Vekunta fuscolineata, Rahman, Mohammad Atikur, Kwon, Yong Jung & Suh, Sang Jae, 2012

Rahman, Mohammad Atikur, Kwon, Yong Jung & Suh, Sang Jae, 2012, Two new species of the genus Vekunta Distant (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Derbidae) from Korea, Zootaxa 3313, pp. 23-33 : 28-30

Vekunta fuscolineata sp. nov.

( Figs 1−12 )

Description. Body length (including forewing): male 6.2−6.5 mm (N=08), female 7.0− 7.2 mm (N=08); forewing length: male 5.1−5.4 mm (N=08), female 5.9−6.1 mm (N=08).

Coloration. General color pale brownish yellow, with dark brown lining along claval and costal area ( Fig. 1 ). Vertex ( Fig. 1 ) with yellow sensory pits, lateral and apical carinae brown to dark brown. Frons ( Fig. 2 ) yellow with lateral margins dark brown. Clypeus yellow to yellowish brown. Rostrum yellow with apex fuscous. Genae yellow. Eyes black, ocelli yellow. Antennae ( Fig. 3 ) yellow brown. Pronotum ( Fig. 1 ) golden yellow. Mesonotum ( Fig. 1 ) distinctly dark brown on each side, golden yellow in middle. Tegmina smooky white to smooky brown except costal and clavus margins from base to near apex, dark brown, longitudinal veins pale white. Wings waxy white with pale brown veins. Thorax with ventral areas yellowish brown, mesopleura with an oval black spot. Legs pale yellow. Each segment of abdomen brown dorsally with dark brown margin posteriorly, ventrally yellow. Genital segment yellowish brown.

Head and thorax. Head with eyes distinctly narrower than pronotum (1:1.51). Vertex wider at base than long in middle line (1.53:1), apex narrower than base (1:1.43), straightly projecting before eyes, excavated medially, lateral margin prominent and flate with numerous sensory pits, posterior margin concave. Frons longer in middle line than wide at widest part (1.79:1), width at level of ocelli narrower than widest part (1:1.14), length shorter than clypeus (1:1.25), disc depressed in entire length, each of lateral margin strongly keeled with a series of granules, median carina absent. Clypeus distinctly carinate medially. Apical segment of rostrum longer than wide. Antennae short, second antennomere oval, flagellum originated from apical point, subantennal process short. Eyes semicircular; ocelli present, adjacent to eyes. Median length of pronotum less than that of vertex (1:1.87), anterior margin between eyes convex, length behind eyes greater than median length (1.6:1), median carinae distinct, transverse carinae strongly elevated, ventral and lateral margins not foliately raised. Mesonotum as long as broad, slightly convex, in lateral view slightly raised above vertex, longitudinal median carina distinct, lateral carinae weakly developed, posterior end triangularly depressed. Tegmina ( Fig. 5 ) narrow, 3.3 times as long as widest part, clavus closed, claval veins with a prominent ridge of setiferous tubercles, base of costal margin curved inward, costal margin granulated, R fused with M for short distance. Wings ( Fig. 6 ) slightly shorter than forewing.

Male genitalia. Anal segment ( Fig. 9 ) in lateral profile long, wider at basal half, slender and curved on apical half, in dorsal view ( Fig. 10 ) longer in middle line than widest part at base (2.53:1), lateral margin subparallel, apex rounded. Aedeagal shaft somewhat curved, in right lateral view ( Fig. 7 ), with two processes at middle, one directed dorso-caudad, margin dented, slightly curved subapically, acute at apex, other directed caudad, straight with dented margin; flagellum with two processes at basal half, visible in both left and right lateral view, the main lobe truncate anteriorly produced into two thin processes, one elongate, extending more than half length of aedeagal shaft, and another one short, half of the longer one. Aedeagal shaft, in left lateral view ( Fig. 8 ), with a long process near middle, acute apically, directed caudad; flagellum with pendent lobe, two finger-like processes apically and a spindlelike process near aedeagal shaft. Genital styles ( Fig. 11 ) in profile large, elongate, reaching slightly over apex of anal segment, narrow at basal half, dilated at apical half, posterior end slightly curved, deeply concave apically; lateroventral margin convex at middle, with a pair of lobed processes at base, spinose apically; inner side of laterodorsal margine with a lobe at base. Pygofer in profile distinctly narrowed medially, dorsocaudal angles ( Fig. 12 ) produced caudad asymmetrically, left angle longer than wide, right angle as long as wide.

Female genitalia. Genital scale ( Fig. 4 ) in ventral view with apical half slender, basal half broadly rounded with production wider at base than long in middle line about 1.12:1.

Type materials. Holotype male, KOREA: Sambongsan, Gyeongsangbuk −do Province, 14 Jul. 1997, Y.J. Kwon (KNU). Paratypes: KOREA: 2 males, same data as holotype; 2 males, 2 females, Hakkasan, Gyeongsangbuk −do Province, 21 Aug. 1998, Y.J. Kwon; 3 males, 4 females, Sisan, Jeollanam −do Province, 18 Aug. 2011, Y.J. Kwon; 1 female, Chirisan, Gyeongsangnam −do Province, 17 Aug. 1990, Y.J. Kwon; 1 female, Daegu city, Gyeongsangbuk −do Province, 6 Sep. 1981, Y.J. Kwon (KNU).

Etymology. The word “ fuscolineata ” is derived from the Latin words fusco, meaning “dark” and lineo, meaning “line”. This species is named for the presence of the dark lining along claval and costal margin of tegmina.

Remarks. This species is closely related to V. diluta , V. nigrolineata and V. kotoshonis , all from Taiwan, on the basis of wing color pattern, but can be distinguished by the female genital scale ( Fig.4 ) that is symmetrical (female genital scale asymmetrical in V. diluta ); the production of female genital scale wider at widest part than long in middle line about 1.15:1 (the production of scale longer in middle line than widest part about 1.13: 1 in V. nigrolineata and 1.08: 1 in V. kotoshonis ). This species can be easily distinguished from all other species of this genus by the shape of aedeagus, especially the aedeagal shaft with three processes at middle.

Figures

FIGURES 1 – 12. Vekunta fuscolineata sp. nov. (1) Dorsal habitus, male. (2) Frons, clypeus and rostrum. (3) Head and thorax, lateral view. (4) Female genital scale. (5) Tegmen. (6) Wing. (7) Aedeagus, right lateral view. (8) Aedeagus, left lateral view. (9) Anal segment of male, lateral view. (10) Anal segment of male, dorsal view. (11) Genital style, lateral view. (12) Dorsocaudal process of pygofer. Scale bars = 1.0 mm (Figs 1 – 6), 0.5 mm (Figs 7 – 12).