Discolopeus colopeus Stiller 2019, sp.n.
Creators: name: Stiller, Michael
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Cicadellidae
Discolopeus
Discolopeus colopeus

description: Discolopeus colopeus sp.n.
Figs 4 a–j, 5j–l, 19c.
Diagnosis. Crown elongate; with faint light brown markings. Subgenital plate ovate; ratio of length to width 1.70– 2.02. Aedeagal shaft short; base sclerotized, with short, paired tooth directed laterally; straight, tubular; membranous; dorsal apodeme in dorsal view C-shaped; aedeagal process compressed, short, with apex truncate. Style apophysis elongate, digitate. Connective with transverse bar straight, arms short. Pygofer lobe with narrow digitate ventral process.
Etymology. Named in Greek with an adjective and noun in apposition for its short aedeagus, kolos, docked, curtailed, shortened, stunted, and peos, penis for the nature of the shortened aedeagus of this species, thus colopeus. Male, female and nymph. Color. Ochraceous to stramineous ground colour. Light brown wedge-shaped markings on crown, or without markings. Pronotum with few brown to dark brown markings. Tegmina with veins embrowned, discal and claval cells with brown markings, or without markings (Figs 5 j–l). Nymphs examined were all of similar size. Nymphs with three variable colour forms: 1. Light brown or dark brown longitudinal marking, wide across pronotum, narrowed in thorax, wide basally across abdomen, narrow medially across abdomen and wide subapically across abdomen. 2. Stramineous without longitudinal line. 3. Ochraceous with transverse brown bands, pale distally across thorax, pale medially across abdomen.
Male. Measurements. Overall length 2.80–3.92 mm; crown length 0.48–0.53 mm; crown length next to eye 0.38–0.42 mm; pronotum length 0.36–0.38 mm; head width 1.0 3– 1.10 mm; pronotum width 0.97–1.04 mm; ocellus diameter 28.0 µm; interocellar distance 27.0–39.6 µm.
Male. Genitalia. Tergite X with ventromedial circular concavity (Fig. 4d). Pygofer lobe digitate (Figs 4a, 4c), 10–13 macrosetae dorsomarginally on lobe. Subgenital plate elongate, apex narrowly rounded (Fig. 4b); macrosetae variable in position and arrangement, left and right macrosetae sometimes of different length and extending subbasally or medially, lateral margin uniformly rounded towards apex. Ratio of subgenital plate length medially/greatest width = 1.70–2.02 (n=7). Valve ellipsoid (Fig. 4b) sometimes with narrow anterior apodeme. Aedeagus with shaft short, membranous, base sclerotized with lateral paired tooth, dorsal apodeme shaped as an inverted C (Figs 4e, 4f), preatrium depressed. Aedeagal paraphysis thicker, compressed, apex truncated or rounded (Figs 4e, 4h), ventroapical margin serrate and striate sculpture. Style apophysis acuminate, elongate, serrate ventrally, one third length of style, preapical lobe rounded, preapical angle shallow (Fig. 4e). Connective with transverse section straight, arms right-angled, short (Fig. 4g).
Female. Measurements. Overall length 3.62–3.86 mm; crown length 0.52–0.55 mm; crown length next to eye 0.40–0.43 mm; pronotum length 0.39–0.41 mm; head width 1.1 0–1.17 mm; pronotum width 1.04–1.10 mm; ocellus diameter 28.0 µm; interocellar distance 27.4–40.8 µm.
Female. Genitalia. Sternite VII with wide, deep medial V-or U-shaped notch (Fig. 4i). Valvula 1 (as in Figs 2k, 2m) about as long as wide. Valvifer 1 rhomboid or with more rounded corners, as wide as long, bases of both valvifers attached individually to base of valvula 1.
Material examined. Holotype male. Northern Cape Province. CCDL18469, Biesiesfontein farm south Springbok, -29.75, 17.9333, 2002/09/29, M. Stiller, sweeping Antizoma miersiana Menispermiaceae. Paratypes. 30♂, 22♀, 21 nymphs, Ibid. holotype.
Remarks. This species is atypical with its short, compressed preatrial aedeagal paraphysis and blunt apex, short, membranous shaft, lateral basal teeth and elongate apophysis of the style. All other species in Discolopeus have the aedeagal paraphysis elongated and rounded, the aedeagus lacking basal teeth and a short membranous shaft and the style apophysis shorter. Macrosetae of the subgenital plate are variable in length and distribution. Of the seven dissected males, one subgenital plate of one specimen had the macrosetae in the distal half, another specimen had macrosetae in both plates in the distal half, and five specimens had macrosetae in the distal 2/3 of the plate. In most specimens the macrosetae of one plate were longer than the macrosetae of the other plate. The subgenital plates in intact specimens of D. diacaenus and D. colopeus cannot be distinguished. Specimens of D. antizomavorus, D. arctus and D. diacaenus were collected at Biesiesfontein, but only those on Antizoma miersiana are included in the former. Discolopeus arctus can be distinguished by the short crown, and male and female genitalia. Specimens of D. colopeus and D. diacaenus are similar in colour, dimensions and the subgenital plate, but differ distinctly in the configuration of the aedeagus, but not the shape of valvifer 1 of the female. Sternite VII of five dissected females, associated with A. miersiana, are of two types. Three females are as in Fig. 2f, and two females resemble the sternite VII of D. diacaenus, as in Fig. 1l. Distribution of this species is in Fig. 19c and its feeding plant in Fig. 18f.
description: Published as part of Stiller, Michael, 2019, A new leafhopper genus Discolopeus and nine new species (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae) associated with shrubs, trees and poisonous plants in South Africa, pp. 201-244 in Zootaxa 4559 (2) on pages 212-214, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4559.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/2626811