Pravistylus odontiophallus Stiller 2010, sp. n.
Creators: name: Stiller, M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Cicadellidae
Pravistylus
Pravistylus odontiophallus

description: Pravistylus odontiophallus sp. n.   
(Figs 1 x; 2 m & n; 3 m; 4 k & l; 5 ag & ah; 6 j & k; 7 bj & bk; 8 as)  
 Diagnosis. Aedeagal shaft, dorsal view, with one side of apex minutely serrate, sometimes depressed; lateral view, C-shaped, apex straight, base of shaft compressed (Figs 3 m, 4 k & l). Plate apex variable, acutely triangular or narrowly rounded, not produced significantly, macrosetae near apex (Figs 2 m & n). Style distal part separated from anterior medial lobe (Figs 5 ag & ah).   
 Etymology. Greek, with teeth (odontion) laterally on the apex of the aedeagal shaft (phallus).   
 Male and female. Ochraceous, without any significant markings. Tegmina with veins translucent; hind wing small, rounded, about 0.25 times as long as tegmina (Fig. 8 as).   
 Male. Dimensions. (n = 8) Length: apex of vertex to apex of tegmina 2.3–2.6 mm; apex of vertex to apex of abdomen 3.0– 3.1 mm; vertex medially 0.5 mm; vertex next to eye 0.3 mm; pronotum medially 0.3–0.4 mm. Width: head 0.8–0.9 mm; pronotum 0.7–0.8 mm. Ocellar diameter 28.0 µm; ocellocular distance 40.0– 54.5 µm.   
 Genital capsule. Pygofer, in lateral view, with ventral posterior margin straight, contiguous with pygofer lobe (Fig. 1 x). Pygofer lobe narrowly rounded; lobe about as wide as the pygofer (Fig. 1 x). Plate apex variable: acutely triangular (Fig. 2 n); narrow, triangular with apex narrowly rounded (Fig. 2 m); subbasal lateral margins with paired, clumped fine setae; macrosetae subapical; plate 1.9–2.2 times as long as wide. Aedeagus, in lateral view, with shaft arising medially from atrium; C-shaped, with apex straightened, base compressed (Fig. 3 m); dorsal view, shaft with one side of apical third finely denticulate laterally, denticulations mirrored in some specimens (Figs 3 m, 4 k & l), apex sometimes depressed (Fig. 4 l). Style distal part separated from anterior medial lobe; apophysis apex acute, with 3–4 ventral teeth (Figs 5 ag & ah). Connective, in dorsal view, with stem base constricted; in lateral view, straight (Figs 6 j & k).   
 Female. Dimensions. (n = 6) Length: apex of vertex to apex of tegmina 2.1–2.5 mm; apex of vertex to apex of abdomen 2.7–3.0 mm; vertex medially 0.4–0.5 mm; vertex next to eye 0.3 mm; pronotum medially 0.3–0.4 mm. Width: head 0.8–0.9 mm; pronotum 0.7–0.8 mm. Ocellar diameter 24.0–29.7 µm; ocellocular distance 38.6–50.0 µm.   
 Genitalia. Sternite 7 hind margin variable: ligula short (Fig. 7 bk) or, ligula long, wide, triangular (Fig. 7 bj).   
 Material examined. Holotype male. South Africa, Mpumalanga. Boschhoek Farm, 24°49ʹS, 30°37ʹE, 1300 m, 16.i.1994, sweeping grass and forbs (SANC). Paratypes 9♂, 4♀. Mpumalanga. 4♂, 1♀, same data as holotype; 4♂, 3♀, Caspersnek, 24°44ʹS, 30°43ʹE, 1360 m, 15.xi.2005, DVac, moribund grass; both M. Stiller (BMNH, SANC).   
 Remarks. The unique feature of P. odontiophallus is the one-sided, lateral serration of the apex of the aedeagal shaft, visible in dorsal, ventral or posterior view in cleared specimens. Sometimes the apex is depressed, as in the specimen from Caspersnek (Fig. 4 l), and still with one side bearing teeth. The pygofer lobe (Fig. 1 x), plate (Figs 2 m & n), and style (Figs 5 ag & ah) of this species is similar to that of P. pollediscus sp. n. (Figs 1 ab–ad, 2 t, 5 ai–ak), and to a lesser degree P. digitidiscus (Figs 1 h, 2 c, 5 ad) and P. longitrunculus (Figs 1 p, 2 k, 5 e). The aedeagus provides the most reliable means of identification. In the lateral view the shaft of P. odontiophallus is C-shaped, arises medially from the atrium, and has a compressed base and tapers toward the apex (Fig. 3 m). In dorsal view one side of the apex is denticulate (Fig. 4 k), and sometimes depressed (Fig. 4 l). In the other species mentioned above, the shaft arises ventrally from the atrium, with the shaft narrow along most of its length, and bears no teeth (P. digitidiscus (Figs 3 ad, 4 ab) and P. longitrunculus (Figs 3 ab, 4 z)). Pravistylus odontiophallus represents a species with a modified aedeagal shaft. The other species with some form of modification are P. caenophallus and P. scolophallus sp. n. In P. caenophallus the aedeagal shaft has a single, bilobed mediodorsal ridge and expanded apex (Fig. 3 ak). In P. scolophallus the aedeagus has the preatrium is a spine-like process (Fig. 3 aj). The bulbous apex of the shaft in some specimens of P.eductus (Figs 3 n & o, 4 m & n) and P. exquadratus (Figs 3 p & q, 4 o) is not considered as a modification.
description: Published as part of Stiller, M., 2010, Revision of the Southern African leafhopper genus Pravistylus (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae) 2468, pp. 1-81 in Zootaxa 2468 (1) on pages 36-37, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2468.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/10094177