Thlasia kirbyi VIRAKTAMATH & WEBB & YESHWANTH 2025, comb. 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
Thlasia
Thlasia kirbyi

description: Thlasia kirbyi (Melichar) comb. nov.
Figs 14A–G, 15A–I, 37 AB.
Ledropsis kirbyi Melichar 1903: 143, pl. IV, fig. 14.
Ledropsis walkeri Melichar 1903: 144, pl IV figs 10, 10a-b.
Petalocephala walkeri (Melichar): Distant 1908: 170.
Petalocephala brachycephala Distant 1908: 170. Synonymized by China 1926: 350.
Diagnosis. Male. Externally resembling Petalocephala nigrilinea (Walker) but differs in the structure of male genitalia. Pygofer posterodorsal angle broadly rounded, with short ventral process, not attaining dorsal margin. Aedeagus similar to that in T. signata but apex broader and truncate in posterior view.
Description. Crown margin in front of eyes, lateral margins of pronotum with dark brown to black thin border, but one specimen in the type series (Budapest Museum) and females without border.Crown median carina prominent, lateral margins in front of eyes straight for a short distance then convergent, with obtusely angled apex; 0.52-0.68× as long as interocular distance; 0.86-0.97× as long as median length of pronotum,. Ocelli closer to each other than to adjacent eye. Pronotum medially slightly impressed, lateral margins slightly diverging distance between posterolateral angles 1.09–1.33× as long as that between anterolateral angles; about as long as mesonotum medially (0.97–1.0×). Forewing with numerous cross veins in subapical and apical cells.
Female. Similar to male but without marginal dark border on crown and pronotum. The type in BMNH with fuscous making on crown and pronotum, crown lateral margin faintly and thinly fuscous for a short distance in front of eyes. Crown lateral margin convergent, lateral margin convex, median carina fine; 0.63–0.66× as long as interocular distance, 1.06–1.1× as long as median length of pronotum. Ocelli about as wide apart from each other from adjacent eye. Pronotal lateral margins slightly divergent posteriorly, distance between posterolateral angles 1.02–1.08 as that between anterolateral angles, posterolateral margin concave laterally adjacent to mesonotum and 0.87–0.97× as long as mesonotum. Sternite VII slightly shorter than sternite VI, posterior margin with median concavity (Figs 14G, 15H).
Male genitalia. Pygofer about 1.7× as long as height in lateral view, slightly narrowed posteriorly, with posterior lobe broadly rounded, with short ventral spine-like process on posterior oblique margin but not attaining dorsal margin. Subgenital plates exceeding length of pygofer in lateral view. Style with very wide middle portion in lateral view (about 0.25 as wide as style length), apex curved ventrally and curved portion sinuate, narrowed distally. Aedeagus in lateral view with well-developed dorsal apodeme; shaft tubular, curved in basal half and slightly narrowed distally, then expanded subapical with dorsal surface sclerotized, lateral and ventral and apical areas membranous, in posterior view, the sclerotized portion stops short of apex, apex slightly flared.
Material examined. SRI LANKA: SYNTYPE ♀ (P. brachycephala), “Green, Ceylon, 95–221”, “2.95”, “ Petalocephala brachycephala Dist., type”, “Type”, “NHMUK 010592221” (BMNH); SYNTYPES 2♂ (L. walkeri), “Pattipola 2000m, Ceylon, Biro 1902, Ledropsis walkeri det. Melichar, 1♂ with additional label “22.π” (Museum Budapest); SYNTYPE ♂ (E. kirbyi), Pundaluoya, Ceylon, Aug. 98”, “Kirkaldy Coll. 1912-513”, “ Eogypona kirbyi Kirk. ”, [misidentified as ♀] “ Ledropsis kirbyi Melichar ” (BMNH); SYNTYPE ♀, Eogypona walkeri Kirk., “Type H.T”, “ Syntype ”, “ Ledropsis walkeri Melichar 1903 ” “NHMUK 013590057” (BMNH).
Remarks. China (1926) clarified the nomenclatural problem created by Kirkaldy (1900) and validated the species names described by Melichar (1903) as Ledropsis kirbyi and Ledropsis walkeri based on specimens misidentified by Kirkaldy. China (1926) also established that P. brachycephala is a junior synonym of P. walkeri and P. walkeri is here considered a junior synonym of T. kirbyi based on examination of the male genitalia of the type series of P. walkeri. P. brachycephala was described from an unknown number of female specimens (syntypic) with the following data: “Trivandrum (Coll. Dist.). Ceylon (Green, Brit. Mus.); Kandy (Coll. Dist.)”.
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 pages 25-26, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5623.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/15324666