A new species of Alapona DeLong (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Gyponini) from Amazonas State, Northern Brazil.

Abstract

Gyponini is the largest tribe of Iassinae, comprising 1,080 species in 53 genera (Freytag & Sharkey 2002, Engel & Takiya 2012). The tribe is restricted to the New World, with 75% of genera endemic to the Neotropical and 8% endemic to the Nearctic Region (Nielson & Knight 2000). Alapona DeLong (1980) is a poorly known Neotropical genus, previously known from a single species from Peru, A. elabora DeLong, 1980, described based on a single specimen. In this paper, a new species, Alapona modesta sp. nov., is described based on a single male specimen collected in Northern Brazil, which is deposited in the Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (INPA), Manaus, Brazil. Considering that approximately 32% of the genera of the tribe are monotypic, we consider this a valid contribution. For the analysis of the genital structures, the abdomen was removed and placed in hot 10% KOH, following Oman (1949). Genitalia were washed for 5-10 minutes in hot water and placed on a concave slide with glycerin for examination and preparation of photographs. After being photographed, the genitalia were stored in a small vial with glycerin and pinned below the specimen. Photographs were taken with a camera attached to a Leica stereomicroscope, using the image stacking software CombineZP. The morphological terminology follows mainly Dietrich (2005), except for the head sclerites (Hamilton 1981, Mejdalani 1998). The terms for the leg chaetotaxy follow Rakitov (1997). All characteristics known to vary among gyponine genera are given in the revised diagnosis for Alapona. However, because specimens of the type-species were not available for study, features assumed to be diagnostic for the genus but not yet verified to occur in the type-species are marked with an asterisk (*). Characters of the external morphology considered taxonomically important are included in the species description.