Discolopeus lissus Stiller 2019, sp.n.
Creators: name: Stiller, Michael
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Cicadellidae
Discolopeus
Discolopeus lissus

description: Discolopeus lissus sp.n.
Figs 3 a–p, 5h–i, 19c.
Diagnosis. Crown elongate; with faint light brown markings. Subgenital plate scalpiform; ratio of length to width 1.37–1.72. Aedeagal shaft apex with sclerotized anterior lip; right-angled, compressed; sclerotized; dorsal apodeme in dorsal view C-shaped; aedeagal process thin, gracile, elongate, base free. Style apophysis depressed. Connective with transverse bar straight, arms short. Pygofer lobe with narrow digitate ventral process.
Etymology. Named in Greek with the adjective for the absence of teeth on the aedeagal shaft, thus smooth, bald, lissos.
Male, female and nymph. Color. Crown with faint light brown markings. Tegmina with numerous veins and some cells dark brown (Figs 5h, 5i). Nymph, based on two specimens, early and late instar respectively, with the former ochraceous, and the latter with median light brown band on ochraceous ground colour.
Male. Measurements. Overall length 3.53–3.91 mm; crown length 0.49–0.53 mm; crown length next to eye 0.40–0.42 mm; pronotum length 0.39–0.43 mm; head width 1.0 9– 1.19 mm; pronotum width 1.02–1.13 mm; ocellus diameter 28.0 µm; interocellar distance 40.0–43.2 µm.
Male. Genitalia. Genital capsule dorsally in Fig. 3a, laterally in Fig. 3b. Tergite X anteroventrally with membranous concavity (Fig. 3b). Subgenital plate with medial margins divergent, lateroposterior margin angulate (Fig. 3c). Ratio of length of subgenital plate medially/greatest width = 1.3 7–1.72 (n=10). Aedeagus with shaft without paired tooth, but sclerotized anterior, apical lip (Figs 3d, e), shaft curved dorsad at base (Figs 3b, 2d); dorsal apodeme inverted V-shaped (Fig. 3e), distal half sclerotized, proximal half compressed, unsclerotized; preatrium depressed, weakly connected to aedeagus ventrally at base of inverted V-shaped dorsal apodeme; paraphysis long, thin tubular (Figs 3i, 3j), apex with ventral margin serrate and fine striate sculpture (Figs 3h). Style with apophysis digitate in dorsal view (Fig. 3f), compressed in lateral view (Fig. 3g). Connective transverse, stem short, bar-like, arms almost right-angled (Fig. 3p).
Female. Measurements. Overall length 3.90–4.19 mm; crown length 0.52–0.58 mm; crown length next to eye 0.42–0.45 mm; pronotum length 0.42–0.45 mm; head width 1.1 8– 1.27 mm; pronotum width 1.12–1.22 mm; ocellus diameter 25.3–32.7 µm; interocellar distance 39.3–46.7 µm.
Female. Genitalia. Sternite VII posterior margin straight or shallowly concave (Figs 3n, 3o). Valvifer 1with anterior margin narrowly rounded (Fig. 3l), valvifer as long as wide (Figs 3k, 3m), bases of both valvifers attached individually to both valvulae 1.
Material examined. Holotype male. Northern Cape Province. CCDL26031, Garies Kamiesberg, -30.462, 18.132, 1976/10/15, J.G. Theron.
Paratypes. 17♂, 16♀, 2 nymphs. Northern Cape Province. 1♂, CCDL26255, Garies, -30.5633, 17.98976, 1930/06/15, museum staff; 2♂, 3♀, CCDL26029, Garies, -30.5633, 17.98976, 1976/09/28, J.G. Theron, sweeping; 12♂, 5♀, Ibid. holotype; 3♂, 7♀, 2 nymphs, CCDL18204, Bitterfontein 5km N, -30.9833, 18.25, 2002/10/03, M. Stiller, sweeping Hermannia desertorum Malvaceae; 1♂, 1♀, CCDL26253, Kamieskroon, -30.2, 17.9333, 1983/ 01/20, J.G. Theron, sweeping.
Remarks. The recognition of this species is based on male genitalia. The colour pattern of the crown resembles that of some specimens of D. diacaenus and D. colopeus. Distribution map is in Fig. 19c.
description: Published as part of Stiller, Michael, 2019, A new leafhopper genus Discolopeus and nine new species (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae) associated with shrubs, trees and poisonous plants in South Africa, pp. 201-244 in Zootaxa 4559 (2) on pages 210-212, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4559.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/2626811