Leofa (Prasutagus) palearctica Zahniser, 2008, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Zahniser, James N.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2008
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Cicadellidae
Leofa
Leofa palearctica

description: Leofa (Prasutagus) palearctica sp. nov.
(Figs. 45–50, 52–56)
Length of female, 3.6 mm. General color yellow. Head slightly narrower than pronotum. Crown longer than wide, unmarked. Ocelli small, situated slightly dorsad, 1–2 diameters from adjacent eye. Face brown to black, with ivory mark on dorsolateral margin of lorum. Eye strongly notched. Pronotum yellow, with brown and with markings laterally corresponding to wing coloration; without lateral carina. Forewings submacropterous, truncate; appendix absent; tip of wing nearly reaching apex of female abdominal tergite VIII; wing veins white to translucent, loosely bordered with brown; outer anteapical cell very small and constricted or completely absent. Hindwings completely reduced. Legs generally setose. Profemur intercalary row basal setae very long and thick; row AM with 1 or more extra setae basad of AM1; dorsal surface setose. Protibia row AV apical setae very long and thick; dorsal formula 4+4. Legs and venter brown with yellow markings. Anterior abdominal tergites more darkly colored than posterior tergites.
Male. Pygofer in lateral view with three subquadrate lobes; dorsal lobe with 4–5 macrosetae arising dorsally, with a recurved process arising medially and extending posteriorly; process with two dorsal points and ventroapical hook; median lobe with 5–6 macrosetae more or less arranged in one lateral row, curving medially, with short gracile ventroapical extension; ventral lobe without macrosetae. Valve long, triangular. Subgenital plate subtruncate apically, apex indented, with 8–11 scattered macrosetae apically. Connective Vshaped, without stem. Style preapical lobe long, blunt; apophysis forming 90° angle, pointed at apex. Aedeagus strongly recurved in lateral view, with two pairs of broadly triangular flanges arising from apical half of shaft and visible in caudal view; base of aedeagus articulated with long recurved ventral paraphysis. Segment X broad, strongly sclerotized, with broad lateroapical lobes extending ventrally.
Female. Pygofer lightly colored on dorsal half with a median dark stripe, dark ventrally; with numerous macrosetae along ventral and caudal margins. Ovipositor extending far beyond pygofer. Sternite VII with slight lateral lobes, curved along caudal margin to form pair of roundedly pointed median lobes and median notch. First valvula broad basally, tapering apically; dorsal sculpturing granulose, reaching dorsal margin. Second valvula abruptly broadened 1/3 length from base, with sharp obtusely triangular serrated teeth on apical 2/3 of dorsal margin. Gonoplac with several macrosetae near margin caudally, ventrally, and dorsally.
Material examined. Holotype, male (INHS): SPAIN: Alicante, nr. / Relleu, ~ 300m, E-slope / FASI 79- 39, 43; 2., 3.vi.1979 / M. Asche & H. Hoch. One male and 2 female paratypes, same data (INHS). 3 males, 2 female paratypes: SPAIN: Province Alicante, near Relleu, ca. 300 m, East- slope, FASI 79-39, 43, 2.- 3.VI. 1979, M. Asche & H. Hoch (ZMHB). 4 males, 1 female paratype: SPAIN: Province Alicante, 2 km SE Relleu, ca. 500 m, FS 80-3, 25, III.1980, M. Asche (ZMHB).
Diagnosis. Distinguished from other Leofa spp. by the shape of the aedeagus and the shape of the pygofer process.
Etymology. The species name is a noun in apposition.
Discussion. L. palearctica is very similar to L. pulchellus (Distant), but differs in the shape of the aedeagus and the shape of the pygofer. L. palearctica is the northernmost species of Leofa, and its similarity to L. pulchellus from India suggests an interesting biogeographical connection between the two widely separated areas.
description: Published as part of Zahniser, James N., 2008, Seven new species and new distributions of Old World Chiasmini (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae), with a redescription, key to genera, and species checklist for the tribe, pp. 1-32 in Zootaxa 1808 on pages 16-18, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.182734