It looks like a new sub-tribe, genus and species of cicada has been identified by Michel Boulard and Stéphane Puissant. Cicadmalleus micheli. The cicada has a head that looks like the head of a hammerhead shark! Cicadmalleus means “cicada hammer”, and micheli refers to Bruno Michel who found the cicada (thanks David Emery).
I heard the cicada was discovered in Thailand, which makes sense because that is where Michael Boulard does most of his research.
Première découverte au monde d'une cigale-marteau | Facebook / Stéphane Puissant http://t.co/OIP7GBetM4 #Thaïlande
— Bernadette Cassel (@collemyria) December 13, 2013
4 replies on “The Hammerhead Cicada – A new discovery!”
Yeas, Jan has posted the link Dan- I have the paper from Michel. Will send you the pdf
Indeed, Bruno Michel, who is a specialist in antlions, has captured two cicadas in 2001, during a mission in Thaïland. He kept then forgotten them, until he showed them to Stéphane Puissant recently. The latter contacted Michel Boulard, who had never met this cicada before.
Reference: Michel BOULARD, Stéphane PUISSANT (2013). Une Cigale-marteau chez les Cicadidae. Nouvelle espèce, nouveau Genre, nouvelle sous-Tribu (Cicadettinae, Cicadettini). EPHE N° 20, C.M., Décembre 2013 : 3-8.
Thanks David. Have you read any documents about this discovery yet? I’ve only found postings on social media websites.
I think that “micheli” refers to Bruno Michel, who found it.Amazing cicada!