Petalocephala fuscomarginata Cai & Kuoh

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, Zootaxa 5623 (1), pp. 1-71 : 16

publication ID

https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5623.1.1

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:EC60C793-9617-47F7-A839-E0C803101938

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15324723

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03FD4400-FF93-9F6A-FEDE-FFC4FDDAF9A0

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Petalocephala fuscomarginata Cai & Kuoh
status

 

Petalocephala fuscomarginata Cai & Kuoh View in CoL

Figs 5E–H View FIGURES 5 , 18 View FIGURES 18 BC, 20J, 21I–L, 27A–G.

Petalocephala fuscomarginata Cai & Kuoh View in CoL in Cai & Ge 1992: 118–119, fig.2A–H.

Diagnosis. Externally resembling P. viridula . Male pygofer narrowed posteriorly to an acutely rounded posterolateral angle, ventral process in lateral view stout and columnar. Aedeagus in lateral view with shaft sinuate, smoothly dorsally curved, slightly widened distad of half-length then narrowed to pointed apex, with one pair of spine-like subapical process exceeding shaft apex ( Fig. 27F View FIGURES 27 ).

Description. Pale yellowish green otherwise very similar to P. viridula . One female and one male with yellowish mottling as in P. viridula , crown margin in some males dark fuscous.

Crown with finely punctate and longitudinally wrinkled, with well-developed median carina, 0.66 (in male) –0.8× (in female) as long as interocular distance, about as long as or longer than median length of pronotum. Ocelli in male closer to each other than to adjacent eye and in female closer to adjacent eye than to each other. Pronotum with disc coarsely transversely rugose-punctate, surrounded by dense punctation; 1.9–2.3× as wide as long medially, lateral margins slightly divergent posteriorly (about 1.2× wider across posterolateral angles of pronotum than across anterolateral angles), posterior margin medially slightly concave. Mesonotum punctate, slightly longer (1.2–1.4×) than median length of pronotum. Female sternite VII with anterior margin slightly concave, about 0.4 × as long medially as wide proximally, posterior margin medially concavely excavated ( Fig. 20J View FIGURES 20 ).

Male genitalia. Pygofer triangular with dorsal margin almost straight, about 2.4× as long as height in lateral view, narrowed posteriorly to an acutely rounded posterolateral angle, ventral process in lateral view stout and columnar, in posterior view narrowed distally, apex acute. Subgenital plate about 1.1× length of pygofer in lateral view. Style with short anterior apodeme about 0.45× as long as total length, body broad proximally then narrowed, apophysis abruptly curved ventrally almost at right angle, with apex more or less rounded. Aedeagus in lateral view with shaft sinuate, smoothly dorsally curved, slightly widened distad of half-length then narrowed to pointed apex, with one pair of spine-like subapical process exceeding shaft apex; gonopore apical.

Female genitalia. Valvula I very similar to that in P. latifrons (see below) ( Figs 21 View FIGURES 21 IJ). Valvula II gradually widened distally, slightly curved dorsally, with proximal prominent tooth proximad of regular toothed area, toothed margin with proximal prominent tooth followed by crenulate margin ( Figs 21 View FIGURES 21 KL).

Measurements. Male 10.0- 10.4 mm long, 3.0- 3.1 mm wide cross eyes and 3.3 mm wide across posterolateral angles of pronotum. Female 13.1mm long, 3.4 mm wide across eyes and 3.8 mm wide across posterolateral angles of pronotum.

Material examined. INDIA: Meghalaya, 6♂, 1♀, Ri-Bhoi, ICAR, RC, NEH, Umiam , 8–10.vi.2013, Yeshwanth, H.M. ( UASB) ; Assam: 1♂, AAU, Jorhat , 10.ix.1983, at light, V.V. Ramamurthy ( NPC) ; Arunachal Pradesh: 3♀, Basar Dist. West Siang , 578m, 30.vi.2018, Tahseen, Stuti ( NPC) .

Remarks. Cai & Kuoh in Cai & Ge (1992) described this species from Yunnan Province, China. It is the first record of the species from the Indian subcontinent. This species is very similar to P. viridula in coloration and external structure, but has entirely different male genitalia. The aedeagal shaft is sinuate in P. fuscomarginata without a subapical process compared to the smoothly curved aedeagus with forked subapical processes in P. viridula . P. fuscomarginata has similar male genitalia as in P. chlorocephala , but differs in not having a spur proximad of the expanded shaft in lateral view, and the ventral pygofer process is stouter and longer compared to the shorter lamellate process in P. chlorocephala .

UASB

University of Agricultural Sciences

NPC

National Pusa Collection

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hemiptera

Family

Cicadellidae

Genus

Petalocephala

Loc

Petalocephala fuscomarginata Cai & Kuoh

VIRAKTAMATH, C. A., WEBB, M. D. & YESHWANTH, H. M. 2025
2025
Loc

Petalocephala fuscomarginata

Cai, P. & Ge, Z. L. 1992: 118
1992
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