Five new species of the planthopper genus Atracis Stål (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha, Flatidae) from China

This paper treats the planthopper genus, Atracis Stål, 1866 (Flatidae: Flatoidinae) in China. Five new species, A. ocularia sp. nov., A. patefacta sp. nov., A. punctulata sp. nov., A. sphaerica sp. nov. and A. ungulata sp. nov., are described and a checklist of all its known species from China is provided.


Diagnosis
This new species is similar to A. punctulata sp. nov., but differs from the latter by the following characters: tegmina with a large black patch (without a large patch in A. punctulata sp. nov.); costal membrane 3.2 times as wide as costal cell (4 times as wide as costal cell in A. punctulata sp. nov.); periandrium with a pair of processes, apex of processes forked (periandrium with paired processes, apex of processes not forked in A. punctulata sp. nov.). brown, dorsal portion and anterior portion of eye marked with darker brown color; eyes brown, ocelli milk white; dorsal apex of antennal segment II black marked; pronotum and mesonotum yellowish brown, lateral carinae black, disc mottled; tegmina yellowish brown, veins brown or black, a large black patch positioned after fork of vein MP, 1.3 mm in diameter ( Fig. 1A-B, D-F).

Diagnosis
This new species looks similar to A. ungulata sp. nov., but differs from the latter by: pronotum anterior margin concave in the middle (truncate in A. ungulata sp. nov.); process of lateral lobe of periandrium not forked (forked in A. ungulata sp. nov.).

Etymology
The specific name is derived from the Latin word 'patefactus' which refers to the flat tegmina.

Description
MeasureMents. Male length (N = 1) (including tegmen): 13.3 mm, length of tegmen: 12.0 mm; female length (N = 1) (including tegmen): 15.5 mm, length of tegmen: 13.1 mm. Coloration. Body and tegmina green with black markings; vertex green marked with dark patches; frons light green with dorsal apex and longitudinal carina fuscous; gena yellowish green, dorsal portion and anterior portion of eye marked with darker brown color; eyes black, ocelli milk white; pronotum dull green, median carina fuscous; mesonotum dull green, heavily mottled, each posterior margin with triangular black spot; tegmina dull green, cross vein of costal area and veins of apical cell brown or black ( Fig. 3A-B, D-F).

Distribution
Yunnan Province, China.

Diagnosis
Atracis punctulata sp. nov. is similar to A. fimbria, but differs from the latter by: body and tegmina greenish and yellow (brownish in A. fimbria); disc of vertex pressed (flat in A. fimbria); preocesses of periandrium extending cephaloventrad and parallel (ventrad and crossed in A. fimbria).

Etymology
The specific name is derived from the Latin word 'punctum', which refers to the mottled color of the tegmina.
Coloration. Body and tegmina greenish and yellow with black markings; vertex green heavily marked with dark color; frons light greenish yellow and mottled fuscous; gena yellowish green, dorsal portion and anterior portion of eye marked with darker brown color; eyes black, ocelli milk white; pronotum dull green and yellow, heavily fuscous; mesonotum dark brown, marked with black spots, heavily mottled; tegmina light greenish with black markings (Fig. 6A-B, D-F). Head and tHorax. Head anterior margin convex, vertex pentagonal; disc pressed; as long as wide, lateral margins highly raised at posterior portion; posterior raised, pressed in the middle; median groove full length of vertex, apex Y-forked (Fig. 6D-E). Frons disc flat, 1.3 times longer than wide, median longitudinal carina no more than half length of frons, lateral carinae positioned at dorsal portion no longer than median longitudinal carina; lateral margins sinuate, highly raised (Fig. 6F). Frontoclypeal suture pressed, truncate; clypeus convex. Rostrum extending beyond metatrochanter (Fig. 6F). Antennae short. Pronotum with anterior margin truncate, slightly concave in middle, disc pressed, lateral side thick and tended up, median carina weakly raised, ventral margin rolled upwards, postocular eminence evenly convex (Fig. 6D-E). Mesonotum humped, anterior margin convex, disc flat, tricarinate (Fig. 6D-E). Metatibia with six spines apically, metatarsal basal segment with two large spines and eight small spines apically (Fig. 6C). Tegmina elongate, 13.8 mm in length, 6 mm in width, costal membrane 4 times as wide as costal cell at level of bulla; costal margin undulate, apical margin convex and sinuate, sutural margin truncate, apical and sutural angles convex; vein ScP+RA elevated ridgelike above plane of vein Pc+CA and crossing pustulate bulla, CuA forked, clavus with few crossveins; one subapical line present (Fig. 6B).
Male genitalia. Pygofer ring-like, anterior margin strongly concave, posterior margin convex and slightly sinuate, ventral margin truncate, dorsal margin concave (Fig. 6H). Genital style ventral and apical margins convex, dorsal margin concave, with a process apically (Fig. 6H). Male anal tube elongated, apex bent down ( Fig. 6G-H). Phallic complex slightly arched. Periandrium tubular. Dorsal part of periandrium distinctly shorter than ventral part in lateral view, median lobe short and acute; each side of apex with three or four small teeth. Each side of lateral part of periandrium with recurved process, not forked, extending to half length of periandrium. Ventral part of periandrium distinctly slender and tapering apicad in ventral view (Figs 6I-K, 7A-C). Aedeagus bipartite; each side of apex without process; apex of lateral portion with an evenly pointed prominence (Fig. 7D-F).

Distribution
Guangdong Province, China.

Diagnosis
This new species looks similar to A. mucida, but differs by: head with anterior margin angulated at about 90° (slightly acute angled in A. mucida); vertex 1.1 times as wide as long (1.1 times as long as wide in A. mucida); frons with one obviously short median carina (median carina almost absent in A. mucida).

Etymology
The specific name is a Latin feminine adjective 'sphaerica' to refer to the globular shape of the head.
Coloration. Body and tegmina brown with dark brown marks; vertex, pronotum and mesonotum mottled, median carina of pronotum dark brown; frons light brown with apex mottled fuscous; gena yellowish brown, dorsal portion and anterior portion of eye marked with darker brown color; eyes black, ocelli milk white; tegmina light brown, slightly transparent, marked with brown dots, apical portion and costal area dark brown (Fig. 8A-B, D-F).
Male genitalia. Pygofer ring-like, anterior margin concave, posterior margin convex, ventral margin truncate, dorsal margin concave (Figs 8H, 9A). Genital style ventral, dorsal and apical margins truncate, dorsal apex with a process apically, ventral apex concave (Figs 8H, 9A). Male anal tube elongated and arched (Fig. 8G-H). Phallic complex arched (Figs 8I, 9B-D). Periandrium tubular. Dorsal part of periandrium distinctly shorter than ventral part in lateral view, median lobe narrow and acute. Each side of lateral part of periandrium with a recurved process, not forked. Ventral part of periandrium distinctly slender and tapering in ventral view (Fig. 9E-G). Aedeagus bipartite; fourth of dorsal portion apparently elevated; each side of apex without process; apex of lateral portion with a sharply short prominence ( Fig. 9H-J).

Distribution
Zhejiang and Guangxi Province, China.

Diagnosis
This new species is similar to A. hainanensis, but differs from the latter by: vertex pentagonal (triangular in A. hainanensis); disc of vertex flat (evenly elevated in A. hainanensis); mesonotum without carina (tricarinate in A. hainanensis); dorsal lobe of periandrium short (long in A. hainanensis).

Etymology
The specific name is a Latin feminine adjective 'ungulata', which means a periandrium with one pair of forked processes at the apex.
Coloration. Body and tegmina brown with dark brown marks; vertex, pronotum and mesonotum mottled, median carina of pronotum dark brown; frons light brown with apex mottled fuscous; gena yellowish brown, dorsal portion and anterior portion of eye marked with darker brown color; eyes black, ocelli milk white; tegmina light brown, marked with darker marks, apical portion and costal area dark brown (Fig. 11A-D).

Discussion
Male genitalia are usually regarded as the most important morphological characters in the taxonomical study of Flatidae. Based on the morphological characters, Medler (1990Medler ( , 1993Medler ( , 1996Medler ( , 1999 and Fang (1989) illustrated the male genitalia for species of Atracis, as did for the five new species described in this paper and the specimens examined in China. It is clear that species of Atracis from China, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia are several species-groups that can be separated. Specifically, based on the characters of the phallic complex, the first species-group has more than one pair of processes of the phallic complex; the apex of the phallic complex has acute processes and the length of the process of the lateral part of the periandrium is longer than half the length of the phallic complex (A. jangis Medler, 1999, A. servis Medler, 1999, A. taenia Schmidt, 1904. The second species-group has one pair of processes of the phallic complex; the apex of the phallic complex is evenly rounded without process; the length of the process of lateral part of periandrium is slightly shorter than half length of the phallic complex (A. fimbria, A. hainanensis, A. nodosa Gerstaecker, 1895, A. ocularia sp. nov., A. patefacta sp. nov., A. sphaerica sp. nov., A. ungulata sp. nov.). The third species-group has one pair of processes of phallic complex; the apex of the phallic complex is evenly rounded without a process and the length of the process of the lateral part of the periandrium is longer than half the length of the phallic complex (A. lurida Melichar, 1902, A. mucida, A. obscura, A. punctulata sp. nov.). The first species-group is distributed in Indonesia, while the other two species-groups are distributed in China, India, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Meanwhile, the pygofer of A. taenia in Indonesia is the most specialized one, approximately triangular; the pygofer of the other 13 species is nearly quadrilateral. Hence, we infer that the species of Atracis distributed in Indonesia maybe the most specialized one and the species of Atracis indicate a complex diversity. However, the phylogenetical relationships within Atracis are still not quite clear. In the future, it will be necessary to address the systematic analysis of Atracis from morphological, molecular and biogeographical approaches, and to clarify interspecific relationships within the genus.