December 8, 2018

Cicadatra flavicollis Horváth, 1911

Cicadatra flavicollis Horváth, 1911, is a cicada found in Egypt.

Its name changed from Psalmocharias flavicollis to Cicadatra flavicollis, when it was moved from the Psalmocharias Kirkaldy, 1908 genus (which still exists) to the Cicadatra Kolenati, 1857 genus.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Cicadatrini
Genus: Cicadatra
Species: Cicadatra flavicollis Horváth, 1911

Cicadatra flavicollis Horváth, 1911
They image says Psalmocharias flavicollis, but the newest name of this cicada is Cicadatra flavicollis.

Cicadatra genus description by W. L. Distant from Genera Insectorum, 1914:

Characters. — Head (including eyes) narrower than base of mesonotum, its length less than width between eyes, but about as long as pronotum; pronotum much shorter than mesonotum, its lateral margins more or less obliquely straight, its posterior lateral angles a little ampliated; mesonotum convex; abdomen in male as long as space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympanal coverings both narrower and shorter than tympanal orifices; opercula in male short and transverse, not extending beyond the base of abdomen; anterior femora spined beneath; tegmina and wings hyaline, the first sometimes a little maculate, its greatest width more than a third of length, apical areas eight; wings with six apical areas.

References:

The illustration and description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1914 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Gaeaninae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Species name verification comes from Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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December 7, 2018

Terpnosia psecas (Walker, 1850)

Terpnosia psecas (Walker, 1850) is a cicada found in India, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Java (Indonesia).

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Psithyristriini
SubTribe: Psithyristriina [Psithyr means “whispering” in Greek]
Genus: Terpnosia
Species: Terpnosia psecas (Walker, 1850)

Terpnosia psecas (Walker, 1850)

Terpnosia genus description by W. L. Distant:

Characters. — Head about as long as breadth between eyes, deflected anteriorly, front not prominent; pronotum distinctly shorter than mesonotum, its lateral margins sinuate, with the posterior angles moderately lobalety produced; abdomen in male longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympanal coverings both narrower and shorter than tympanal cavities; opercula in male short and transverse, usually not or scarcely extending beyond base of abdomen; anterior femora spined beneath; tegmina and wings hyaline, the first usually more or less maculate, with eight apical areas, and the basal cell longer than broad; wings with six apical areas.

References:

The illustration and description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1914 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Gaeaninae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Species name verification comes from Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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December 6, 2018

Lethama locusta (Walker, 1850)

Lethama locusta (Walker, 1850) is a cicada found in India.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Cosmopsaltriaria
Genus: Lethama
Species: Lethama locusta (Walker, 1850)

Lethama locusta (Walker, 1850)

Lethama genus description by W. L. Distant in Genera Insectorum, 1914:

Characters – lead horizontal, As long as space between eyes, not anteriorly deflected, front very prominent, margins of front and ver/ex obliquely sub-continuous; pronotum as long as mesonotum, its lateral margins oblique, sinuate, obscurely dentate; abdomen considerably longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympana imperfectly covered, the flaps shorter and narrower than the tympanal cavities; rostrum about reaching the posterior coxae; anterior femora armed beneath with two or three strong spines; opercula extending to more than half the length of the abdomen, sinuate, wide apart and on the lateral abdominal areas; tegmina broad, their greatest breadth more than one-third of their length, apical areas eight, basal cell much longer than broad.

References:

The illustration and description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1914 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Gaeaninae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Species name verification comes from Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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December 5, 2018

Tanna japonensis japonensis (Distant, 1892)

Filed under: Genera Insectorum | Japan | Leptopsaltriini | Tanna | W. L. Distant — Tags: T. japonensis — Dan @ 1:01 am

Tanna japonensis japonensis (Distant, 1892) is a cicada found in Japan. There is another subspecies without a subspecies name (see below).

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Leptopsaltriini
SubTribe: Leptopsaltriina (which means slender harp player in Greek)
Genus: Tanna
Subspecies: Tanna japonensis japonensis (Distant, 1892)
Subspecies: Tanna japonensis var. ______ Ishihara, 1939

Photo by Osamu Hikino.

Tanna genus description by W. L. Distant in Genera Insectorum, 1913:

Characters. — Head (including eyes) narrower than base of mesonotum and about as long as space between eyes; lateral margins of pronotum angularly sinuate, but not prominently toothed ; abdomen much longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympana covered ; opercula small, not or scarcely extending beyond base of abdomen; rostrum reaching the posterior coxae; tegmina and wings hyaline. Closely allied to Leptopsaltria, from which it differs by only having a lateral tubercle on the second and not on the third ventral segment, in other respects resembling the genus Pomponia.

According to iNaturalist observations they’re found in July and August.

References:

The illustration and genus description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1913 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).
Tribe information comes from: MARSHALL, DAVID C. et al.A molecular phylogeny of the cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) with a review of tribe and subfamily classification.Zootaxa, [S.l.], v. 4424, n. 1, p. 1—64, may 2018. ISSN 1175-5334. Available at: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4424.1.1

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December 4, 2018

Purana conspicua Distant, 1910

Filed under: Borneo | Genera Insectorum | Leptopsaltriini | Purana | W. L. Distant — Dan @ 1:01 am

Purana conspicua Distant, 1910, is a cicada found in Borneo (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia).

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Leptopsaltriini
SubTribe: Leptopsaltriina
Genus: Purana
Species: Purana conspicua Distant, 1910

Purana conspicua Distant, 1910

Purana genus description by W. L. Distant in Genera Insectorum, 1913:

Characters. — Head (including eyes) as wide as base of mesonotum and as long as space between eyes; face prominent and convex, its base almost at right angles to the anterior lateral angles of vertex; pronotum narrowed anteriorly, its lateral margins angulated or toothed; mesonotum much longer than pronotum; abdomen moderately conical above, gradually attenuated posteriorly, in male considerably longer than the space between the apex of head and base of cruciform elevation, tubercles on the second and third ventral segments large and prominent; opercula small; tympanal coverings in male broader at base than long; rostrum reaching or a little passing posterior coxae; tegmina and wings hyaline.

References:

The illustration and genus description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1913 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).
Tribe information comes from: MARSHALL, DAVID C. et al.A molecular phylogeny of the cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) with a review of tribe and subfamily classification.Zootaxa, [S.l.], v. 4424, n. 1, p. 1—64, may 2018. ISSN 1175-5334. Available at: https://www.biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/article/view/zootaxa.4424.1.1

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December 3, 2018

Cosmopsaltria gestroei (Distant, 1905)

Cosmopsaltria gestroei (Distant, 1905) is a cicada found in Paupa New Guinea.

Names… Sawda gestroi (in the image below) is an incorrect spelling of Sawda gestroei. The Sawda Distant, 1905 genus was merged into Cosmopsaltria Stål, 1866, which leaves us with the name Cosmopsaltria gestroei.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Cosmopsaltriini
SubTribe: Cosmopsaltriaria
Genus: Cosmopsaltria
Species: Cosmopsaltria gestroei (Distant, 1905)

Have some fun comparing Distant’s description of the Sawda genus:

Characters. — Head (including eyes) about two thirds the breadth of base of mesonotum, and very slightly longer than breadth between eyes, its lateral margins discontinuous, the anterior margins of vertex being almost at right angles to front; mesonotum only slightly longer than pronotum; abdomen short, about as long as space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympana covered,

To the Cosmopsaltria genus descriptions by W. L. Distant in Genera Insectorum, 1913:

Characters. — Body moderately long and robust, head as long as breadth between eyes, and including eyes as wide as base of mesonotum, with the front not twice as broad at base as anterior margins of the lobes of vertex, lateral margins obliquely continuous to front or very slightly sinuate; pronotum about as long as head, its lateral margins scarcely ampliated, but distinctly toothed or angulated; mesonotum slightly longer than pronotum ; abdomen short, about as long as space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympana covered; opercula in male broad, either just or longly passing middle of abdomen, well separated and not overlapping, more or less concavely sinuate on each side at basal areas, their apices rounded or obliquely truncate; rostrum reaching, sometimes passing, the posterior coxae; tegmina and wings hyaline; greatest breadth of tegmina about a third of length, venation normal, basal cell much longer than broad.

References:

The illustration and genus description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1913 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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December 2, 2018

Champaka nigra (Distant, 1888)

Champaka nigra (Distant, 1888) is found in the Philipines.

Back in 1913 Platylomia albomaculata and Platylomia nigra were regarded as two different species. (FYI, albomaculata means white spotted in Latin, and nigra means black or dark also in Latin.) Somewhere along the line it was determined that they’re the same species, and belong to the Champaka Distant, 1905 genus, thus Champaka nigra.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Dundubiina
Genus: Champaka
Species: Champaka nigra (Distant, 1888)

Champaka nigra (Distant, 1888)
The image says Platylomia albomaculata. but the new name of this cicada is Champaka nigra.

Champaka genus description by W. L. Distant in Genera Insectorum, 1913:

Characters. — Head (including eyes) considerably broader than base of mesonotum, its length about equal to breadth between eyes, lateral margins of front and vertex almost obliquely in line; pronotum about as long as head, its lateral margins armed with a distinct medial spine ; mesonotum moderately tumid ; abdomen considerably longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation ; tympana covered, tympanal coverings broader than long; opercula short. just reaching basal abdominal segment, laterally oblique and thus exposing the marginal areas of the cavities rostrum reaching the posterior coxae; anterior femora strongly spined beneath ; tegmina and wings hyaline, the first considerably longer than the body and with its greatest breadth considerably less than a third of its length; apical areas eight; basal cell longer than broad.

References:

The illustration and genus description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1913 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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December 1, 2018

Hyalessa mahoni (Distant, 1906)

Filed under: Genera Insectorum | Hyalessa | India | Sonatini | W. L. Distant — Dan @ 1:01 am

Hyalessa mahoni (Distant, 1906) is a cicada found in India.

Its name changed from Oncotympana mahoni to Hyalessa mahoni, when it was moved to the Hyalessa China, 1925 genus. The Oncotympana Stål, 1870 genus still exists. Interestingly, the Hyalessa genus belongs to the Sonatini tribe and Oncotympana belongs to Cicadini.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Sonatini
Genus: Hyalessa
Species: Hyalessa mahoni (Distant, 1906)

Hyalessa mahoni (Distant, 1906)
The image says Hyalessa mahoni, but the newest name for this cicada is Oncotympana mahoni.

References:

The illustration and genus description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1913 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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November 30, 2018

Cosmopsaltria capitata Distant, 1888

Filed under: Cosmopsaltria | Cosmopsaltriini | Francis Walker | Genera Insectorum | Indonesia — Dan @ 1:01 am

Cosmopsaltria capitata Distant, 1888 is found in Paupa (Indonesia).

Its name changed from Fatima capitata to Cosmopsaltria capitata probably when the Fatima Distant, 1905 genus was merged into the Cosmopsaltria Stål, 1866 genus.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Cosmopsaltriini
SubTribe: Cosmopsaltriaria
Genus: Cosmopsaltria
Species: Cosmopsaltria capitata Distant, 1888

Cosmopsaltria capitata Distant, 1888
The image says Fatima capitata, but the newest name of this cicada is Cosmopsaltria capitata.

Have fun comparing the Fatima genus description…

Characters. — Head (including eyes) about equal in breadth to base of mesonotum, as long as breadth between eyes, its lateral margins very irregular, the anterior lateral margins of the vertex being almost at right angles to the face; pronotum little more than half the length of mesonotum ; abdomen above as long as space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation ; anal abdominal segment in male apically acutely dentate on each side; tympana covered, the tympanal coverings in male projecting a little beyond the lateral abdominal margins; rostrum passing the posterior coxae ; opercula in male broad, just or longly passing the middle of the abdomen, either concavely sinuate on each side or slightly and obsoletely sinuate, their apices rounded or obliquely truncate; tegmina and wings subhyaline, the first broad, their greatest breadth more than one third of their length.

… to the Cosmopsaltria genus description by W. L. Distant in Genera Insectorum, 1913:

Characters. — Body moderately long and robust, head as long as breadth between eyes, and including eyes as wide as base of mesonotum, with the front not twice as broad at base as anterior margins of the lobes of vertex, lateral margins obliquely continuous to front or very slightly sinuate; pronotum about as long as head, its lateral margins scarcely ampliated, but distinctly toothed or angulated; mesonotum slightly longer than pronotum ; abdomen short, about as long as space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympana covered; opercula in male broad, either just or longly passing middle of abdomen, well separated and not overlapping, more or less concavely sinuate on each side at basal areas, their apices rounded or obliquely truncate; rostrum reaching, sometimes passing, the posterior coxae; tegmina and wings hyaline; greatest breadth of tegmina about a third of length, venation normal, basal cell much longer than broad.

References:

The illustration and genus description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1913 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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November 29, 2018

Meimuna gamameda (Distant, 1902)

Filed under: Dundubiini | Genera Insectorum | Meimuna | Sri Lanka | W. L. Distant — Dan @ 1:01 am

Meimuna gamameda (Distant, 1902) is a cicada found in Sri Lanka.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Cosmopsaltriaria
Genus: Meimuna
Species: Meimuna gamameda (Distant, 1902)

Meimuna genus description by W. L. Distant in Genera Insectorum, 1913:

Characters. — Head (including eyes) about as broad as base of mesonotum, shorter than breadth between eyes, lateral margins obliquely continuous to face or very slightly sinuate; pronotum distinctly shorter than mesonotum, its lateral margins distinctly and generally acutely toothed before middle; abdomen considerably longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympana covered, tympanal flaps about as long as broad; rostrum reaching the posterior coxae; opercula obliquely divergent, sometimes very short; tegmina and wings hyaline.

References:

The illustration and genus description comes from the journal Genera Insectorum, and a specific article from 1913 by W. L. Distant titled Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. Read it on the Biodiversity Heritage Library website.
Current species name verified using Allen Sanborn’s Catalogue of the Cicadoidea (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha).

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