November 27, 2018

Leptopsaltria tuberosa (Signoret, 1847)

Leptopsaltria tuberosa (Signoret, 1847) is a cicada found in India, Japan, and on Java (Indonesia), according the the Genera Insectorum, 1913. That’s quite a range.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Leptopsaltriini
SubTribe: Leptopsaltriina
Genus: Leptopsaltria
Species: Leptopsaltria tuberosa (Signoret, 1847)

Leptopsaltria tuberosa (Signoret, 1847)

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

Characters. — Head (including eyes), considerably narrower than base of mesonotum, ocelli not quite twice the distance from eyes as from each other, front somewhat conical and subprominent; pronotum with the lateral margins moderately ampliated and more or less distinctly toothed or angulated; genae internally at apex near base of lorae furnished with a tubercle or tumescence; abdomen moderately long and robust; anterior femora distinctly and robustly spined; rostrum extending beyond the posterior coxae; tympana covered; opercula short; second and third abdominal segments in the male furnished with a well-developed tubercle near each lateral margin; tegmina and wings hyaline, venation normal, tegminal apical areas eight in number.

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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November 26, 2018

Heteropsaltria aliena Jacobi, 1902

Heteropsaltria aliena Jacobi, 1902, is a cicada found in the Solomon Islands.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Cryptotympanini
SubTribe: Heteropsaltriaria
Genus: Heteropsaltria
Species: Heteropsaltria aliena

Heteropsaltria aliena Jacobi, 1902

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

Characters. — Head about as long as breath between eyes, a little shorter than pronotum, including eyes slightly broader than anterior margin of pronotum ; ocelli distinctly more remote from eyes than from each other; face longer than broad, moderately prominent; pronotum shorter than mesonotum including the basal cruciform elevation, the lateral margins distinctly broadly angulate near base; abdomen shorter than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympana concealed; opercula short, transverse, not passing base of abdomen; rostrum passing the intermediate coxae ; tegmina broad, but not more than twice as long as broad, basal cell longer than broad, radial area large and broad, considerably longer than half the whole length of tegmen, thus causing the shortening of the three upper ulner areas; apical areas eight; wings narrower but more than half the length of tegmina, apical areas six.

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 25, 2018

Diceropyga junctivitta (Walker, 1868)

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

Diceropyga junctivitta (Walker, 1868) is a cicada found on the Ternate island of Indonesia.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Cosmopsaltriini
SubTribe: Cosmopsaltriaria
Genus: Diceropyga
Species: Diceropyga junctivitta (Walker, 1868)

Diceropyga junctivitta (Walker, 1868)

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

Characters. — Head distinctly shorter than breadth between eyes, including eyes about as wide as base of mesonotum, ocelli close together at center of vertex; face longer than broad, sides somewhat obliquely rounded; rostrum reaching posterior coxae; pronotum shorter than mesonotum, its lateral margins moderately dentate; mesonotum including basal cruciform elevation about as long as head and pronotum together; abdomen as long or longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation, anal abdominal segment in male apically acutely dentate or with a broad obtuse process on each side; tympana completely covered; opercula elongate, broad, nearly meeting at their inner margins, more or less sinuate at their basal areas; tegmina and wings hyaline, tegmina about three times as long as broad, apical areas eight ; wings with six apical areas; anterior femora spined beneath.

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 24, 2018

Orientopsaltria alticola (Distant, 1905)

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

Orientopsaltria alticola (Distant, 1905) is a cicada found on Borneo (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia).

Its name changed from Cosmopsaltria alticola to Orientopsaltria alticola when it was moved from the Cosmopsaltria Stål, 1866 genus into the Orientopsaltria Kato, 1944 genus.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Orientopsaltriina
Genus: Orientopsaltria
Species: Orientopsaltria alticola (Distant, 1905)

Orientopsaltria alticola (Distant, 1905)
The image says Cosmopsaltria alticola, but the newest name for this cicada is Orientopsaltria alticola.

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 23, 2018

Champaka viridimaculata (Distant, 1889)

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

Champaka viridimaculata (Distant, 1889) is a cicada found on Borneo (Brunei, Malaysia, Indonesia). Viridimaculata means green spotted in Latin — perhaps that is a reference to the green coloring in the cells of the wings near its body.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Dundubiina
Genus: Champaka
Species: Champaka viridimaculata (Distant, 1889)

Champaka viridimaculata (Distant, 1889)

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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November 22, 2018

Cacama maura (Distant, 1881)

Filed under: Cacama | Genera Insectorum | Mexico | Tacuini (Cryptotympanini) | W. L. Distant — Tags: C. maura — Dan @ 1:01 am

Cacama maura (Distant, 1881) is a cicada found in Mexico.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Cryptotympanini
SubTribe: Cryptotympanina
Genus: Cacama
Species: Cacama maura (Distant, 1881)

Cacama maura (Distant, 1881)

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

Characters. — Head (including eyes) little more than two thirds the breadth of base of mesonotum, anteriorly depressed, its length only a little more than half the breadth between eyes; pronotum considerably shorter than mesonotum, its lateral margins obliquely sinuate; mesonotum somewhat convexly gibbous; abdomen short, broad, convex above, its length equal to the space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation, the lateral margins a little angulate at posterior segmental angles; tympana completely covered, lateral margins of the tympanal coverings subparallel to the abdominal margins; rostrum reaching or passing the posterior coxae ; metasternum very large; opercula about half the length of abdomen above, broad, their apical margins convexly rounded, their lateral margins almost straight; tegmina and wings (excepting base) hyaline, the first broad, their greatest width a little less than half their length, apical areas eight in number, the two lowermost small, subquadrangular.

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 21, 2018

Ayesha serva (Walker, 1850)

Ayesha serva (Walker, 1850) is a cicada found in the Philipines and on Borneo (Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia), and Korea?

This one is interesting. Back when Distant wrote the Homoptera. Fam. Cicadidae, Subfam, Cicadinae. found in Genera Insectorum, 1932, there were two cicada species: Ayesha serva, found in the Philipines and Borneo, and Ayesha spathulata found in Korea. Today both species are unified under Ayesha serva. There’s a large distance between Korea and Borneo, so this makes me wonder, was A. serva actually ever in Korea, or are they two different cicadas?

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Dundubiini
SubTribe: Dundubiina
Genus: Ayesha
Species: Ayesha serva (Walker, 1850)

Ayesha serva (Walker, 1850)
The image says Ayesha spathulata, but the newer name of this cicada is Ayesha serva.

Ayesha genus description by W. L. Distant from Genera Insectorum, 1913:

Characters. — Head (including eyes) as wide or a little wider than base of mesonotum, much shorter than breadth between eyes, lateral margins obliquely continuous to face or very slightly sinuate, eyes large and oblique; pronotum shorter than mesonotum, its lateral margins angulated anteriorly; mesonotum moderately convexly tumid; abdomen short, not longer than space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympanal coverings about as long as broad; rostrum reaching the intermediate coxae; opercula in male long, about twice as broad at apex as at base, inner .margins concave, widening to basal area, outer margins sinuate near centre, their apices broad overlapping;tegmina and wings hyaline, greatest width of tegmina about one third their length.

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 20, 2018

Psithyristria specularis Stål, 1870

Psithyristria specularis Stål, 1870, is a cicada found in the Phillipines.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Psithyristriini
SubTribe: Psithyristriina
Genus: Psithyristria
Species: Psithyristria specularis Stål, 1870

Psithyristria specularis Stål, 1870

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

Characters. — Head (including eyes) considerably narrower than base of mesonotum, tympanal coverings as long as but very much narrower than the orifices, which are thus inwardly exposed; abdomen narrowed posteriorly, a little longer than the space between the apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tegmina and wings hyaline; tegmina with the venation abnormal; apical areas eight, the lower one very small; ulnar areas much compressed, broad, especially the two lowermost.
According to our present knowledge, the Psithyristriaria are confined to the Philippine Islands.

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).
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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November 19, 2018

Zammara brevis (Distant, 1905)

Filed under: Colombia | Genera Insectorum | W. L. Distant | Zammara | Zammarini — Dan @ 1:01 am

Zammara brevis (Distant, 1905) is a cicada found in Columbia.

It was formerly known as Orellana brevis, as you can see from the image below. The Zammara and Orellana genera are very similar — both belong to the tribe Zammarini, both share pronounced pronotal collars and often green coloring.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Zammarini
Genus: Zammara
Species: Zammara brevis (Distant, 1905)

Zammara brevis (Distant, 1905)
The image says Orellana brevis, but the newest name of this cicada is Zammara brevis.

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

Characters. — Head (including eyes) about as wide as base of mesonotum, ocelli farther removed from eyes than from each other, eyes prominent but scarcely projecting beyond the anterior pronotal angles, vertex strongly depressed before base of front; face longer than broad, narrowly sulcate; pronotum shorter than mesonotum, the lateral margins angularly ampliate; mesonotum about as long as head and pronotum together; metanotum exposed; abdomen short; tympanal coverings outwardly complete, the orifices very widely exposed internally; opercula short, oblique; rostrum reaching or slightly passing the posterior coxae; tegmina usually three times as long as broad, 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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November 18, 2018

Mogannia binotata Distant, 1906

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

Mogannia binotata Distant, 1906, is a cicada found in Borneo. Its most interesting feature, that it shares with all Mogannia, is its conical shaped head.

Scientific classification:
Family: Cicadidae
Subfamily: Cicadinae
Tribe: Cicadatrini
Genus: Mogannia
Species: Mogannia binotata Distant, 1906

Mogannia binotata Distant, 1906

Mogannia genus description by W. L. Distant:

Characters — Body short, broad, robust; head conically produced, including eyes much narrower than base of mesonotum, as long or slightly longer than pronotum, front as long or slightly longer than vertex; pronotum narrower anteriorly than posteriorly, the lateral margins oblique, not ampliated, the posterior lateral angles a little lobately rounded; abdomen a little shorter, or almost as long as space between apex of head and base of cruciform elevation; tympanal coverings small and rudimentary; anterior femora spined beneath; opercula in male small, usually obliquely convex and not completely covering the cavities; tegmina with their basal halves usually more or less brilliantly colored, sometimes opaque, 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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