Pseudophacopteron pretoriense Capener 1973
Creators: name: Malenovský, Igor
name: Burckhardt, Daniel
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2009
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Phacopteronidae
Pseudophacopteron
Pseudophacopteron pretoriense

description: Pseudophacopteron pretoriense Capener   
(Figs. 34, 70, 98–100, 182–183, 233, 251)  
 Pseudophacopteron pretoriensis Capener, 1973: 46, Figs. 45–53, 57. Holotype ♀, South Africa, Pretoria, Groenkloof Park, 13 October 1965 (A. L. Capener) [NCIP, examined].   
 Pseudophacopteron pretoriensis, Prinsloo 1981: 200, 209 (description of parasitoid Psyllaephagus capeneri).   
 Pseudophacopteron pretoriense, Burckhardt & van Harten 2006: 192 (differential diagnosis to P. verrucifrons).   
 Pseudophacopteron pretoriense, Malenovský et al. 2007: 1917 (differential diagnosis to P. morion).   
 Description. Adult. Colour. Vertex ochreous to orange brown laterally; median ridge on vertex, genae, frons and clypeus lighter, dirty yellow. Pronotum dirty yellow, dark brown on sides, lateral tubercles light. Mesopraescutum ochreous, lighter basally and laterally. Mesoscutum ochreous or orange brown with pale midline and lateral tips. Mesoscutellum, metascutum and metascutellum dirty yellow, metapostnotum ochreous to orange. Lateral sclerites of thorax dark brown. Antenna off-white, segment 3 narrowly infuscated light brown apically, segments 4–8 narrowly dark brown apically, segments 9–10 entirely black. Legs ochreous, metacoxa partly dark brown, femora usually with dark brown markings near apex and base, tibiae infuscated brown basally. Fore wing membrane clear, transparent, except for a dark brown infuscation along vein Cu 1b which does not reach posterior wing margin on proximal side (in cell cu 2) (Fig. 34). Fore wing veins off-white to ochreous, except for C+Sc, basal half of R, M+Cu 1 fork, a spot medially on R+M+Cu 1, and two spots on anal vein, which are all dark brown. Hind wing clear, transparent, C+Sc brown. Abdominal tergites entirely brown to dark brown. Sternites ochreous to dark brown. Male terminalia ochreous. Female terminalia entirely dark brown or subgenital plate basally lighter.   
 Morphology. Head similar to P. zimmermanni. Antenna relatively robust, slightly serrate, segments distinctly widening to apex; terminal setae subequal, long, the longer terminal seta 1.5 times or twice longer than segments 9 and 10 together (Fig. 233). Fore wing with surface spinulation present in cells cu 1, cu 2, m 1, m 2, r 1, and apical portion of r 2 (Fig. 70). Mesotibia with subapical comb on outer margin consisting of 6–8 densely arranged stout setae. Hind legs relatively long and slender; metatibia with 10 apical spurs and eight similar spurs laterally; metabasitarsus slightly longer than broad (contrary to the information given by Capener 1973, it bears two sclerotised lateral spurs). Male proctiger, in lateral view, relatively short and narrow (Fig. 98). Paramere relatively short, robust; in lateral view, club-shaped, with apex forming a tooth situated medially; paramere inner side densely covered with stout setae (Fig. 99). Apical dilation of distal segment of aedeagus small, rounded at apex, drop-shaped (Fig. 100). Female proctiger and subgenital plate with moderately long apical extensions; circumanal pore ring with two rows of pores, pores of outer row contiguous; subgenital plate, in lateral view, pointed apically (Fig. 187); in ventral view, regularly narrowing to a narrowly rounded apex (Fig. 183). Dorsal and ventral valvulae laterally with usually three distinct teeth (Fig. 182). Measurements and ratios in Tabs. 2–4.   
Fifth instar larva (Fig. 251). Body rounded, ovoid in outline, margins of wing pads confluent with body margin. Whole body margin with densely arranged broadly truncate lanceolate setae in following numbers (one side only): head in front of insertion of antenna: 8–11, cephalothorax behind eyes: 12–19, fore wing pad: 33–43, hind wing pad: 6–12, abdomen: 26–35. Dorsum of body with sparse minute simple setae, lacking other conspicuous setae. Antenna short, robust, situated on ventral side, oriented obliquely outwards, lacking distinct divisions, with anterior margin serrate and two rhinaria posteriorly. Tarsal arolium as large as claws. Abdomen dorsally compact, with four distinct free sclerites and fused caudal plate; caudal plate margin broadly rounded. Anus in ventral position. Circumanal ring wide, with fore and hind margin close together; outer ring composed of a single row of pores, not sinuate. Measurements and ratios in Tab. 5.  
 Host plant. Harpephyllum caffrum (Anacardiaceae) (Capener 1973). A part of the examined material is labelled as collected on Ekebergia capensis (Meliaceae). Both plant species are relatively similar and can be confused (Dlamini 2004).   
 Biology. Induces pit galls on the upper surface of leaves (Capener 1973). Parasitized by Psyllaephagus capeneri Prinsloo (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea: Encyrtidae) (Prinsloo 1981).   
 Distribution. South Africa.   
 Material examined. Holotype ♀, SOUTH AFRICA: Pretoria, 13 October 1965 (A. L. Capener). Drymounted [NCIP, Ac. Psy. 118]. Paratypes: SOUTH AFRICA: 7 ♂, 7 ♀, 6 larvae, Gauteng Province, Pretoria, Groenkloof Park, 13 October 1965, on Harpephyllum caffrum (A. L. Capener); 1 ♂, 4 larvae, same data, but 13 September 1972; 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Pretoria, 20 October 1971 (H. D. Catling). Dry- and slide-mounted [BMNH, NCIP]. Other material: SOUTH AFRICA: 2 ♂, Gauteng Province, Pretoria, October 1965, Ekebergia capensis (A. L. Capener); 12 ♂, 7 ♀, ca. 120 larvae and exuviae, Pretoria, 24 October 1985, on Ekebergia capensis (S. Neser); 1 ♀, Western Cape Province, Bloukrans Pass, Vargrivier, 33°57’S, 23°38’E, 14–16 October 1994 (R. Danielsson). Dry- and slide-mounted and preserved in ethanol [BMNH, MMBC, MZLU, NCIP, NHMB].   
 Comments. Examination of the type series of P. pretoriense (NCIP) revealed that some paratypes belonged to another Pseudophacopteron species described in the present paper as P. stigmatum sp. nov. Capener’s original description (Capener 1973) mixes the two species, Figs. 45–51 and perhaps Figs. 52–53 are conspecific with the holotype of P. pretoriense Capener, while his Figs. 54–56 represent the male and female terminalia and a fourth instar larva of P. stigmatum.   
 P. pretoriense can be differentiated from similar species (P. carapae, P. electum, P. morion, and P.sodalis) by the form of the dark brown infuscation on fore wings, which does not reach the posterior wing margin on inner (proximal) side of vein Cu 1b. It also differs in the shape of male and female terminalia, the length of antennal terminal setae and the larval morphology.
description: Published as part of Malenovský, Igor & Burckhardt, Daniel, 2009, A review of the Afrotropical jumping plant-lice of the Phacopteronidae (Hemiptera: Psylloidea), pp. 1-74 in Zootaxa 2086 (1) on pages 22-23, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2086.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5310382