Myopsalta gordoni Popple 2017, n. sp.
Creators: name: Popple, Lindsay W.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Cicadidae
Myopsalta
Myopsalta gordoni

description: Myopsalta gordoni n. sp.
(Figs 1E, 2E, 3I, 3J, 11, 12; Plate 5)
Notopsalta sp. nr atrata Black Acacia Buzzer: Popple & Strange, 2002: 21, 22, 25, 29, Fig. 3A, Fig. 6D, Table 1. Myopsalta sp. nr atrata Black Acacia Buzzer (Popple & Strange, 2002): Sanborn, 2014: 583.
Types. Holotype: ♂ 82 km N. of St George, 30.xii.2001, L. Popple & A. Strange, 279-0008, QM Reg. No. T239566 (QM); Paratypes: QUEENSLAND: 1♀ same data as holotype, 279-0010 (QM); 1♀ 1.0 km SE. along Bollon Road from jct. with Cunnamulla Highway, Charleville, 26°25.49'S 146°15.73'E, 12–14.i.2010, A. Ewart, E. gilesii heath (AE); 2♂ 2♀ Queensland, Myall Park, 8 km N. of Glenmorgan, 27–28.xii.2001, L. Popple & A. Strange, 279-0001 to 279-0005; 2♀ same data as previous, 28.xii.2001, 279-0006, 279-0007; 1♀ same data as holotype, 279-0009 (LWP); 1♂ AU.QL.MVA, 45 km NW. of Morven, 26°06.823'S 146°51.993'E, 440 m, 8.ii.2008, K. Hill, D. Marshall, M. Moulds, C. Owen, M. Humphrey, C. Simon Lab Voucher, legs in ETOH, body pinned, 08.AU.QL.MVA.02, Notopsalta ‘Morven’, specimen recorded (MSM).
Etymology. This species is named after the late Mr David Gordon, a botanical collector and conservationist who established Myall Park Botanical Gardens. This property preserves a variety of vegetation communities and a correspondingly high diversity of cicadas.
Description. Male. (Figs 1E, 2E, 3I, 3J; Plates 5A, 5B).
Head: Postclypeus predominantly black, brown to orange-brown in grooves along lateral margins and with an orange-brown spot medially when viewed from anterior side; supra-antennal plates dark brown to black; genae and mandibular plates black, covered by silvery pubescence; frons black; vertex black with a brown area extending along epicranial suture from between lateral ocelli to posterior margin; vertex and frons with sparse silvery pubescence; ocelli pink to pale red; compound eyes brown; anteclypeus dark reddish-brown to black; rostrum dark reddish-brown, black apically, clearly extending to anterior margins of hind coxae; antennae dark brown to black.
Thorax: Pronotum dark reddish-brown; central fascia brown, surrounded with black colouration, which broadens conspicuously towards anterior and posterior pronotal margins; interior pronotum with irregular black patches near paramedian and lateral fissures; narrow black areas present along lateral margins; pronotal collar predominantly black, with dark brown dorso-lateral and sometimes medial posterior margins; metanotum black; mesonotum, including submedian and lateral sigilla, black, with dark brown areas between the submedian and lateral sigilla extending towards arms and on to lateral sides of cruciform elevation and posterior half of wing grooves; posterior third of mesonotum with dense fine and mid-dense long silver pubescence.
Wings: Fore wings hyaline; basal membranes pale orange to grey-brown; pterostigmata reddish-brown; veins, including costal vein, dark brown. Hind wing plagas white at base, pale grey-brown, this colour extending along jugal folds and terminating before apices, hyaline over remainder; veins brown basally, dark brown on distal half.
Legs: Fore coxae dark brown, with narrow longitudinal brown bands on lateral sides, brown apically; mid and hind coxae dark brown, with pale brown to brown longitudinal bands on anterior side, apices pale brown to brown; meracantha spikes dark brown, becoming pale brown apically, overlapping opercula; fore femora brown to dark brown with pale brown longitudinal bands on posterior lateral and anterior sides; mid femora dark brown; hind femora dark brown to brown; fore tibiae dark brown; mid and hind tibiae dark brown, each with two pale brown to brown bands, one above base, other towards apex, hind tibiae paler; fore tarsi dark brown; mid tarsi brown; hind tarsi pale brown; pretarsi and claws brown.
Opercula (Fig. 1E): Broadly rounded; dark brown basally, brown to pale brown on outer plates; plates flat, with medial areas weakly depressed.
Timbals (Fig. 2E): Anterior rib 5 abbreviated; rib 4 also abbreviated, with a prominent isolated remnant extension ventrally; ribs 1 and 2 joined ventrally and fused dorsally to basal spur; anterior termination of basal spur fused with ribs 3–4, with rib 5 unattached; prominent intercalary short ribs in medial areas between ribs 1 and 2, 2 and 3, and 3 and 4 (three in total).
Abdomen: Tergite 1 black; tergite 2 wider along dorsal midline than tergites 3 to 7; tergites 2 to 7 principally black, with dark brown to brown areas on dorso-lateral posterior margins, all with short silver pubescence on dorso-lateral sides and with extensive long and short silver pubescence on lateral sides; tergite 8 dark reddishbrown to black, covered in short silver pubescence; intersegmental membranes pale brown; epipleurites dark reddish-brown, with sparse silver pubescence; sternite II black laterally, pale reddish-brown ventro-laterally, with a dark brown area medially; sternite III pale reddish-brown, often with a dark brown area medially, which broadens posteriorly; sternites IV, V and sometimes VI pale reddish-brown laterally, with dark brown areas medially, which broaden posteriorly, gradually increasing in size distally in each successive sternite; sternite VI entirely dark reddish brown in some specimens; sternites VII and VIII dark reddish brown; anterior sternites visible in lateral view.
Genitalia (Figs 3I, J): Pygofer dark brown to black; upper lobes in ventral view relatively linear, with terminals directed inwardly and dorsally, apically acute; basal lobes in ventral view slightly curved to follow axis of pygofer, in lateral view directed outwards towards apices, apically rounded; median lobe of uncus relatively blunt and abrupt; claspers in ventral view conspicuous, diverging markedly from point of downward deflection, with sharply developed apices; pseudoparameres projecting further (ventrally) than endotheca and ventral support; ventral support acute, projecting slightly beyond endotheca; endotheca fleshy.
Female (Plate 5C): Head, thorax, wings and legs match description of male.
Abdomen: Tergite 1 dark brown to black; tergite 2 dark brown to black, in paler specimens sometimes with brown areas on dorso-lateral sides’ tergites 3 to 8 dark brown to black, sometimes with diffuse brown areas on posterior dorso-lateral margins; auditory capsules black; abdominal segment 9 dark reddish-brown to black, brown ventrally; dorsal beak black, sharply defined; sternite II pale brown to pale reddish-brown; epipleurites dark brown to black anteriorly, tending brown to pale brown posteriorly; sternite III pale reddish-brown, sometimes with a dark brown area medially on posterior half; sternites IV to VI pale reddish-brown with dark brown to black areas medially, broadening posteriorly, typically similar in width, though often widest on sternite IV; sternite VII pale reddish-brown; ovipositor sheath extends approximately 3.0– 3.5 mm beyond apex of abdominal segment 9.
Measurements. N= 4♂ 7♀. Ranges and means (in parentheses), mm; BL: ♂ 10.9–12.2 (11.7); ♀ 16.6–18.9 (17.5). FWL: ♂ 13.8–14.5 (14.1); ♀ 15.8–17.6 (14.1). HW: ♂ 3.6–3.9 (3.8); ♀ 4.1–4.4 (4.2). PW: ♂ 3.5–3.8 (3.6); ♀ 3.9–4.5 (4.2). AW: ♂ 3.7–3.9 (3.8); ♀ 3.8–4.5 (4.1). FWL/W: ♂ 2.80–2.95 (2.90); ♀ 2.81–3.07 (2.96). OL: ♀ 8.4–10.2 (9.2).
Morphological distinguishing features. Myopsalta gordoni n. sp. can be distinguished from all other species in the genus apart from M. atrata, M. binotata, M. chrysopedia n. sp., M. coolahensis, M. lactea, M. libritor, M. parvula n. sp., M. waterhousei and M. xerograsidia n. sp. by the colour of the basal membranes of the fore wings, which is mainly white to pale grey (cf. pale brown or pale orange). It can be distinguished from M. binotata, M. coolahensis, M. lactea, M. libritor and M. waterhousei by having completely hyaline fore wings (including the basal cells). Males can be separated from M. atrata by the colouration of the posterior margins of the tergites, which are pale brown rather than orange. They can be differentiated from the similar M. xerograsidia n. sp. by the colour of sternite VII, which is uniformly dark brown to black (cf. dark brown centrally with contrasting pale brown margins in M. xerograsidia n. sp.). They can be separated from M. parvula n. sp. by the colouration of the lateral halves of sternites III and IV, which is predominantly pale reddish-brown rather than almost exclusively dark brown. In addition, they can be distinguished from M. chrysopedia n. sp. by having a head width <4.6 mm. Females can be separated from M. atrata and M. chrysopedia n. sp. by the exceptionally long ovipositor sheath, which extends 3.0– 3.5 mm beyond the termination of abdominal segment 9 (cf. <0.5 mm in M. atrata and ~2.0 mm in M. chrysopedia n. sp.). They can be distinguished from the closely similar M. xerograsidia n. sp. by the colouration of the lateral edges of the sternites, which is reddish-brown rather than pale brown.
Distribution, habitat and behaviour (Fig. 11). Myopsalta gordoni n. sp. is restricted to southern inland Queensland from the Charleville area east to near Glenmorgan. There is also an aural record from Western Creek State Forest near Millmerran. Populations occur in semi-arid woodland and scrubland on sandy substrates. Adults are typically found on the outer branches and in the foliage of trees and larger shrubs. They have been encountered between December and February. Males sing during warm, sunny conditions.
Calling song (Fig. 12). A single recording has been obtained for this species (from Myall Park near Glenmorgan). The calling song contains regular long echemes (2.036– 2.086 s duration), which are sometimes separated with at least one or two short echemes (each 0.055– 0.097 s duration). The long and short echemes are separated by gaps of 0.362– 0.726 s duration. Notably, the short echemes and the initial 0.087– 0.101 s of the long echeme are produced at the same amplitude. However, the remainder of the long echeme drops abruptly in amplitude to one half to two thirds of the amplitude, as shown in Figure 12. Whilst the song contains apparent modulation it amplitude, it maintains a constant frequency plateau, which spans approximately 12.1–16.6 kHz.
It is anticipated that the female would produce a wing-flick response in the gaps after each short echeme; however no observations male-female courtship behaviour have been made for this species.
description: Published as part of Popple, Lindsay W., 2017, A revision of the Myopsalta crucifera (Ashton) species group (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Cicadettini) with 14 new species from mainland Australia, pp. 1-98 in Zootaxa 4340 (1) on pages 30-35, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4340.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/1037793