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Contents
Family Delphacidae Leach, 1815
Subfamily Delphacinae Leach, 1815
Tribe Delphacini Leach, 1815
Genus Astatometopon Campodonico, 2017
Type species: Astatometopon sakakibarai Campodonico, 2017
Synonyms: None
Distribution
Chile
Distribution of Astatometopon from FLOW (as of 19 Feb 2020).
Included species
This genus has a single species
Astatometopon sakakibarai Campodonico, 2017
Host Associations
None
Campodonico 2017: 8 states: “The type series was collected in herbaceous stratum in open habitats;
in Los Corrales, Caramavida, near Angol and Los Sauces it was dominated by tufted grasses.”
Recognition
Campodonico (2017: 8-9) states:
“The variation in the carination of the eumetope in Astatometopon sakakibarai sp. nov. is an exceptional feature among Delphacidae. The infrequent single carination which is clear only in one male and one female from Los Sauces and one male from Cajón del río Las Leñas (Figs 10–11) seems to be the basic condition: the median carina is commonly broadened (Figs 6–9) letting a pale fringe which is normally coarsened at sides taking the form of paired carinae (Fig. 6).
The tribal placement of Astatometopon gen. nov. in Delphacini is supported by the articulation between suspensorium and segment X (Fig. 21) and the apodemes of sternum I (even though reduced) directed dorsocaudad (Fig. 16) (ASCHE 1990). Additionaly, features typical to some Delphacini such as the diaphragm of the pygofer bearing armature and the symmetrical processes of the segment X are also present in Astatometopon. The new taxon, however, shows also some similarities with Tropidocephalini, particularly the asymmetrical phallus and the calcar devoid of teeth on hind margin; these features are considered convergences.
Astatometopon gen. nov. shares several features with the Afrotropical genus Leptoeurysa
Fennah, 1988: the head width in relation to pronotum, short apodemes of sternum I, segment X with two spinose processes, rather long segment XI, bifi d phallus and short styles narrowed at apex (see FENNAH 1988). The relationships between these two taxa, and possible biogeographical implications, would deserve a further study.
Astatometopon sakakibarai sp. nov. inhabits montane habitats; it seems to present a disjoint distribution in the Coastal and Andes mountain ranges. This would be a typical case of a taxon once distributed at lower altitudes during the glacial period, but currently with isolated populations (VILLAGRÁN 2001).
All figures from Campodonico, 2017
Figs 1–11. Astatometopon sakakibarai sp. nov. 1–2 – brachypterous male, habitus, dorsal view; 3 – brachypterous male, habitus, lateral view; 4 – brachypterous female, habitus, dorsal view; 5 – macropterous male, habitus, dorsal view; 6–11 – anterior part of body, ventrocranial view (6, 10 – male; 7–9, 11 – female).
Figs 12–15. Astatometopon sakakibarai sp. nov. 12 – forewing of a macropterous specimen; 13 – forewing of a brachypterous specimen; 14 – hind leg, outer view; 15 – hind leg, inner view.
Figs 16–26. Astatometopon sakakibarai sp. nov., male. 16 – sternum I, cranial view; 17 – pygofer, caudal view; 18 – pygofer, lateral view; 19 – segment X, caudal view; 20 – segment X, dorsal view; 21 – phallic complex, lateral view; 22 – phallus, lateral view; 23 – phallus, dorsal view; 24 – phallus, ventral view; 25 – style, lateral view; 26 – style, caudal view.
Figs 27–32. Astatometopon sakakibarai sp. nov., female. 27 – abdomen, ventral view; 28 – gonoplac; 29 – gonapophysis IX; 30 – gonapophysis VIII; 31 – detail of gonapophysis VIII; 32 – gonocoxa VIII.
Online resources
[still to come]
Molecular resources
none.
Selected References
Asche, M. 1990. Vizcayinae, a new subfamily of Delphacidae with revision of Vizcaya Muir (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea) – a significant phylogenetic link. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 30: 154-187.
Campodonico, J. F. 2017. Astatometopon sakakibarai gen. & sp. nov., a montane planthopper from Chile (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea: Delphacidae). Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 57(1): 1-10. doi: 10.1515/aemnp-2017-0053.
Fennah, R. G. 1988. New or little-known Tropidocephaline and delphacine Delphacidae (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea) from central and southern Africa. Revue de Zoologie Africaine 102(4): 391-409.
Leach, W. E. 1815a. Entomology. The Edinburg encyclopedia; conducted by David Brewster 9: 57-172. (family Delphacidae here).
Villagran, C. 2001. Un modelo de la historia de la vegetación de la Cordillera de La Costa de Chile central-sur: la hipótesis glacial de Darwin. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 74: 793–803.
