The Australian Pentastirini (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Cixiidae)
Author
Löcker, Birgit
Author
Fletcher, Murray J.
Author
Larivière, Marie-Claude
Author
Gurr, Geoff M.
text
Zootaxa
2006
2006-08-14
1290
1290
1
138
journal article
11755334
1D47B077-34C7-4BC6-B22F-C5BE9B02EBD7
Miclucha australiensis
Löcker
sp. nov.
(
Figs 4A–D
,
32A–F
)
Type material
Holotype
,
♂
,
AUSTRALIA
, NT:
9 km
N by E of
Mudginbarry
HS,
12.31S
132.54E
,
26.v.1973
(Upton, McInnes) (
ANIC
).
Colour
Vertex dark brown, carinae light brown; face light to mid brown, carinae light brown; pronotum light brown, carinae paler; mesonotum mid brown, carinae paler; legs light brown; forewing hyaline colourless with brown marks along crossveins and apices of apical veins, veins light to mid brown, tubercles concolorous with veins, pterostigma light to mid brown; abdominal sternites mid to dark brown.
Morphology
Body length:
♂
6.3 mm
.
Head: Vertex (total length) 3.0 times longer than wide; basal emargination acutely angled or rectangular. Postclypeus with welldeveloped median carina.
Thorax: Hind margin of pronotum obtusely angled. Mesonotum with welldeveloped median and sublateral carinae and evanescent to welldeveloped lateral carinae. Forewing 3.5 times longer than wide; costa with 9 tubercles; 9 apical cells. Hind leg: tibia with 3 lateral spines; 6 large apical teeth; 1
st
tarsomere with 8–9 apical teeth and no platellae; 2
nd
tarsomere with 7 apical teeth and no platellae.
Male genitalia: Anal tube as in
Figs 32D–F
; pygophore and genital styles with long, slender, sclerotised, dorsal process as in
Figs 32B–C
. Aedeagus (Fig. A): Phallotheca with a moderately curved spine (a); a slightly curved spine (b); an almost straight spine (c); and a very long, strongly curved spine (d); phallotheca ventrally with 3 sheetlike ridges. Flagellum sclerotised, unarmed.
Remarks
The general structure of the aedeagus and the shape of the genital styles is similar to those of
M. niuginiensis
(Van Stalle)
, a species described from
Papua New Guinea
.
M. australiensis
differs, however, in the forking of the subapical carina from the lateral margin which is about 2/3 of the total length in
M. australiensis
and more than 3/
4 in
M. niuginiensis
and the two other species in
Miclucha
. Regarding the chaetotaxy of the hind legs,
M. australiensis
and
M. niuginiensis
share 7 apical teeth on the second tarsomere (
7–8 in
M. incerta
and
9 in
M. laratensis
) but differ in the number of apical teeth on the first hind tarsomere which is
7 in
M. niuginiensis
and
8–9 in
M. australiensis
(
7–8 in
M. incerta
and
9 in
M. laratensis
). Further features in which
M. australiensis
differs from other species in the genus are: median carina in
M. australiensis
1/4–1/2 (in
M. laratensis
and
M. incerta
1/2–3/4) as long as median length of vertex, and hind tibia with 6 large apical teeth (in
M. laratensis
and
M. incerta
5 large and 1 very small apical tooth). Nevertheless,
M. australiensis
has been placed in
Miclucha
, because it has the characteristic feature of the genus as defined by
Emeljanov (2001b)
: genital styles with a long, slender, sclerotised dorsal process. A similar process also occurs in the
acanthopygophoris
group of
Oliarus
, although slightly less sclerotised and shorter, and in
Cordoliarus
, where is mounted in a different position.