Revision of the Southern African leafhopper genus Pravistylus (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae) 2468 Author Stiller, M. text Zootaxa 2010 2010-05-14 2468 1 1 81 https://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.2468.1.1 journal article 10.11646/zootaxa.2468.1.1 1175­5334 10094177 Pravistylus varicudiscus sp. n. ( Figs. 1 aj; 2 a; 3 ag; 4 ae; 5 al; 6 ae; 7 cf; 8 bm & bn) Diagnosis . Plate extremely long, with apex right-angled dorsally, apex of plate reaching anal tube, apex narrow tubular ( Fig. 2 a ). Pygofer rectangular, pygofer lobe reduced ( Fig. 1 aj). Female sternite 7 longitudinally rectangular, with short triangular ligula ( Fig. 7 cf). Etymology . Latin, varicus, straddling, discus¸ disc, i.e. subgenital plate; for the nature of the plate that straddles the pygofer and with its apex reaching the anal tube. Male and female . Ochraceous, male with variable narrow fuscous marking on dorsally on pygofer. Female ochraceous, unmarked. Both sexes sometimes with more distinct fuscous marking on vertex and inner anteapical cell of tegmina ( Figs 8 bm & bn). Male . Dimensions . (n = 25) Length : to tegmina 2.3–2.4 mm ; to abdomen 2.6–2.9 mm ; vertex medially 0.4–0.5 mm ; vertex next to eye 0.3 mm ; pronotum medially 0.3 mm . Width : head 0.9 mm ; pronotum 0.8 mm . Ocellar diameter 28.0 µm; ocellocular distance 37.0–45.9 µm. Genital capsule . Pygofer rectangular ( Fig. 1 aj). Pygofer lobe reduced, subapical, broadly merged with pygofer. Plate elongate, more so than in any other species of Pravistylus ; basal two thirds acutely triangular, basal lateral margin slightly sinuous, sparsely set with fine, short setae; plate 2.4–2.7 times as long as width across base (excluding length of right-angled apex); apex narrow, tubular, sclerotized, right-angled dorsally, apex in repose reaching as far as anal tube; 6–7 uniseriate marginal medial macrosetae ( Fig. 2 a ). Aedeagus with dorsal apodeme narrow; shaft, ventral view, narrow, parallel-sided; lateral view, wide at base, basal ⅔ uniformly curved dorsad, apical ⅓ deflected somewhat ventrad; gonopore subapical, dorsolaterad ( Figs 3 ag, 4 ae). Style distal part widely separated from basal medial arm; apophysis acutely triangular, about 6 teeth ventrally ( Fig. 5 al). Connective elongate, stem triangular, about twice as wide as width across arms ( Fig. 6 ae). Female . Dimensions . (n = 13) Length : to tegmina 2.3–2.5 mm ; to abdomen 3.1–3.3 mm ; vertex medially 0.5 mm ; vertex next to eye 0.3–0.4 mm ; pronotum medially 0.3 mm . Width : head 0.9–1.0 mm; pronotum 0.8–0.9 mm . Ocellar diameter 28.0 µm; ocellocular distance 36.5–48.6 µm. Genitalia . Sternite 7 longitudinally rectangular, short triangular ligula apically. Greatest medial length 1.2–1.3 times longer the greatest width ( Fig. 7 cf). Material examined . Holotype male. Swaziland . Malolotja Nature Reserve , near environmental education center, 26º9ʹ15.12ʺS , 31º6ʹ2.64ʺE , 1564 m , 8.xii.2009 , M. Stiller , DVac moribund grass . Paratypes . 20♂ , 10♀ , Ibid. , same data as holotype ( BMNH , INHS , SANC ) . Remarks . Pravistylus varicudiscus is characterized by the very long plate with the apical third that is right-angled dorsally. The plate of this species reaches the apex of the pygofer lobe and bears macrosetae ( Fig. 1 aj). Another species with a similar configuration is P. digitidiscus ( Fig. 2 c ), but with the plate distinctly shorter, usually without macrosetae, only a short section of the apex is curved or bent dorsally, or sometimes it is right-angled ( Fig. 1 h ). In undissected specimens of P. digitidiscus the apex of the plate is inserted ventrally between margins of the pygofer lobe. The female sternite 7 of P. varicudiscus is characteristically longitudinally rectangular, with a short triangular ligula ( Fig. 7 cf), whereas in all other species of Pravistylus the sternite is usually transversely rectangular with a long ligula, or sometimes square. There is a striking similarity in the plate of P. varicudiscus and a new species of Vilargus , although the aedeagus and sternite 7 of the female of these two species differs markedly.