The Tamarix feeding Leafhopper genus Opsius Fieber, 1866 (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae, Deltocephalinae, Opsiini) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with description of a new species

Abstract

The leafhopper genus Opsius Fieber, 1866 is revised for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Seven species are treated, including three that previously were reported by Dlabola (1979), O. pallasi (Lethierry, 1874), O. tigripes (Lethierry, 1876), and O. versicolor (Distant, 1908). Opsius heydeni (Lethierry, 1876), O. richteri Dlabola 1960, and O. scutellaris (Lethierry, 1874) are reported for the first time from the Kingdom. A new species, O. wilsoni El-Sonbati, sp. nov. is described from the southwestern region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A key to the species of Opsius of the Kingdom is also provided.

First Report of Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number Variation in Opsius heydeni (Insecta, Hemiptera, Cicadellidae) from Polluted and Control Sites

“…heydeni, distributed from Turan to the Arabian Peninsula up to North Africa, Europe, the Canary Islands, and the Azores, completes the entire life cycle on Tamarix spp. [20]. As in our collection sites, O. heydeni often coexists with the very similar O. stactogalus Fieber, 1866, with which it shares the general appearance and dimensions; the two species can easily be distinguished from the examination of the male genital apparatus.…”

“…The species belongs to a genus with at least 20 recognized species found worldwide, overall living in damp areas with Tamarix spp. (Tamaricaceae), particularly river valleys [20].…”

Two New Records of Leafhoppers Of The Genus <i>Opsius</I> Fieber from India

“…The specimens studied at the National Pusa Collection (NPC) insect museum, Division of Entomology, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. The terminology followed is after Zahniser and Ditriech (2013) and El-Sonbati (2020). Male genitalia dissections were carried out as described by Oman (1949) and Knight (1965), and it is as follows-the abdomen was removed by inserting a sharp pin between the abdomen and thorax with gentle piercing.…”

A new genus Vittaliana belonging to the tribe Opsiini (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) from India and its molecular phylogeny

“…Work on this group since Viraktamath, Murthy & Viraktamath (1987); Mitjaev (2000); Dai, Viraktamath & Zhang (2010a); Dai, Dietrich & Zhang (2011); Stiller (2012); El-Sonbati, Wilson & Dhafer (2016), El-Sonbati, Wilson & Al Dhafer (2017), El-Sonbati, Wilson & Dhafer (2020); Fletcher & Dai (2018); Du, Liang & Dai (2019) has led to description of many new taxa. The Old World fauna is known only from regional works (Mitjaev, 2000;Viraktamath & Murthy, 2014;Meshram & Chaubey, 2016).…”