Luci Boa Nova Coelho ^1,3 and Elidiomar Ribeiro Da-Silva ²

1 Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Caixa Postal 68044, 21944- 970, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. E-mail: lucibncoelho@uol.com.br

2 Departamento de Ciências Naturais, Escola de Ciências Biológicas, UNIRIO. 20211-040, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. E-mail: elidiomar@uol.com.br

3 Corresponding author.

Recibido 16-XI-2000.       Corregido 18-IV-2001.       Aceptado 06-V-2002.

Abstract

Anew leafhopper species, Scaris angrensis sp.nov., is described and illustrated based on an adult male from Angra dos Reis, State of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. The holotype is deposited in the entomological collection of Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The new species seems to be more closely related to S. bahiensis because of its single ventral process on the aedeagal base, being distinguished from that by the apical shape of the stylus. A problem related to the illustrations in the original description of S. nessimiani and S. bahiensis is herein corrected.

Key words: Insecta, Gyponinae, leafhopper, taxonomy, neotropics.

The Neotropical genus Scaris Le Peletier & Serville, 1825 (Cicadellidae: Gyponinae) is composed of 69 described species (Freytag & DeLong 1982, Freytag 1989, Coelho 1993), 17 of them occurring in Brazil, mostly in the Amazon Region. In this work a new species of Scaris is described from Angra dos Reis, in the southern littoral of State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The figures of the illustrations in the original description of S. nessimiani Coelho, 1993 and S. bahiensis Coelho, 1993 (Coelho 1993) are corrected.

Scaris angrensis sp.nov. (Figs 1-6)

Male: Length of body 13.6 mm. Crown orange-yellow, striate transversally, three times as wide between eyes at base as median length; median line brown not reaching the anterior margin; eyes dark; ocelli red, closer to proximal eye than to median line. Face orange-yellow. Pronotum almost twice as wide as median length, orange-yellow with narrow transverse brown band on posterior margin, striate transversally, with many small spots except near the anterior margin; irregular brown-reddish spots on lateral borders, and pair of brown-reddish spots (little larger than the others) on central region. Scutellum brown with a latero-basal black spot; scutellar suture strongly marked, apical half transversally striated, with central irregular orange-yellow spot. Forewings pale-brown with many small brown spots, venation brown; claval veins with dark brown spot on the apex; appendix developed, with two dark spots. Subgenital plate narrowing to apex, with length three times maximum width; apex rounded. Style long, apical region broad, truncate, and compressed with superior pointed projection; pre-apical region narrowed, thinly serrulate on the outer margin, with short projection. Aedeagus stout, curving upward, with well-developed longitudinal latero-dorsal folds along shaft; single short ventro-basal process at the middle, with rounded apex pointing downward; apex of shaft with pair of short, delicate dorsal processes. Pygofer truncate at apex, with slender dorsal anterior process on each side into capsule, with hemisferical latero-ventral fold in the median third.

Female: Unknown.

Type locality: District of Jussaral (22º 56’ S, 44º 16’ W, altitude 240 m), county of Angra dos Reis, southern littoral of State of Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil.

Type material: Holotype, adult male, November 1934, L. Travassos col., deposited in entomological collection of the Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (MNRJ), Brazil.

Etymology: From Angra dos Reis, a county of state of Rio de Janeiro where the holotype was collected.

Remarks: S. angrensis sp.nov. is similar to several species of this genus in color pattern and shape of subgenital plates, such as S. bahiensis, S. nessimiani (Coelho 1993) and S. defecta (DeLong & Freytag, 1969) (DeLong & Freytag 1969). Nevertheless, the new species seems to be more closely related to S. bahiensis because of the singular ventral process on the aedeagal base. S. angrensis sp.nov. can be easily distinguished from S. bahiensis by the apical shape of stylus, which is broad, truncate, and laterally compressed in the former.

Notes on Scaris nessimiani and S. bahiensis: Both species were described from Brazil. Figures 8-14 in Coelho’s (1993) paper actually refer to S. bahiensis and figures 1-7 actually refer to S. nessimiani. These differences were confirmed by the observation of the holotypes.

We thank Jorge L. Nessimian (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro) for critical reading of this paper.

Se describe e ilustra un nuevo cicadélido, Scaris angrensis sp.nov., basado en un macho adulto de Angra dos Reis, litoral sur del Estado de Rio de Janeiro. El holotipo está depositado en la colección de insectos del Museu Nacional, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil. La nueva especie parece estar relacionada más estrechamente con S. bahiensis debido a su "proceso" ventral en la base del edeago, difiriendo en la forma del ápice del estilo. Se corrige un problema relacionado con la descripción original de S. nessimiani y de S. bahiensis.

Coelho, L.B.N. 1993. Two new species of Scaris Le Peletier & Serville (Homoptera, Cicadellidae, Gyponinae) from Brazil. Rev. Bras. Zool. 10: 399-402.        [ Links ]

DeLong, D.M. & P.H. Freytag. 1969. Studies of the World Gyponinae (Homoptera: Cicadellidae). Asynopsis of the genus Clinonaria. Ohio J. Sci. 69: 129-182.         [ Links ]

Freytag, P.H. 1989. Three new genera and six new species of South American Gyponinae leafhoppers (Homoptera: Cicadellidae). Trans. Ky. Acad. Sci. 50: 1-8.        [ Links ]

Freytag, P.H. & D.M. DeLong. 1982. Additional records and new species of the leafhopper genus Scaris (Homoptera, Cicadellidae). Ohio J. Sci. 82: 2-13.        [ Links ]