Chloropelix canariensis Lindberg, 1936

Gnezdilov, V. M., 2019, Leafhoppers of the subtribe Paradorydiina Evans (Hemiptera, Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae) in the United Arab Emirates, Zoosystematica Rossica (China) 28 (1), pp. 155-162 : 156-158

Chloropelix canariensis Lindberg, 1936

( Figs 1–4)

Chloropelix canariensis Lindberg, 1936: 4 , fig. 1 a–d. Chloropelix indica Viraktamath & Viraktamath, 1989:

26, figs 33–46, syn. nov.

Material studied. Spain: 1 J, Canary Islands, Tenerife, Puerto de la Cruz , 2–4.II.1949, H. Lindberg leg. United Arab Emirates: 1 ♀, Fujairah, Wadi Hayl, N 25˚04.896', E 56˚13.525', 262 m, 11.IV.2010; 1 J, Fujairah, Wadi Maidaq, N 25˚20.660', E 56˚05.890', 443 m, rocks, 6.IV.2010; 3 J, Fujairah, 8 km NW Khor Fakkan, Wadi Wurayah National Park , N 25˚23.366', E 56˚18.356', 165 m, 22.III.2017, swept on Aristida cf. abnormis ; 1J, Fujairah, near Dadna, N 25˚24.018', E 56˚17.475', 26.III.2017; 7J, 18♀, 3 larvae, Fujairah, Al Bidya , 12.XII.2017, swept on Sporobolus sp. ; 1♀, Sharjah, Kalba, N 25˚09.230', E 56˚21.560', 11.IV.2010, mangroves saline; 1J, 1♀, 2 larvae, Abu Dhabi, near Al Ain , Wadi Tarabat , 400 m, N 24˚05.186', E 55˚46.570', 12.IV.2010. All specimens from UAE collected by V. M. Gnezdilov .

Notes. The genus Chloropelix was erected by H. Lindberg (1936) for a single species, Ch. canariensis , described from Tenerife Island ( Lindberg, 1936) and later recorded also from La Gomera Island of the Canary Islands ( Lindberg, 1954). Currently, Ch. canariensis is known from the Canary Islands, Cape Verde and Madeira via southern Spain, Western Sahara, northern and southern Africa to Israel, Saudi Arabia and southern Yemen ( D’Urso et al., 2019). Later, one more species, Ch. indica Viraktamath et Viraktamath, 1989 , was described from Rajasthan State of northern India and Sindh Province of southern Pakistan ( Viraktamath & Viraktamath, 1989).

Examination of UAE specimens of Ch. canariensis and comparison of the structure of the male genitalia with the descriptions and drawings published by Lindberg (1936, 1954), Viraktamath and Viraktamath (1989), and D’Urso et al. (2019) revealed that Ch. indica Viraktamath et Viraktamath, 1989 should be treated as a junior synonym of Ch. canariensis Lindberg, 1936 . Viraktamath and Viraktamath (1989) when describing Ch. indica referred to the structural details of the adeagal apex of Ch. canariensis given by Lindberg (1954) when he redescribed the species, in particular, two spiny processes at the apex of the aedeagal shaft ( Lindberg, 1954: fig. e) which are absent in Ch. indica ( Viraktamath & Viraktamath, 1989: fig. 44). Photos of the holotype of Ch. indica with the external view of the specimen and male genitalia parts were kindly sent to me for study by Dr. Chandrashekharaswamy A. Viraktamath (Bangalore, India). Taking into account that Lindberg (1936: fig. 1 a–d), when he first described Ch. canariensis Lindberg, 1936 ,

dorsal view: 1, male,

Wadi Wurayah; 2, male,

Wadi Wurayah; 3, female,

Al Bidya; 4, 5th instar larva,

Al Ain. Total body length:

male – 2.5 mm; female – 3.0

mm; larva – 2.5 mm.

nariensis, did not mention these processes, nor did D’Urso et al. (2019), and no processes are visible on the specimens from Tenerife and the UAE examined by me, I suspect that the tiny walls around the gonopore at the apex of the aedeagal shaft of Ch. canariensis were misinterpreted as a pair of short spiny lateral processes appressed to the sides of the aedeagus, which is an optical effect. In fact, those “processes” are only the walls of the aedeagus. Other characters, such as shape of the head (see different shape of anterior margin of head in two males from the same sample in Wadi Wurayah; Figs 1–2) and shape of the genital plates, are almost the same in both taxa. Some slight differences may be treated as interspecific variability or a different drawing style. Based on available evidence, I propose to treat these two names as synonyms and extend the distribution of Ch. canariensis all the way to the Indian subcontinent.

Pennisetum setaceum (Forssk.) Chiov. and Cenchrus ciliaris L. (= P. cenchroides Rich. ) ( Poaceae ) were recorded as host plants of Ch. canariensis by D’Urso et al. (2019) and Lindberg (1954). Viraktamath and Viraktamath (1989) recorded Ch. indica associated with Crotalaria burhia Buh.-Ham. ( Fabaceae ).