Platocerella sordida Bahder & Bartlett 2024, sp. nov.

Platocerella sordida Bahder & Bartlett sp. nov. (Figures 2–6) Type locality. Costa Rica, Heredia, La Selva Biological Station. Diagnosis. Medium-sized planthopper, body pale with light brown wash, wings transparent with fuscous mottling. Basal quarter of forewing costal vein bearing conspicuous sensory pits (appearing serrate). Lateral margin of pygofer bearing large dorsolateral projection, medioventral process absent. Gonostyli strongly sinuate on inner margin, distal sinuation appearing “beak-like”, basal sinuation rounded. Aedeagus simple with complex flagellum bearing three large processes arising along dorsal margin and single, small process arising on right lateral side. Description. Color. General body color ivory-white with extensive light brown wash, carinae and posterior margin of mesonotum pale; wings transparent, veins white, irregular fuscous mottling. Structure. Body length (including wings) males: 6.5 mm (n = 3) (Table 3). Head. In dorsal view, much narrower than pronotum. Vertex short (Fig. 3A, about as long at midlength as wide at posterior margin), roughly elongately triangular; anterior margin rounded with distinct median inflection, posterior margin deeply concave (Fig. 3A) lateral margins of vertex foliate (disc depressed) and sinuate, anteriorly converging, bearing sensory pits;; in lateral view, vertex rounded, raised slightly above head, fastigium rounded to frons, becoming linear near anterior to eye, curved at frontoclypeal suture (Fig. 3B); in frontal view, lateral margins of frons contiguous from at dorsal margin to just above frontoclypeal suture, bearing row of sensory pits (Fig. 3C). Eyes round, emarginate near antennae; ocelli absent. Antennae (Fig. 3) elongate, extending beyond margin of head; scape short, ringlike; pedicle subcylindrical (somewhat laterally compressed near midlength), antennal appendage absent, flagellum setaceous with bulbous base, arising apically. Thorax. Pronotum in dorsal view very narrow medially (wider laterally), anterior margin strongly convex, posterior margin deeply concave, lateral margins flared anteriorly, irregularly sinuate (Fig. 3A); in lateral view, medially inclined anteriorly (Fig. 3B); paradiscal region widest near tegula, narrowing ventrad to rounded apex near level of antennae. Mesonotum tricarinate (dorsal view, Fig. 3A), median carina nearly obsolete, lateral carinae arising on lateral margins, sinuate and converging posteriorly to nearly meet posterior margin; in lateral view (Fig. 3B), moderately arched. Forewing spatulate, bearing row of large, spinose tubercles on basal ¼ of costal vein; composite vein Sc+R+M extending in proximal quarter of remigium, then Sc+RA branched from RP+MP; RP branching from MP near wing midpoint (at level of SC fork from RA); inclavus Pcu fusing with A 1 in distal quarter, with composite vein reaching CuP before wing margin (clavus open); branches of CuA anastomosing to form closed C5 (procubital) cell; branching pattern RA 2-branched, RP 3-branched, MP-branched, CuA 2-branched. Terminalia. Pygofer in lateral view narrow, widest subdorsally, narrowing ventrally, somewhat expanded at ventral margin; anterior margin concave, posterior margin diagonally linear except expanded slightly at ventral margin and strong subtriangular projection at laterodorsal margin (Fig. 5A). Gonostyli in lateral view elongated (exceeding anal tube) and spatulate, widest distally, constricted proximally, angled upward near midlength (bearing ventral knob at angle); apices rounded; dorsal margin concave, proximal bearing two processes, a dorsal setose lobe and more distal stout curved spine (Fig. 5A); in ventral view, outer margins smoothly arched, inner margins strongly sinuate, narrowest basally, expanding into large bilobed flange,, proximal lobe rounded, distal lobe appearing beak-like; apex acutely rounded (Fig. 5B). Aedegus simple, shaft upcurved, terete, devoid of ornamentation; endosome large and retrorse, bearing four processes; first process (E1) arising apically at midpoint on dorsal surface, angled (from dorsal view, Fig. 6C) to right lateral side, lobed basally, distally more sclerotized, gently curved mesad; second process (E2) a short spine arising at midpoint of left side (dorsal view) just ventral to E1; third process (E3) a small spine arising on right lateral side (dorsal view) just before base of E2; forth process (E4) arising from base of endosoma, forming large lobe, dorsally curved spine at apex. Anal segment in lateral view (Fig. 5A) narrow, of moderate length, not exceeding gonostyli, dorsal and ventral margins strongly sinuate, distally arched ventrad, apex acute; in dorsal view (Fig. 5C), anal tube broad, laterally rounded, apex emarginate; paraproct short and conical. Plant associations. Asterogyne martiana (H. Wendl.) H. Wendl. ex Hemsl. (Arecaceae). Distribution. Heredia Province, Costa Rica. Etymology. The specific name comes from the modern Latin word “ sordidus ” (dirty, filty), with the feminine termination -a, a reference to the dirty appearance of the species from the brown wash over the body and fuscous mottling of the wings. Material examined. Holotype male “ Costa Rica, Heredia Pr. / La Selva Biological Station / 12.V.2018, sweeping palms / Coll.: B.W.Bahder // Holotype / Platocerella sordida ♂ /” (FLREC); Paratypes same as holotype (2 males, FLREC). Sequence Data. For Platocerella sordida sp. nov., a 569 bp product was generated for the COI gene, a 1,096 bp product was generated for the 18S gene and an 802 bp product was generated for the 28S gene. All GenBank accession numbers for taxa included in the molecular analyses are presented in Table 2. While sequence data was not available for P. rubicunda for comparison, Platocerella sordada sp. nov. resolved outside of all currently available otiocerine genera for all loci with varying degrees of support. For the 18S locus, there was moderate bootstrap support (68) for placement of Platocerella sordida sp. nov. adjacent to Shellenius and Patara (Fig. 7A) whereas Platocerella sordida sp. nov. resolved adjacent to Sikaiana harti and Mula resonans with strong bootstrap support (96) based on the 28S locus (Fig. 7B). Weak bootstrap support (70 and less) was seen at all nodes for the COI gene (Fig. 7C). The consensus tree showed strong bootstrap support (90) for placement of Platocerella sordida sp. nov. outside, but adjacent to, the clade formed by Anotia Kirby, Sayiana Ball, Cobacella Fennah, Mula Ball and Sikaiana Distant (Fig. 7D). Remarks. The novel taxon appears to fit the genus Platocerella overall. Some possible discrepancies between the new species and Fennah’s (1952) description of Platocerella are that P. rubicunda appears to have more cylindrical antennae, possesses a medioventral lobe of the pygofer and P. rubicunda is described as fuscous with a red suffusion. It may also be meaningful that P. rubicunda is from northern South America instead of Mesoamerica. However, other features seem aligned between the two genea including the shape of the head, the lack of antennal appendage, and the male terminalia (viz. Fennah 1953, fig. 35), including the shape of the pygofer, gonostyli, aedeagus and anal tube, all appear similar between the two species and appear to support placement in the genus Platocerella rather erect a new genus. If molecular data from the type species could be obtained, this would provide a good test for the placement of the new species. An observation on iNaturalist (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/214428017) appears to show a female specimen of P. rubicunda from French Guiana. While the head and antennae appear similar in form to P. sordida sp. nov., the wings are substantially narrower in the specimen on iNaturalist. While it is possible the novel taxon could be placed in a new genus, the similarities in terminalia to the description and similarities to the head and antennae of the specimen online (assuming the specimen on iNaturalist is P. rubicunda) and the lack of molecular comparisons, the genus Platocerella seemed the most appropriate genus for placement at this time. The general habitus of P. sordida sp. nov. does appear more similar to the Anotia / Sayiana / Cobacella / Mula / Sikaiana group than it does to Shellenius or Patara so the phylogenies in general reflect this. However, while testing tribal features is beyond the scope of this study, the current status of Otiocerini appears polyphyletic and needs significant revision. Key to species of Platocerella (males) 1. Body fuscous with red suffusion, fuscous forewings, medioventral process of pygofer present; British Guyana .. P. rubicunda - Paler species with light brown wash, mottled wings; medioventral process of pygofer abset; Costa Rica .. P. sordida sp. nov.