Isometopus webbi Yeshwanth & Chérot & Henry 2021, n. sp.
Creators: name: Yeshwanth, H. M.
name: Chérot, F.
name: Henry, T. J.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Miridae
Isometopus
Isometopus webbi

description: Isometopus webbi, n. sp.
(Figs. 2C, 6E, 12 A–F)
Diagnosis. Easily recognized by the brown and white markings on the dorsal surface of antennal segment II, the scutellum with a V-shaped white marking, the whitish legs, and the male genitalia.
Type material. Holotype (³): InDIaWKarnataka, Chikkaballapura, Nandi Hills, 18.vii.2015, ex: Grewia sp. bark, Yeshwanth, H.M. leg. Paratypes (2³), same data as for holotype (UASB); 3³, Bengaluru, GKVK, 23.i.2020 Yeshwanth, H. M. leg., on Pongamia pinnata (Fabaceae) (UASB).
Description. Body oval, length 2.3 mm, 1.8 times longer than wide. Coloration: Head in anterior view medially brown, with a pale yellow band laterally close to eyes, extending up to ocelli, and two black patches below the eyes on the gena. Ocelli pale brown. Antennal segment I pale brown; segment II dorsally brown, the basal ½ pale brown, ventrally completely brown; segment III and IV brown. Pronotum dark brown with lateral margins pale brown, ventrally or laterally with a white patch on mesothorax. Mesoscutum and basal ¾ of scutellum dark brown, apical ¼ of scutellum with a V-shaped white marking. Fore, mid, and hind coxae white; all femora with apical ¼ pale brown; all tibiae pale brown. Abdomen ventrally dark brown or black. Surface structure and vestiture: Head shiny with distinct punctures. Dorsum, including pronotum and hemelytra, shiny, uniformly punctate with long, golden-yellow, flattened setae. Ocelli raised, weakly separated from eyes; eyes relatively large, rounded, occupying slightly more than half the head height in lateral view. Antenna arising on the ventral margin of head; first segment short and tubular; second segment elongate, almost equal to head width; third segment tubular, twice the length of fourth segment; segment IV short and oval. Labium elongate, extending to hind coxae. Pronotum 2.9 times wider than long, with lateral margins flat and rounded, posterior margin deeply concave submedially, pointed medially, and almost straight laterally at humeral angles. Mesoscutum broad, with central concave margin and two lateral raised margins. Scutellum slightly longer than wide at base, raised. Metathoracic scent gland evaporative area with a prominent opening (Fig. 12B). Hemelytra with lateral margins weakly rounded; cuneus triangular with prominent cuneal incisures; membrane with a single cell. Abdomen extending to apex of cuneus. Hind femur greatly enlarged; hind tibia slender, slightly longer than femur; tarsi two segmented. Male genitalia: as in Figs.12 C–F. Detailed measurements in Table 1.
Female unknown.
Distribution. India (Karnataka).
Biology. Nymphs and adults were collected on Grewia sp. (Malvaceae) tree bark (Fig. 20A) and Pongamia pinnata (L.) Pierre (Fabaceae).
Etymology. We are pleased to name this new species after Mick Webb (BMNH), leafhopper taxonomist and curator of Hemiptera, in recognition of his important work on Auchenorrhyncha, and for the kind and efficient help he has always provided to the authors during their visits to the BMNH.
Discussion. This new species is separated from other Indian species of Isometopus by the characters mentioned in the diagnosis and the key, mainly the total length, dorsal coloration, and male genital structures.
description: Published as part of Yeshwanth, H. M., Chérot, F. & Henry, T. J., 2021, The Isometopinae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Miridae) of India and Sri Lanka: A Review of the Subfamily, with Descriptions of Six New Species, pp. 151-193 in Zootaxa 4903 (2) on page 160, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4903.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/4422874