Research Article |
Corresponding author: Linda Semeraro ( macropsis03@gmail.com ) Corresponding author: Thai-Hong Pham ( phamthai1976@yahoo.com ) Academic editor: Ilia Gjonov
© 2025 Linda Semeraro, Jérôme Constant, Thai-Hong Pham.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Semeraro L, Constant J, Pham T-H (2025) Extension of the leafhopper genus Multinervis (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Megophthalminae, Agalliini) from Northern to Central Vietnam, with the description of one new species. ZooKeys 1233: 1-14. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1233.136519
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A new species of the genus Multinervis Li & Li, 2013, Multinervis phongdienensis sp. nov., is described from two locations in Central Vietnam, Thưa Thien-Hue Province: Bach Ma National Park and Phong Dien District. It represents a second species for the genus and for the fauna of Vietnam, where the type species, M. guangxiensis Li & Li, 2013, has also previously been recorded from Northern Vietnam. Illustrations, a differential diagnosis to distinguish the two Multinervis species and a distribution map are provided. Multinervis phongdienensis sp. nov. is characterized by the absence of forewing crossveins in the claval region, the reduced subgenital plates being almost entirely fused, the absence of a subgenital angular projection and the unusual lateral flanges of the male connective.
Auchenorrhyncha, biodiversity, leafhopper, Membracoidea, plant pathogen, plant virus, taxonomy
The tribe Agalliini Kirkaldy, 1901 is one of four recognised in the subfamily Megophthalminae Kirkaldy, 1906, along with Evansiolini Linnavuori & DeLong, 1977, Adelungiini Baker, 1915, and Megophthalmini Kirkaldy, 1906 (
The currently monotypic genus Multinervis Li & Li, 2013, is represented by the species M. guangxiensis Li & Li, 2013, which was described from Guangxi, China (
Following a two-week field expedition to Central Vietnam to collect insects in Bach Ma National Park and Phong Dien District in 2023, a second species of this genus was discovered and is described and illustrated in this paper, with a distribution map of the two known species.
The specimens were collected by sweeping the vegetation with an entomological net and aspirating into a jar. The specimens were euthanized with ethyl acetate and later card-mounted for study. Following the methods outlined in
Specimens were examined and photographed under a Leica EZ4W stereomicroscope with an integrated camera. The photographs were stacked with CombineZP software and optimized with Adobe Photoshop CS3. Photographs of the habitat were taken with an Olympus Tough TG-6 camera.
The distribution map was produced with SimpleMappr (
Terminology of the general leafhopper morphology, wing venation and leg chaetotaxy follows
The following acronyms are used:
CCRR Centre for Conservation of Vietnam Natural Resources and Rescue of Animals and Plants, Phong Dien, Thưa Thien-Hue Province, Vietnam
GUGC Guizhou University, Guiyang Guizhou, China
Order Hemiptera Linnaeus, 1758
Suborder Auchenorrhyncha Duméril, 1806
Infra-order Cicadomorpha Evans, 1946
Superfamily Membracoidea Rafinesque, 1815
Family Cicadellidae Latreille, 1825
Subfamily Megophthalminae Kirkaldy, 1906
Tribe Agalliini Kirkaldy, 1901
Multinervis
Li & Li, 2013: 296 [description of the new genus Multinervis based on the type species, M. guangxiensis];
Multinervis guangxiensis Li & Li, 2013.
The genus is recognised by a combination of characters including, a robust body; coloration generally brown; forewing, somewhat coriaceous, brown with contrasting pale yellow veins; crown very narrowly visible in dorsal view; face with striations along upper margin, dorsad of ocelli; ocelli in slight depressions, almost equidistant from each other as to compound eyes; granulose texture of head, pronotum, mesonotum and forewings; pronotum only weakly pitted, in lateral view slightly convex, anterior margin may be depressed, concave in lateral view; forewing bearing numerous accessory crossveins (veins appearing reticulated), with or without crossveins in claval region (between anal veins); forefemur with pale yellow and black/ dark brown bands; hindfemur with macrosetal formula 2+1; hindtibia with 7 macrosetae on AD margin. In male genitalia structures, the subgenital plates are fused at base; in lateral view, style apophyses are distinctly spiralled. Connective elongate, broader anteriorly than posteriorly (longer than broad), in ventral view, approximately racquet-shaped.
According to
(Fig.
Unknown.
(type locality indicated by *):
Multinervis guangxiensis Li & Li, 2013 [China, Guangxi Province* • Vietnam, Ninh Binh Province]. Holotype: GUGC.
Multinervis phongdienensis sp. nov. [VIETNAM, Thưa Thiȇn-Hué Province*]. Holotype:
Holotype
♂ (Figs
Body robust. Colouration chestnut brown contrasted with pale yellow veins and markings on face. Forewing with veins loosely reticulated mainly on apical half, crossveins in claval area absent; anal vein A1 strongly curved from base. Subgenital plates relatively short, only just reaching posterior margin of pygofer (see Fig.
Multinervis phongdienensis sp. nov. can be differentiated from M. guangxiensis in body length, being slightly smaller (4.5 mm versus 4.8–5.2 mm in M. guangxiensis); the general body shape being more squat (around 2.4× longer than wide at widest point versus 2.75×); the frontoclypeus mostly patchy chestnut brown medially (face generally paler and with a large pale yellow patch medially in M. guangxiensis); forewing venation is less reticulated (fewer crossveins), crossveins between anal veins are absent and there are fewer crossveins between discal and costal cells (versus crossveins present between the anal veins and relatively densely reticulated venation between discal and costal cells) anal vein A1 is strongly curved from near the base, not parallel with anal vein Pcu (versus very slightly curved, more or less parallel with Pcu); in the male genitalia, the subgenitial plates appear shorter and only just reaching posterior margin of the pygofer (Fig.
Measurements and ratios . Body length, ♂ holotype, 4.5 mm; paratypes ♂, 4.5 mm; 2 ♀♀, 4.5mm. Proportion of body length 2.4× the width (measured across widest part of body). Head across eyes slightly wider than pronotum. Pronotum 2.5× as broad as long. Scutellum 1.25× length of pronotum along midline.
General body colouration. Chestnut brown with contrasting pale-yellow markings and tegminal venation. Colouration of males and females mostly identical.
Head
(Figs
Multinervis phongdienensis sp. nov., holotype ♂ (
Thorax
(Figs
Forewings
(Figs
Legs
(Figs
Abdomen In males and females, tergites generally brownish, paler brown medially, darker brown in patches, laterally pale yellowish; sternites pale brown to pale yellowish.
Terminalia
♂ (Fig.
Terminalia
♀ (Fig.
Multinervis phongdienensis sp. nov., paratype ♀ (
The species epithet is derived from the collection locality, Phong Dien District which includes the site of CCRR, one of the two locations in Thưa Thiȇn-Hué Province, in which this species was found.
(Fig.
Unknown.
The holotype of the type species of Multinervis (M. guangxiensis) was not examined in this study, but specimens were compared to the description of the genus and species and the photographs and illustrations as presented in
Following the description of this new species, there are now five species of Agalliini recorded from Vietnam and the total number of Multinervis species has increased to two, with both species recorded from Vietnam.
Multinervis was recorded for the first time in Vietnam by
The diagnostic characters of Multinervis are slightly redefined in this study to capture the additional range of character states, as found in the new species. For example, the striations on the face above the ocelli are described in
Multinervis species have an elongate connective, which is approximately racquet-shaped. While this elongate connective feature is shared with a few other Agalliini genera, such as Brasa Oman, 1936 and Humpatagallia Linnavuori & Viraktamath, 1973 (
Additionally, the connective of M. phongdienensis sp. nov. is particularly unusual in having membranous flanges on the lateral margins of the posterior stem. The flanges do not appear to be present in M. guangxiensis based on the descriptions and illustrations in
The new species described in this study only represents one of many species of Cicadellidae to be described from the 2023 expedition to Bach Ma National Park and Phong Dien District (including the Phong Dien Nature Reserve Nature Reserve and CCRR). It is complimentary to the work by
We would like to thank Thanh Trung Vu and Thi Thu Hoai Nguyen (
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
No ethical statement was reported.
The present study was funded by the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED 106.05-2021.22).
Conceptualization, L.S. J.C. and T.-H.P.; Funding acquisition, T.-H.P.; Investigation, L.S. and J.C.; Methodology, L.S. J.C. and T.-H.P.; Project administration, T.-H.P. and J.C.; Field work, L.S., J.C. and T.-H.P.; Field logistics, T.-H.P.; Supervision, L.S., J.C. and T.-H.P.; Validation, L.S. J.C. and T.-H.P.; Photo images, J.C.; Illustrations, L.S.; Writing – original draft, L.S.; Writing – review and editing, L.S., J.C. and T.-H.P. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Linda Semeraro https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4057-4733
Jérôme Constant https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0254-0863
Thai-Hong Pham https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4763-3679
All of the data that support the findings of this study are available in the main text.