Leusaba Walker
Creators: name: Wang, Rong-Rong
name: Webb, Michael D.
name: Liang, Ai-Ping
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Tropiduchidae
Leusaba

description: Genus Leusaba Walker
Leusaba Walker, 1857: 144; Melichar 1914: 105.
Type species: Leusaba marginalis Walker, 1857: 144, by original designation.
Description. Relatively large and stout tropiduchids (Figs. 1–4), length (from apex of vertex to tip of anal tube) 8.0– 10.6 mm (N=7).
Colour. General color green to ochraceous; frons with anterior and lateral margins and medial line suffused with orange to reddish stripes (black medial line may be present), apex of rostrum, eyes and antennae with pedicel suffused reddish to brownish; vertex with posterior marginal carinae, pronotum with median disc and lateral portion all suffused yellowish to reddish; fore wings hyaline, veins and stigma brown; fore tibia and mid tibia with apices, hind tibia with bases, lateral spines with apices, long stripes on hind femora all suffused with black.
Head and thorax. Head (Figs. 1 A, 1C, 1E, 1G) including eyes slightly narrower than pronotum, vertex approximately twice as broad as long, projecting before eyes for less than half length of eye; apex broadly convex in dorsal view, evenly and broadly rounded to base of frons; vertex and frons not separated, lateral carinae continuous. Eyes oval. Face with frons laterally carinate, carinae attaining frontoclypeal suture, with or without median ridge; slightly longer medially than greatest width and distinctly longer than width at anterior margin; ventrally depressed each side of midline (Figs. 1 B, 2C) or depressed lateroventrally, forming a ‘v’-shaped central elevated area (Figs. 1 D, 3C); disc smooth or covered with microsetae; clypeus (Figs. 1 B, 1D, 1F, 1H) with distinct median carina, without lateral carinae; rostrum short, attaining mesotrochanters, apical segment short, longer than broad; ocelli distinct; antennae (Figs. 2 B, 2C, 4B, 4C) with scape short, ring-like; pedicel cylindrical, covered with many microsetae extending to base of pedicel. Vertex (Figs. 2 A, 4A) subquadrate, distinctly shorter than greatest width, slightly longer than pronotum at midline; lateral margins ridged and subparallel; posterior margin carinate and arched anteriorly; anterior part of vertex smoothly swollen, uniting with base of frons to form evenly rounded surface; posterior part of vertex distinctly depressed, lateral margins of depression incurving anteriorly and meeting medially to form nearly semicircular arc; with a very faint median carina.
Pronotum (Figs. 2 A, 4A) distinctly shorter than mesonotum in midline; with two contiguous median carinae and oblique and separate lateral carinae; anterior margin slightly carinate, nearly straight; disc projected anteriorly, deeply depressed between median and lateral carinae, with impression on each side; posterior margin obtusely angled excavate. Mesonotum (Figs. 2 A, 4A) tricarinate, median carina straight, reaching to transverse suture; pronotum and mesonotum together medially 4.8–5.9 times as long as median length of vertex. Fore wings (Figs. 1 A, 1C, 1E, 1G) hyaline, surpassing extremity of abdomen by about 0.5– 0.7 times length of body, widening towards tips, 2.7–2.8 times as long as maximum breadth; corium without granulation; veins prominent, thickly covered with short setae dorsally and ventrally (veins in basal area of corium not covered with setae dorsally); costal cell without cross veins; Sc+R and M forking at nodal line; Cu forking after level of junction of claval veins, the latter forked at basal 2/5 of clavus; nodal line forming a zigzag transverse line, subapical line slightly oblique, with 6 subapical and 17–20 apical cells, subapical cells a little longer than latter. Hind wings (Figs. 2 E, 4E) hyaline, veins prominent and thickly covered with short setae dorsally and ventrally, posterior margin strongly sinuate, with three disconnected, oblique transverse veins before apical area, venation as in Figs. 2 E, 4E. Legs elongate; hind tibiae each with 3–4 distinct lateral spines, abnormally with 5 (often on one leg only, basal one very fine); spinal formula of hind leg 6–6–2.
Male genitalia. Pygofer (Figs. 2 F, 2H, 2I) symmetrical, short, in lateral view forming a perpendicular irregular rectangle, wider dorsally than ventrally, with dorsal posterior margin angularly produced posteriorly; dorsal margin deeply excavated to accommodate anal tube (Fig. 2 H); ventral margin strongly excavated anteriorly to accommodate gonostyli (Fig. 2 I). Xth segment (Figs. 2 F, 2H) very long and slender, apical margin distinctly concave in dorsal view, lateroventral margin with two pairs of distinct long spines (Fig. 2 F); anal style short and small. Gonostyli (Figs. 2 F, 2G, 2I) bilaterally asymmetrical, membranously fused with pygofer at base, left gonostylus forming irregular ellipse, more than 3 times as long as maximum breadth in lateral view, tapering to apex in distal 1/6, dorsal edge with two processes (see Fig. 2 F), right gonostylus forming irregular rectangle, relatively large and broad, more than 3 times as long as maximum breadth in lateral view, apex relatively broad, basal dorsal edge with a process (see Fig. 2 G). Periandrium (Figs. 3 A, 3B) dorsally connected with ventrobasal margin of anal-tube, membranously fused with pygofer at ventral side, irregularly ring-like, distinctly sclerotized, surrounding aedeagus at basal part and visible in lateral view, apical margin with a branched process at ventral side.
Aedeagus (Figs. 3 A, 3B) asymmetrical, elongate, robust and mostly sclerotized, with a long, sinuous process at basal part, basal 1/4 to 1/2 part of aedeagus expanded into ellipsoid, connected with membranous endosoma apically, with three projections at left side and a prominence at right side; shaft of aedeagus sclerotized, embraced by endosoma, apical part strongly curved and directed posteroventrally, phallotrema hole-like, exposed apically; endosoma with three projections.
Female genitalia. Anal tube (Figs. 3 C, 3D, 4F, 4G) relatively short, apical margin convex in dorsal view, anal styles reaching beyond apical ventral margin of anal tube. Gonopophyses VIII (first valvulae) (Figs. 3 C, 3F, 4F, 4H) strongly sclerotized with 5 blunt teeth on dorsal margin, 3 blunt apical teeth on ventral margin, and several minute teeth in two angle-like rows laterobasad of middle. Gonopophyses VIII nearly symmetrical or asymmetrical at base in ventral view (Figs. 3 F, 4H). Gonopophyses IX (second valvulae) (Figs. 3 E, 4I) triangular, fused together on inner-lateral margin and strongly reduced but well sclerotized, apical ends confluent or not; gonospiculum (Figs. 3 E, 4I) shorter than median length of triangular part (0.75–0.95:1). Gonoplacs (third valvulae) (Figs. 3 C, 3D, 3F, 4F, 4G) with 3–4 teeth at dorsal margin, dentition simple, forming one line, continue without interruption along ventral margin and involving a further 13 teeth (see Figs. 4 F, 4G); or dentition complex, not forming one line, with 3 outer teeth at apical part, then continue with 12–13 teeth from apical to ventral margin (see Figs. 3 C, 3D, 3F). Gonocoxae VIII (Figs. 3 C, 4F) almost rectangular sclerotized plates with a distinct black spot on caudadorsal edge. Genital opening (gonoporus) singular (monotrysian) occurring between gonopophyses VIII and IX (Figs. 3 F, 4H). Sternite VII with median part sinuous or broad concave at ventral side. Posterior vagina strikingly sclerotized in its ventral part (Figs. 3 F, 4H). Dorsally, a large bursa copulatrix (Figs. 3 C, 4F) opens directly into vagina and an enlarged common oviduct and spermatheca open apically into anterior vagina (Fig. 4 H).
Distribution. Species of Leusaba are currently known from Malaysia (Borneo), Philippines and Sri Lanka.
Discussion. Leusaba belongs in the tribe Paricanini Melichar, which was redefined by Fennah (1982). In addition to Leusaba, the tribe includes Paricana Walker, 1857, Paricanoides Liang, 2003, and Stacota Stål, 1859. Species of Leusaba are externally similar to those of Paricana but can be distinguished from the latter by the laterally carinate vertex with a median carina and fore wings with six subapical and 18–20 apical cells, with subapical cells a little longer than the latter. Leusaba can be distinguished from Paricanoides by the frons and postclypeus with a median carina and more numerous apical and subapical cells in the forewing and more numerous apical cells in the hindwing (see Liang, 2003). It can be separated from Stacota by the vertex being distinctly shorter than greatest width (slightly longer medially than greatest width in Stacota), and fore wings lacking transverse veinlets in the costal cell.
In addition to L. philippina the following other species belong in Leusaba. Two undescribed females from Malaysia are considered to represent two additional species of Leusaba but are not formally named because of the lack of male specimens. They indicate that the Malaysian fauna is more widespread and diverse than currently known.
description: Published as part of Wang, Rong-Rong, Webb, Michael D. & Liang, Ai-Ping, 2010, First record of the male of Leusaba philippina Stål (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Tropiduchidae) with a redescription of the genus and species, pp. 52-60 in Zootaxa 2344 on pages 53-56, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.275553