Sundarion compressicornis ( Fairmaire, 1846 ), 2016

Creão-Duarte, Antonio J. & Sakakibara, Albino M., 2016, Two new species of Sundarion (Hemiptera: Membracidae: Darninae) and taxonomic notes on two congeneric taxa, Zoologia (e 20150119) 33 (1), pp. 1-7 : 4-6

Sundarion compressicornis ( Fairmaire, 1846) , comb. nov.

Figs. 13-15 , 24

Hemiptycha compressicornis Fairmaire, 1846: 313 , Pl.6, fig. 18 (Type locality: BRAZIL, Bahia).

Hemiptycha truncaticornis Walker, 1858: 73 (Type locality: BRAZIL); Funkhouser, 1927: 131 (syn.) (cat.); Metcalf & Wade, 1965: 707 (cat.); Broomfield, 1971: 381; McKamey, 1998: 155 (cat.). Hemikyptha compressicornis ; Funkhouser, 1927: 131 (cat.); Metcalf & Wade, 1965: 707 (cat.); McKamey, 1998: 155 (cat).

Measurements (in mm). Female/male. Total length 11.20/8.80; length of pronotum 10.40/8.00; width of head 4.80/3.68; length of head 2.08/1.60; distance between apices of supra-humeral horns 9.60/6.72.

Description. Female ( Figs. 13-14 ). Head and pronotum dark-castaneous, pronotum with sparse and small pale-yellow dots, posterior process with dark spot at middle, close to lateral margin; under surface of thorax, dorsal side of femora, and abdomen blackish-castaneous; forewings hyaline with smoked-brown patch at apex, occupying part of external discoidal cell, 1-2-3 apical cells and adjacent limbus. Head triangular ( Fig. 13 ), twice wider than long; eyes ovoid; vertex flat, finely sculptured, superior margin widely arched above ocelli; supra-antennal ledges slightly emarginate; ocelli situated just below transocular line, nearer to each other than to eyes; frontoclypeus egg-shaped, extended about half its length beyond supra-antennal ledges. Pronotum low ( Fig. 14 ), metopidium straight in lateral profile, posterior process straight to apex, almost attaining tips of forewings; supra-humeral horns relatively long, flattened, tricarinate, strongly divergent, slightly recurved, distance between apices about 2x distance between humeral angles, more or less parallel-sided, apex abruptly and obliquely truncate, with posterior angle acute; posterior process parallel to margins of forewings, apical third subulate, tectiform. Pro- and mesothoracic legs with femur and tibia with rows of cucullate setae. Forewings ( Fig. 14 ) with two discoidal cells, five apical cells, transversal veins s, r-m, and 2 m-cu present.

Male ( Fig. 15 ). Very similar to female. The supra-humeral horns are little larger and stronger. Genitalia ( Fig. 24 ): pygofer more or less triangular with lateral plates distinct and well developed, slightly pointed dorsally; subgenital plate short, about as long as pygofer, not compressed laterally; aedeagus U-shaped, slender, tapering towards apex, with minute teeth on anterior surface; styles recurved, hook-like.

Material examined. BRAZIL, Mato Grosso: Sinop , 3 females; Rondônia: 3 females, 5 males. FRENCH GUIANA: 3 females, 2 males. (DZUP).

Distribution. Brazil (Bahia, Mato Grosso, Rondônia) and French Guiana.

Remarks. FAIRMAIRE (1846) described Hemiptycha compressicornis as follows: “Testacea, cornubus humeralibus compressis, truncatis, nigris, postice nigro bimaculata”. WALKER (1858) described Hemiptycha truncaticornis as follows: “Testacea, robusta; frons minima; prothorax rude punctatus, ferrugineo notatus, antice subcarinatus; cornua lateralia subobliqua, supra nigra, apice truncata; carina postica recta, nigro bimaculata, apicem versus nigrum valde attenuata, abdomen paullo superans; femora supra nigra; alae subcinereae; antica macula apicali fusca”. FUNKHOUSER (1927) transferred both species to Hemikyptha Metcalf, 1927, and considered H. truncaticornis Walker as a junior synonym of H. compressicornis Fairmaire. METCALF & WADE (1965) and MCKAMEY (1998) did not make any changes to this classification. In the present paper, it is classified in Darnini (formerly in Hemikypthini) belonging to Sundarion Kirkaldy, 1904 . The species is similar to Sundarion flavum (Fairmaire) in having supra-humeral horns well developed and strongly divergent (Fig. 17), but more robust and flattened; the lateral black spots on the posterior process are also present, though in some specimens they may be barely visible. The color of S. flavum , as the name suggests, is light-brown, almost yellow ( Figs. 16-18 ).

Figures

Figures 9-15. Habitus. (9-10,12) Sundarion notabile, female; (11) male; (13-15) S. compressicornis comb. nov.: (13-14) female; (15) male. Scale bar = 5 mm.

Figures 16-25. Habitus and male genitalia. (16-18) Sundarion flavum: (16-17) female; (18) male; (19-20) S. flavopiceum sp. nov.; (21-22) S. marmoratum sp. nov.; (23) S. notabile; (24) S. compressicornis comb. nov.; (25) S. flavum. Scale bar = 5 mm.