Published December 31, 2012 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Cephisus diminutus Walker

Description

Cephisus diminutus (Walker), reinstated

(Figs 8 A–C)

Aphrophora diminuta Walker, 1851: 699.

Aphrophora occidentis Walker, 1851: 699. Syn. nov.

Sphodroscarta diminuta: Stål 1869:18 (as synonym of A. siccifolius [sic] Walker). Cephisus diminuta: Dallas 1870:495 (as synonym of A. siccifolius [sic] Walker).

Type locality. "West coast of America " is probably incorrect.

Diagnosis. Similar to C. variolosus, but from South America, and with lateral thecal processes recurved and blunt-tipped. Head 0.8x as wide as pronotum (lateral margins of pronotum thus longer than 3/4 length of eye); rather robust; crown weakly sloping, not coplanar with front part of pronotum. Chocolate brown, slightly darker on midline of crown; clypellus and lower fifth of frons blackish brown; paler areas (when present) forming indefinite lineations on pronotum, 3 crescent-shaped oblique bands across middle of each corium, and pale clavus with darker band across middle. Style with small but prominent apical process and straight, narrow, truncate dorsal process on inner edge (Fig. 8 C); theca shaft slender, recurved, armed with a pair of short, strongly curved, apically blunt lateral processes wrapped around shaft tip (these unfold after some time in glycerin), and a pair of ventral processes 1.5x as long as lateral pair, extending beyond midlength of shaft (Figs 6 A–B). Length of male: 11.4–13.4 mm. Width of male across head: 2.9–3.0 mm; across pronotum: 3.5–3.6 mm.

Types. Holotype male of diminutus and female of occidentis; in BMNH.

Additional material. BRAZIL: 1 male, Santa Catharina —Rio Natal, Dec. 1945 (F. Johnson); BRITISH GUIANA [GUYANA]: 1 male, Essequibo R. [at] Moraballi Creek, 14 Oct. 1929, (Oxf. Univ. Exp.) dark forest; VENEZUELA: 1 male, Las Adjuntas, 959 m, 13 July 1926 (H.E. Box); in AMNH and BMNH.

One unassociated female, same size as holotype of occidentis (15.4 mm) from VENEZUELA: Caripito, 27 July 1942; in AMNH.

Distribution. Rare; records are from coastal regions of South America, from southern Brazil to Venezuela. The superficially similar species, C. variolosus appears confined to Central America and adjacent U.S.A.

Remarks. Most specimens of this species are almost unmarked chocolate-brown and thus resemble C. jacobii Lallemand. In shape, however, they have the less robust body and less sloping crown of C. variolosus.

Notes

Published as part of Hamilton, Andrew, 2012, Revision of Neotropical aphrophorine spittlebugs, part 1: Ptyelini (Hemiptera, Cercopoidea), pp. 41-59 in Zootaxa 3497 on pages 48-50, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.282460

Files

Files (3.0 kB)

Name Size Download all
md5:5f296599eaa6ac5a892a140f469b720c
3.0 kB Download

System files (18.8 kB)

Name Size Download all
md5:02a495a808878411f9b5dd4b81f976d2
18.8 kB Download

Linked records

Additional details

Biodiversity

Family
Aphrophoridae
Genus
Cephisus
Kingdom
Animalia
Order
Hemiptera
Phylum
Arthropoda
Scientific name authorship
Walker
Species
diminutus
Taxon rank
species

References

  • Walker, F. (1851) List of the specimens of homopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum, 3, 637 - 907.
  • Stal, C. (1869) Hemiptera Fabriciana. Fabricianska Hemipterarter, efter de i Kopenhamn och Kiel forvarade typexemplaren granskade och beskrifne, 2. Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps Akademien Handlingar, 8 (1), 1 - 130.
  • Dallas, W. S. (1870) Rhynchota. Zoological Record, 6, 495 - 497.