Thagria melanoloma Wang & Zhang

Wang, Xiu-Dan & Zhang, Ya-Lin, 2017, Five new species of the leafhopper genus Thagria Melichar (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Coelidiinae) from China, Zootaxa 4250 (3), pp. 219-228 : 223

Thagria melanoloma Wang & Zhang , sp. nov.

( Figs. 21–30 )

Description. Measurements. Male, body length: 6.90 mm; head width: 1.80 mm; crown length×width: 0.75× 0.96 mm; eye width: 0.57 mm; clypeus length: 1.35 mm; pronotum length×width: 0.75× 2.16 mm; mesonotum length: 1.09mm. female, unknown.

External morphology. Crown pale brown, with disc darker in color; eyes and ocelli whitish gray ( Fig. 22 ). Face pale brown, with middle region brown; gena with black spot blow each eye ( Fig. 23 ). Pronotum black; mesonotum black with brown edges ( Fig. 22 ). Forewings brownish translucent, with margins darker brown anteriorly and paler apically; venation black, with ivory spots ( Fig. 21, 24 ). Legs light brown ( Fig. 23 ).

Head narrower than pronotum, anterior margin rounded; crown wider than eye width, beyond eyes about 1/4 median length; coronal suture about half of median length; ocelli position about 1/3 of crown length distally ( Fig. 22 ). Face with clypeus long, lateral margins parallel; clypellus short, with base inflated ( Fig. 23 ). Crown, pronotum and mesonotum midline ratio about 1:1:1.4. Forewings typical.

Male genitalia. Pygofer in lateral view with short and broad caudoventral lobe, caudodorsal processes truncate ( Fig. 25 ) and incurvate ( Fig. 26 ). Segment X ventral processes long, exposed at apex of pygofer, broad in lateral view but abruptly tapered at about 1/3 length to apex ( Fig. 25 ). Aedeagus slender, reaching to 3/4 length of ventral paraphysis; the latter concave, apex bifurcate, with small projection subapically on ventral surface ( Figs. 28–29 ). Style very long, gradually tapered distally, with inner lateral margin serrate; connective broadly Y-shaped ( Fig. 27 ). Dorsal connective U-shaped with very short basal process ( Fig. 26 ). Subgenital plate rounded apically, with fine setae laterally, ventral surface with row of macro setae ( Fig. 30 ).

Material examined. Holotype: male, CHINA: Mengla County, Xishuangbanna , Yunnan Province, 657± 15m, 21°24′115″N, 101°37′015″E, 29 JUN 2012, coll. Zhang & Chen, No. Hm 022021. ( NWAFU)

Etymology. This specific name is derived from the Latin word “ melanolomus ” refering to its darker-brown anterior margin of forewing.

Remarks. This species is similar to T. hamula , T. subta , T. acrodens ( Freytag, 2010: 435, Photos 1–6) and T. biretrorsa ( Nielson, 2013: 42, Plate 1-c), but differs from these species by the shape of the segment X ventral processes and the ventral paraphysis, and the serrate lateral margin of the style.

Figures

FIGURES 21 – 30. Thagria melanoloma Wang & Zhang, sp. nov. Holotype: 21. habitus, dorsal view; 22. head and thorax, dorsal view; 23. face; 24. habitus, lateral view; 25. pygofer, lateral view; 26. dorsal connective, pygofer and segment X processes, ventral view; 27. style and connective, ventral view; 28. aedeagus and paraphysis, dorsal view; 29. aedeagus and paraphysis, lateral view. 30. subgential plate, ventral view. Scale bars: 21 – 24 = 1.0 mm; 25 – 30 = 0.5 mm.