateral view of the holotype female genitalia. (B) Ventral view of female genitalia.

Fig. 5. (A) Lateral view of paratype male genitalia. (B) Posterior view of paratype male genitalia. (C) Lateral view of male genitalia. (D) Posterior view of male genitalia.