Male terminalia of Cercopidae (Hemiptera, Cicadomorpha): towards a consensus terminology.

The study of male genital appendages is often necessary to identify a species and to characterise the higher systematics ranks for the Cercopidae, a large family of Hemiptera. Therefore, many authors have used them in their work but without any clear consensus on the terms used for each part constituting the male terminalia. A standardised terminology is important for the quality of a taxonomic description but even more essential when we want to compare species and establish a primary homology between states of character and their use in the frame of phylogenetic analysis. The use of a consensus terminology should ensure that we are all observing, speaking and describing the same genital appendage and comparing homologous characters. In order to propose a consensus terminology, we have reviewed all the major works on the anatomy of terminalia for the family since the first description using those characters in 1922. We proposed the use of consensual terms, listed with their definitions. In addition we studied a diversified panel of male specimens, chosen in order to represent as many Cercopidae tribes as possible. We categorised five different groups of Cercopidae according to their male terminalia structures. This opens the reflection on the evolutionary patterns for these structures.

Cercopidae spittle-bugs (Hemiptera, Cicadomorpha) of Madagascar: a new species of Bourgoinrana and revision of the Locris species.

The Locris species and subspecies from Madagascar are revised and a new combination is proposed: Locris johannae var. nigrolimbata Lallemand, 1910 to L. nigrolimbata comb. nov. Illustrations and description of male terminalia are given for the first time for the three Locris species and an identification key is provided. A new species of the Malagasy endemic genus Bourgoinrana Soulier-Perkins, 2012 is described: B. beondrokaensis Le Cesne & Soulier-Perkins sp. nov. An updated identification key to the species of Bourgoinrana is provided.

Two new species of Aufidus (Hemiptera, Cercopidae) from New Guinea.

Two new species of the cercopid genus Aufidus Stål, 1863, A. alacaligus sp. nov. and A. albonigrus sp. nov., are described and illustrated, Photos of the type specimens with the illustrations of the male terminalia are provided. A key to the species found in New Guinea is presented.

Revision of the New Guinean genus Zophiuma (Hemiptera, Lophopidae).

The lophopid genus Zophiuma Fennah, 1955 is revised with two new species described, Z. gitauae sp. nov. and Z. torricelli sp. nov. and Z. doreyensis (Distant, 1906) is placed in synonymy with Z. pupillata (Stål, 1863). A key to the species for the genus, distribution map and the male genitalia illustrations are provided.

Revision of the endemic Philippine Poeciloterpa Stål (Hemiptera: Cercopidae) with description of four new species.

The genus Poeciloterpa Stål endemic to the Philippines with 9 known species is reviewed. Four new species are described and illustrated: P. altissima Crispolon et Soulier-Perkins sp. nov., P. conica Crispolon et Soulier-Perkins sp. nov., P. gapudi Crispolon et Yap sp. nov. and P. mangkas Crispolon et Yap sp. nov. Illustrations and descriptions for the male genitalia are given for the first time for all the species except for P. nigrolimbata Stål known only by two female specimens. A key to species is provided. The type of habitats where the species are found is discussed and new host-plants listed.

Fieber's unpublished colour plates allow reassessing some of his Cixius species (Insecta: Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha, Cixiidae).

Franz Xaver Fieber was a leading Hemiptera taxonomist in the 19th century. The recent discovery of his unpublished drawings that go along with the original handwritten manuscript allow a reassessment of species descriptions from this century. In addition, we present an alphabet of Fieber's handwriting. We give an overview on the Cixiidae species he had described and reassess the status of the species names Cixius brachycranus Scott, 1870, Cixius intermedius Scott, 1870, Cixius pinicola Fieber, 1876, Tachycixius venustulus (Germar, 1830) and Tachycixius distinctus (Signoret, 1865). T. venustulus and T. distinctus are regarded as valid species. The synonymy of C. pinicola with T. venustulus is invalidated and C. pinicola is placed in synonymy with T. distinctus.

New species for Virgilia Stål, 1870 (Hemiptera, Lophopidae), genus review and key to species.

Two new species of the lophopid genus Virgilia Stål 1866, are described and illustrated, V. cocovora Soulier-Perkins sp. nov. and V. imuganensis Soulier-Perkins sp. nov. A key to the species of the genus is provided. Photos for the four Virgilia species are presented and the male terminalia illustrations are given. A comment on the potential pest status of one of the described species, V. cocovora, is given.

New species and new records of Tingidae (Insecta: Heteroptera) from Vietnam.

In the frame of recent field collecting surveys, four species of Tingidae (Insecta: Heteroptera) new to Vietnam are recorded and three species new to science are described, namely Nectocader vietnamensis, Cetiothucha constanti, and Oncophysa hae. The diversity and richness of Vietnamese Tingidae is discussed, considering the locations visited versus the number of species discovered.

Redescription of the red-striped soft scale, Pulvinaria tenuivalvata (Newstead), with a new synonymy (Hemiptera, Coccomorpha, Coccidae).

The soft scale, Pulvinaria tenuivalvata (Newstead, 1911), is a major pest of sugarcane in Egypt. This paper provides a redescription and illustration of the adult female based on a microscopic study of the morphology of several adult female specimens and of the type series illustrated by De Lotto (1965) on citronella grass from Uganda. Two paratypes of Pulvinaria saccharia De Lotto, 1964 are also studied and the name is placed here as a junior synonym of Pulvinaria tenuivalvata.

A new lophopid genus as another piece in the biogeographical history puzzle of the family in the Sunda Shelf (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha: Lophopidae).

A new Lophopidae genus Binaluana gen. nov. and species B. emarginata sp. nov. from Palawan are described. Characters are given in order to distinguish this new genus from Bisma and Zeleja that share general figure with it. The morphological characters are coded for the genus and a new phylogenetic analysis using parsimony is performed. The Lophopidae remain monophyletic and Binaluana is placed as sister group of the genus Bisma. (Zeleja (Binaluana+Bisma)) is monophyletic and emerges at the base of the Zeleja+ group. The place of Binaluana within the Lophopidae is discussed along with its historical biogeographic origin.

Elevational gradient of Hemiptera (Heteroptera, Auchenorrhyncha) on a tropical mountain in Papua New Guinea.

Malaise trap sampling of Hemiptera (Heteroptera; Auchenorrhyncha) was conducted at 500 m intervals along an elevational gradient from 200 m to 3,700 m on the east slope of Mount Wilhelm, Madang Province, Papua New Guinea. Hemiptera had a decrease in morphospecies richness and overall abundance with increasing elevation, however, the Heteroptera did not exhibit either pattern. A few species were relatively abundant at each elevation, whereas the majority of species were represented by ≤5 specimens. Morphospecies richness of Auchenorrhyncha, Cicadomorpha, Fulgoromorpha, Cicadellidae, Cixiidae, and Derbidae also decreased with increasing elevation but abundance decline was not significant due to the large number of specimens captured at 200 m relative to those captured at higher elevations. The percentage of Cicadomorpha specimens decreased with increasing elevation relative to that of the Fulgoromorpha which increased with increasing elevation. Environmental factors that may influence patterns of species richness along the elevational gradient are discussed.

From micropterism to hyperpterism: recognition strategy and standardized homology-driven terminology of the forewing venation patterns in planthoppers (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha).

Following recent advances in the morphological interpretations of the tegmen basal cell margins in the Paraneoptera, a standardized and homology-driven groundplan terminology for tegmina types, structures and vein patterns in Hemiptera Fulgoromorpha, including fossils, is proposed. Each term is listed with a morphological definition, compared and linked to the main systems of planthopper forewing description that have been reviewed. The importance of a standardized and homology-driven terminology is stressed to enhance the quality of data in taxonomic descriptions and to strengthen phylogenetic morphological analysis results. When the interpretation of the origin of vein branches is render difficult, a three-step strategy for pattern recognition of the vein is proposed based on two principles: (1) vein forks are more informative than topology of the vein branches: a search for homologous areas, the nodal cells in particular, must first guide the recognition rather the number of branches of a vein, and (2) minimum of ad hoc evolutionary events should be invoked in the understanding of a modified vein pattern. Examples of some conflicting interpretations of venation patterns in planthoppers are discussed within different families for both extant and extinct taxa. For the first time, the concept of brachypterism is defined in a non-relative way independently from other structures, and the new one of hyperpterism is proposed; a reporting system is proposed for each of them.

A new genus of the tribe Caliscelini (Hemiptera, Fulgoroidea, Caliscelidae) from Vietnam.

A new genus Annamatissus Gnezdilov et Bourgoin gen. nov., including the new species, Annamatissus tami Gnezdilov et Soulier-Perkins sp. nov. is described in the family Caliscelidae from the Bi-Doup massif in Lam Dong Province of Vietnam. The new taxon represents only the second genus of the tribe Caliscelini known from Vietnam. An identification key to separate Gelastissus Kirkaldy from Annamatissus gen. nov. is provided together with a check list of the Caliscelidae of Vietnam and their distribution. New distribution data in Vietnam are given for Cicimora sicildia Emeljanov, 1998 and Gelastissus hokutonis (Matsumura, 1916).

Vietnamese Issidae (Hemiptera, Fulgoroidea): new taxa, new records and new distribution data.

An updated list of Issidae known from Vietnam is provided. Two new species, one from the genus Darwallia Gnezdilov, 2010, and another one from a new genus are described from the Hòn Bà massif in Central Vietnam. A key to species of the genus Darwallia is provided. Gelastyrella hainanensis Ran et Liang, 2006 is placed in synonymy under Thabena litaoensis Yang, 1994. This last taxon and the genus Gergithoides Schumacher, 1915 are recorded for the first time for Vietnamese fauna. New records in Vietnam are given for Tetrica philo Fennah, 1978 and Gergithus iguchii Matsumura, 1916. 

When the Lophopids cross the Lydekker line from New Guinea, a new species for the genus Maana (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha).

A new species of the genus Maana Soulier-Perkins, 1998 is described, M. keiensis Soulier-Perkins et Stroinski, sp. nov. The presence of this species on the Kei Islands is discussed from its historical biogeography point of view.