Mendozellus asunctia Cheng
Creators: name: Duan, Yani
name: Dietrich, Christopher H.
name: Zhang, Yalin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Cicadellidae
Mendozellus
Mendozellus asunctia

description: Mendozellus asunctia Cheng
(Figs 1–3)
Mendozellus asunctia Cheng, 1980: 86.
Length. Male: 2.0– 2.4 mm; female: 2.6–3.0 mm.
Coloration and morphology. Ground color pale-yellow to brownish marked with orange to dark-brown; vertex, pronotum, mesonotum and scutellum with wide medial pale stripe. Vertex with variable marks usually consisting of four small apical spots, two oblique preapical bars mesad of anterior eye angles, and two small oblique lines farther posterad. Pronotum with six longitudinal stripes (Fig. 1 A–E). Face mostly stramineous to dark brown, with paired white arcs on frontoclypeus (Fig. 1 G). Forewing stramineous to brown with veins contrastingly pale (Fig. 1 A–F). Mesosternum stramineous to dark brown. Tibiae with fuscous marks (Fig. 1 F).
Head wider than pronotum, anterior margin forming approximately right angle in dorsal view, vertex longer than distance between eyes (Fig. 1 A–E). Anteclypeus tapering to apex, extending beyond normal curve of genae. Lorum semicircular, slightly narrower than anteclypeus, well separated from lateral margin of face (Fig. 1 G). Pronotum slightly shorter than vertex in male (Fig. 1 A–B), as long as vertex in female (Fig. 1 C–E). Forewing exposing apex of pygofer, with four short apical and three anteapical cells, middle anteapical cell divided by crossvein, inner anteapical cell closed basally, appendix reduced (Fig. 1 A–F).
Male genitalia. Pygofer lightly sclerotized dorsally, pygofer lobe short, caudal margin angulate, with numerous macrosetae in distal half (Fig. 2 A–B). Subgenital plate subtriangular, lateral margin weakly incurved, apex acute, with 2–3 macrosetae arising laterally (Fig. 2 C). Style preapical lobe nearly rectangular; apophysis stout, slightly laterally curved with imbricate microsculpture; basal arms widely divergent (Fig. 2 D). Aedeagus very short, truncate apically, widest proximally in lateral and dorsal view, bent dorsad near base in lateral view, apex with small apical tooth-like processes on each side; gonopore apical, large (Fig. 2 E–F).
Female ovipositor. Sternite VII with posterior margin undulate, with two posterolateral lobes attached on inner surface (Figs 1 H–I, 3F). First valvula dorsal sculpturing granulose to maculose, submarginal for most of length (Fig. 3 C–E). Second valvula with dorsal hyaline area broad, distal blade broader than basal section, dorsal margin with approximately 16 small obliquely triangular teeth with small serrations between teeth, apex acuminate (Fig. 3 A–B).
Material examined. ARGENTINA: Chaco P.N. Chaco: 1♂, 70m, 26°48′50"S, 59°36′52"W, 12-I-2008, C.H. Dietrich, vacuum, Ar 10-13, INHS; 1♀, 70m, 26°48′50"S, 59°36′52"W, 12-I-2008, C.H. Dietrich, vacuum, Ar10- 11, INHS; Jujuy: 2♂, rt 9 25km, N Yala, 2,200m, 23°57′2"S, 65°27′57"W, 18-I-2008, C.H. Dietrich, vacuum, AR20-1, INHS; 2♀, rt 9 23km, N Yala, 2,150m, 23° 57′41" S, 65° 27′38" W, 18-I-2008, C.H. Dietrich, vacuum, AR21-1, INHS; 2♂, 13 km N EI Carmen, 1,300m, 24°16′44"S, 65°16′32"W, 18-I-2008, C.H. Dietrich, vacuum, AR22-1, INHS; 4♂, 2♀, 13 km N EI Carmen, 1,300m, 24°16′44"S, 65°16′32"W, 18-I-2008, C.H. Dietrich, sweeping, AR22-2, INHS; 1♀, La Cienaga 4 km S EI Carmen, 1,250m, 24°25′5"S, 65°17′27"W, 18-I-2008, C.H. Dietrich, vacuum, AR231, INHS.
Distribution. Argentina, Paraguay.
Remarks. This species was originally described from Paraguay by Cheng (1980). Some intraspecific variation in wing development and coloration was found and Cheng's original drawings are not detailed, so we redescribe this species. The specimens examined represent the first records of the species from Argentina. The ovipositor is illustrated for the first time.
description: Published as part of Duan, Yani, Dietrich, Christopher H. & Zhang, Yalin, 2017, Two new species of Mendozellus Linnavuori (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae: Deltocephalini) with redescription of Mendozellus asunctia Cheng, pp. 231-240 in Zootaxa 4232 (2) on pages 233-235, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4232.2.6, http://zenodo.org/record/292897