Genus Mayawa Fletcher, 2000

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Regional Maps

• Mayawa Fletcher, M.J. 2000. A new genus, Mayawa, for the reception of Limotettix capitatus Kirkaldy (Hemiptera : Cicadellidae : Deltocephalinae) and descriptions of five new species of Mayawa. Australian Journal of Entomology 39(3): 103-110 [104].

  Type species:

   Mayawa carolae Fletcher, 2000 by original designation.

 

Introduction

This genus was created to accommodate a series of species which appear to be only superficially similar to each other but which share remarkably similar male genitalia. The genus is restricted to Australia, with six species described by Fletcher (2000) and five more added by Dietrich (2021) who provided an augmented generic description and a key to all eleven described species. The name was derived from Thea Bulyinyidi-Mayawa Joy-Jarvis, a white child who grew up steeped in the culture of native Australia at Maningrida, Northern Territory.

 

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Australian Endemic.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

NSW, NT, Qld, SA, WA: Arnhem Coast (ARC), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Central Arnhem (CA), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Finke (FIN), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Plains (GUP), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Mulga Lands (ML), Murchison (MUR), Pilbara (PIL), Sydney Basin (SB), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Sturt Plateau (STU), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Wet Tropics (WT) ; NT, Qld: Daly Basin (DAB)

Other Regions

Torres Strait Islands terrestrial, marine & freshwater

Diagnosis

Delicate species 4-6mm in length, macropterous. Head with face shagreen, longer than wide, strongly convex side to side, ocelli marginal, close to, but not touching, anterior margins of eyes, lora small separated from anterior margin of face by wide maxillary plates. Vertex shagreen, longer in midline than against eyes, nearly as long as wide between eyes, angularly rounded to face, not marginally carinate. Pronotum short, narrow laterally, lacking longitudinal carina between eye and tegmen, obscurely transversely striate. Tegmen long and narrow, with three preapical cells, the first (R) frequently very short and triangular, occasionally obsolescent or open to costal margin, the third (Cu) closed basally by m-cu so the second (M) is the longest. Appendix well developed, although narrow, extending nearly to apex of tegmen. Male, pygofer usually produced posteriorly, lower margins incurved, often with short stout sclerotisation on lower margin near apex, with dense macrosetae on apical half. Subgenital plates frequently short, apically rounded or truncate with short apical extension differentiated, with macrosetae and microsetae along outer margins; internally ridged corresponding with apices of parameres. Parameres with well developed angulate, preapical shoulder and apical process coarsely serrate or tuberculate along inner (medial) margin, sometimes apically truncate or angled. Connective narrow with short body and arms connected apically to form elongate ring. Aedeagus with well developed basal apodeme and apical ovate gonopore. Shaft narrow elongate with one or two pairs of short apical recurved processes. Anal segment unadorned. Female seventh sternite medially produced, occasionally with two deep emarginations on either side of midline. Ovipositor valves parallel-sided throughout most of length, tapering to acute apex. Valve 2 with dorsal margin thickened over basal half, shortly desclerotised, then bearing evenly spaced, rounded teeth to apex. Third valve unadorned. (Fletcher 2000).

Only the anterior part of the crown is shagreen, the posterior two thirds of the crown between the eyes is glabrous with very fine longitudinal striations laterally. The following additional traits appear to be characteristic of the genus and supplement the original description. Coronal suture extended nearly full length of crown. Eye emarginate adjacent to antenna. Anteclypeus only slightly tapered distally. Maxillary sensillum closely adjacent to lateral margin of lorum near middle. Front femur with AM1 seta large and situated near ventral margin, IC row extended to basal half of femur, AV row with basal setae very short and inconspicuous; tibia rows PD and AD with 4 and 1 macrosetae, respectively. Hind femur macrosetal formula 2+2+1; tibial row PD with macrosetae alternating short and long; tarsomere I pecten with 4 platellae, inner seta platelliform (Dietrich 2021).

 

ID Keys

Dietrich 2021: 576 [Key to genera of Paralimnini]

 

Diagnosis References

Dietrich, C.H. 2021. New species of Mayawa Fletcher and description of a related new Australian leafhopper genus (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae: Paralimnini). Zootaxa 4933(4): 575–585 [Date published 23 February 2021] [578]

Fletcher, M.J. 2000. A new genus, Mayawa, for the reception of Limotettix capitatus Kirkaldy (Hemiptera : Cicadellidae : Deltocephalinae) and descriptions of five new species of Mayawa. Australian Journal of Entomology 39(3): 103-110 [104]

 

General References

Dietrich, C.H. 2021. New species of Mayawa Fletcher and description of a related new Australian leafhopper genus (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Deltocephalinae: Paralimnini). Zootaxa 4933(4): 575–585 [Date published 23 February 2021]

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
02-Jun-2021	AUCHENORRHYNCHA	04-Mar-2021	MODIFIED
05-Dec-2019		13-Aug-2013	MODIFIED
05-Dec-2019		16-May-2012	MODIFIED
05-Dec-2019		05-Aug-2011	MODIFIED
		12-Feb-2010	(import)