Multinervis phongdienensis Semeraro, Constant & Pham, 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Semeraro, Linda
name: Constant, Jérôme
name: Pham, Thai-Hong
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Cicadellidae
Multinervis
Multinervis phongdienensis

description: Multinervis phongdienensis sp. nov.
Figs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
Type material.
Holotype ♂ (Figs 1, 3), Vietnam • Thưa Thiȇn-Hué Province, Bach Ma National Park; low altitude; 16°13'14"N, 107°53'10"E; 17 May 2023; alt. 100–200 m; J. Constant and L. Semeraro leg.; I. G. 34.640; VNMN. Paratypes, Vietnam • 1 ♀; same data as in holotype; RBINS • 1 ♀; same data as in holotype; VNMN • 1 ♂; Thưa Thiȇn-Hué Province, Phong Dien District; 16°30'27"N, 107°16'05"E; 23 May 2023; alt. 350–400 m; J. Constant and L. Semeraro, leg.; I. G. 34.640; RBINS.
Diagnosis.
Body robust. Colouration chestnut brown contrasted with pale yellow veins and markings on face. Forewing with veins loosely reticulated mainly on apical half, crossveins in claval area absent; anal vein A 1 strongly curved from base. Subgenital plates relatively short, only just reaching posterior margin of pygofer (see Fig. 3 A), subgenital plates fused along almost entire length. Aedeagal shaft, narrow in lateral view. Connective elongate, racquet-shaped, broader anteriorly than posteriorly, and in caudal view, posterior shaft with lateral membranous triangular flanges. Female seventh sternite much wider than long.
Differential diagnosis.
Multinervis phongdienensis sp. nov. can be differentiated from M. guangxiensis in body length, being slightly smaller (4.5 mm versus 4.8–5.2 mm in M. guangxiensis); the general body shape being more squat (around 2.4 × longer than wide at widest point versus 2.75 ×); the frontoclypeus mostly patchy chestnut brown medially (face generally paler and with a large pale yellow patch medially in M. guangxiensis); forewing venation is less reticulated (fewer crossveins), crossveins between anal veins are absent and there are fewer crossveins between discal and costal cells (versus crossveins present between the anal veins and relatively densely reticulated venation between discal and costal cells) anal vein A 1 is strongly curved from near the base, not parallel with anal vein Pcu (versus very slightly curved, more or less parallel with Pcu); in the male genitalia, the subgenitial plates appear shorter and only just reaching posterior margin of the pygofer (Fig. 3 A) (versus subgenital plates exceeding the posterior margin of the pygofer); in lateral view, the subgenital plate has a slightly rounded projection basodorsally, digitate projection absent (versus distinct digitate projection near base); in ventral view, the subgenital plates appear short and fused for most of their length (versus subgenital plates more elongate, only fused along basal 1 / 3); the aedeagus is similar in shape to M. guangxiensis but is narrower in lateral view; female seventh sternite posterior margin mostly transverse to very weakly broadly concave (versus posterior margin with a deep medial u-shaped notch).
Description.
Measurements and ratios. Body length, ♂ holotype, 4.5 mm; paratypes ♂, 4.5 mm; 2 ♀♀, 4.5 mm. Proportion of body length 2.4 × the width (measured across widest part of body). Head across eyes slightly wider than pronotum. Pronotum 2.5 × as broad as long. Scutellum 1.25 × length of pronotum along midline.
General body colouration. Chestnut brown with contrasting pale-yellow markings and tegminal venation. Colouration of males and females mostly identical.
Head (Figs 1 A – D, 2 A – D) Head very short, visible in dorsal view, crown slightly produced dorsad with upturned lip-like margin, slightly emarginate posterior to compound eyes; crown, brown with diffuse paler brown patches; face, striated across dorsal margin, slightly rugose around ocelli, each ocellus in slight depression; colour of face mostly chestnut brown with distinctive pale yellow pattern – brown and yellow bands across dorsal area of face, brown band across ocelli, ventral to ocelli, pair of pale yellow bands tapered to a point mesally; frontoclypeus and anteclypeus chestnut brown with patches of pale yellow; lora pale yellow, brown along sutural margins of anteclypeus and lora; genae brown with pale yellow longitudinal band medially.
Thorax (Figs 1 A, 2 A) Pronotum with fine, shallow pitting posteriorly, depressed along anterior margin, posterior margin transverse or only weakly concave; pronotal colour generally brown – darker brown band across anterior margin, pair of diffuse pale-yellow stripes posterior to depression, medial disc chestnut brown, posterior margin bordered with very fine pale yellow outline. Proepisternum not visible. Mesonotum with paired shallow oval depressions medially, scutellar suture transverse, recurved laterally; mesonotum and scutellum brown anteriorly, pale brown / yellow medially, pale yellow apically, scutellar suture brown.
Forewings (Figs 1 A, D, 2 A, D) Generally opaque chestnut brown, surface granular, apical margin outlined dark brown, from apex of claval suture to costal margin; veins pale yellow; basal half of costal cells with few crossveins, clavus and brachial cells without complete crossveins, female specimens with additional pale yellow flecks stemming from anal margin; anal vein A 1 strongly curved at base, not parallel with vein Pcu; apical half of forewing, with numerous crossveins, appearing loosely reticulate.
Legs (Figs 1 B-D, 2 B-D) Pale brown / yellow; tibiae pale brown / pale yellow; fore femora striped with black and pale yellow bands; mid femora mostly pale yellow with black band preapically; hind femora pale yellow with longitudinal black markings dorsally, black band apically. Hind femoral macrosetae 2 + 1; number of macrosetae on hind tibia AD row = 7.
Abdomen In males and females, tergites generally brownish, paler brown medially, darker brown in patches, laterally pale yellowish; sternites pale brown to pale yellowish.
Terminalia ♂ (Fig. 3) Pygofer, broad basally, dorsal margin weakly concave, posterior margin subquadrate, ventral margin broadly convex; short fine setae on posterior 1 / 8 of pygofer. Anal tube short, not reaching posterior margin of pygofer. Subgenital plates, only just reaching posterior pygofer margin; in lateral view, plates with laterobasal membranous lobe directed dorsad; in ventral view, plates fused along almost entire length; plates tapering apically, produced as triangular points, or slightly rounded at apex, posterior margin medially forming distinct v-shaped notch. Aedeagus symmetrical; more than half height of pygofer, positioned almost horizontally, apex directed anterodorsad, reaching near base of anal tube; gonopore positioned apically on ventral margin; in lateral view, shaft narrow, slightly sinuate along posterior margin; dorsal apodeme less than half length of shaft; well-developed preatrium; in caudal view, aedeagus broad, lateral margins slightly convex, narrowing slightly towards apex. Connective, elongate, longer than wide, sclerotised portion wider anteriorly than posteriorly; posterior portion articulated with preatrium of aedeagus; in lateral view, oriented obliquely within pygofer, sinuous in profile; in ventral view, anterior portion, approximately racquet-shaped, arms divergent and then convergent distally; sclerotised arms separated throughout, medially membranous, anterior portion of arms enclosed by membranous tissue; elongate posterior stem of connective with membranous lateral triangular flanges. Style basal part elongate; apex of style, reaching near posterior pygofer margin; apophyses spiraled, with fine preapical setae visible from dorsal aspect.
Terminalia ♀ (Fig. 4) Seventh sternite pale brownish / yellow, wider than long (length medially around 1 / 5 its width); transverse, posterior margin straight to broadly, weakly concave, lateral posterior angles slightly rounded. Pygofer pale yellow with some diffuse brown patches dorsally, surface slightly granulate; ovipositor pale yellow; apex of ovipositor slightly but distinctly exceeding length of pygofer; valvulae similar in form to generic description (Li and Li 2013); first valvulae with reticulated area along dorsoapical portion of shaft; second valvulae with small tooth-like process posterior to medial dorsal hyaline area, small teeth along dorsoapical margin.
Etymology.
The species epithet is derived from the collection locality, Phong Dien District which includes the site of CCRR, one of the two locations in Thưa Thiȇn-Hué Province, in which this species was found.
Biology and habitat.
(Fig. 5) The biology of this species is not known. Specimens were collected in subtropical evergreen rainforest in a region bordering the Northern and Southern Vietnam lowland rainforests and Southern Annamites montane forests. In Bach Ma, specimens were only collected by sweeping the vegetation at low altitude (100–200 m) along a track. No specimens were collected at the higher cooler climate altitudes (towards the summit). However, in Phong Dien one specimen was collected at 350– 400 m.
Host.
Unknown.
Distribution.
(Fig. 6) Vietnam • Thưa Thiȇn-Hué Province, Bach Ma National Park and Phong Dien District.
Comments.
The holotype of the type species of Multinervis (M. guangxiensis) was not examined in this study, but specimens were compared to the description of the genus and species and the photographs and illustrations as presented in Li and Li (2013: figs 1–24).
description: Published as part of Semeraro, Linda, Constant, Jérôme & Pham, Thai-Hong, 2025, Extension of the leafhopper genus Multinervis (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Megophthalminae, Agalliini) from Northern to Central Vietnam, with the description of one new species, pp. 1-14 in ZooKeys 1233 on pages 1-14, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1233.136519