Petalocephala balehonnurensis VIRAKTAMATH, WEBB & YESHWANTH, 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: VIRAKTAMATH, C. A.
name: WEBB, M. D.
name: YESHWANTH, H. M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Cicadellidae
Petalocephala
Petalocephala balehonnurensis

description: Petalocephala balehonnurensis sp. nov.
Figs 1G–J, 17 DE, 20CI, 21E–H, 25A–J.
Diagnosis. Crown, pronotum and mesonotum mottled with reddish brown forming median stripe. Crown 1.2–1.5× as long as interocular distance. Male pygofer with posterodorsal angle rounded, with ventral process exceeding dorsal margin. Aedeagal shaft with one pair of short, laterally divergent subapical processes on ventral surface.
Description. Greenish ochraceous with mottled with reddish brown forming broad stripe extending from crown to pronotum, stripe diverging anteriorly on crown and posteriorly on pronotum; entire mesonotum mottled with reddish brown. Frontoclypeus with reddish brown elongate marking extending from fore margin to a point level with antennal bases; rest of frontoclypeus, lora and genae faintly piceous in male, pale greenish in female. Legs in male pale yellowish brown, with extremities darker in both male and female.
Upper surface of body including forewings uniformly punctate. Crown margin in front of eyes narrowing anteriorly and apically conically rounded, medially carinate, sloping laterally, 1.2–1.5× as long as interocular distance, 1.2–1.5× as long as pronotum medially. Pronotum sloping laterally laterad of median stripe, with one lateral circular depression on either side of median line in anterior half, anterior margin convex, posterior margin concave medially, about 1.2–1.3× as wide across posterolateral angles as across anterolateral angles. Mesonotum usually shorter than pronotum. Forewing subapical cells with accessary cross veins. Metabasitarsomere with 3 platellae (Fig. 20C). Female sternite VII almost rectangular, 2× as long medially as wide proximally, posterior margin slightly concave with straight lateral margins and medially concave (Fig. 20I).
Male genitalia. Pygofer triangular, rounded posteriorly, slightly longer than height, with ventral process along ventral margin slightly exceeding dorsal margin and sharply pointed distally. Subgenital plate about as long as pygofer. Style with anterior part about 0.66 as long as total length, median region broadest at midlength, curved strongly near apex dorsally almost at right angle, posterior margin of dorsally curved part concave, apex truncate, surface sculptured. Aedeagus with well-developed dorsal apodeme; shaft in lateral view slightly narrower in proximal region then widened distally, curved distally, with one pair of short subapical processes on ventral surface laterally divergent, gonopore subapical on ventral surface to apical.
Female genitalia. Valvula I almost straight, dorsal margin slightly convex distally, more or less of equal width, sculptured area occupying distal 0.33, very narrow proximally and gradually widened reaching half-width in distal half-length, sculpturing consisting of oblique strigae (Fig. 21 EF). Valvula II more or less straight, with toothed area slightly convex, occupying distal 0.33 length, consisting of one proximal tooth and another tooth at mid-length of toothed area interspersed with smaller teeth (Figs 21 GH).
Measurements. Male 14.5 mm long, 3.4 mm wide across eyes, 4.0 mm wide across posterolateral angles of pronotum. Female 16.9–17.5 mm long, 3.5–3.6 mm wide across eyes and 4.5–4.7 mm wide across posterolateral angles of pronotum.
Material examined. HOLOTYPE ♂, INDIA: Karnataka: Balehonnur, 867m, 4.vi.2007, Salini, S. (UASB). Paratypes. INDIA: Kerala: 1♀, Myladumpara, ICRI, 21.iv. 2013, Sweep net, Yeshwanth, H.M.; 1♀, same data but collected by ARV Kumar; 1♀, Peechi, 82m, 21.ix.2008, Light trap, Shankara Murthy (UASB).
Etymology. The species is named after the type locality (Balehonnur) from where the holotype specimen was collected.
Remarks. This species externally closely resembles the Myanmar species P. sabaquila but is much smaller. Males of the latter species are not known and until that time the species can be differentiated only by the size and different body proportions.
description: Published as part of VIRAKTAMATH, C. A., WEBB, M. D. & YESHWANTH, H. M., 2025, Leafhopper subfamily Ledrinae of the Indian subcontinent: 2. Genera Digitata Wang, Li & Dai, Latycephala McKamey, Petalocephala Stål and Thlasia Germar (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) with description of six new species, pp. 1-71 in Zootaxa 5623 (1) on page 12, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5623.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/15324666