Taxonomic notes on Macugonalia semiguttata (Signoret, 1853) with first descriptions of the male and female terminalia (Insecta: Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Cicadellini)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The male and female terminalia of the poorly known sharpshooter Macugonalia semiguttata are described and illustrated for the first time based on specimens from a mountainous region in Rio de Janeiro State, southeastern Brazil (Atlantic Forest). External characters of the head, thorax, and abdomen of this species are also described and illustrated. Macugonalia semiguttata is compared with other seven similar species of the diverse genus Macugonalia Young, 1977. Among the 28 known species of this genus, it is apparently closely related to Macugonalia dallasi (Signoret, 1853), Macugonalia geographica (Signoret, 1855), and Macugonalia elegantula Cavichioli, 2004. Specimens of M. semiguttata were collected from the leaves and branches of shrubs and small trees in an area of low forest (circa 1,700 m a.s.l.), which is intermediate between the typical Atlantic Forest and the vegetation of alpine fields.