Scaphoideus

Viraktamath, C. A. & Mohan, G. S., 2004, A revision of the deltocephaline leafhopper genus Scaphoideus (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) from the Indian subcontinent, Zootaxa 578, pp. 1-48 : 3-4

Genus Scaphoideus

Scaphoideus Uhler, 1889: 33 . Type species: Jassus immistus Say , by subsequent designation of Distant, 1908a: 151.

Hussa Distant, 1908b: 68 . Type species: Hussa insignis Distant , by original designation. Synonymised by Barnett, 1977: 494.

Bolanus Distant, 1918: 18 . Type species: Bolanus baeticus Distant , by original designation. Synonymised by Evans, 1947: 243.

Head, pronotum, and scutellum ochraceous to brown with a median longitudinal yellowish or whitish stripe extending to folded front wings, coloration often similar to that in Indian species of Scaphotettix or with dark brown spots or bands on vertex pronotum and scutellum. Head including eyes either as wide as or narrower than pronotum. Head bluntly pointed in front, vertex either longer than or rarely shorter than width between eyes. Face longer than wide; ratio between width of frontoclypeus (between the bases of antennae) to the perpendicular length from base of antennae to apex of frontoclypeus is 1:1.32 – 1:1.68. Pronotum 0.46 times as long as width, shorter than scutellum. Front wing long, with moderately developed appendix; two to three reflexed cross veins between outer anteapical cell and costal margin; outer anteapical cell 0.5–0.75 times as long as median anteapical cell, usually lying obliquely with respect to costal margin and usually acuminate distally; claval veins separate, rarely approximated in the middle, joining commissural margin at nearly right angles. Front femora rarely with short stout marginal setae but only with 10–15 hairlike setae on meso­apical area; middle femora with short stout setae of uniform length (except in S. sabourensis Rao and Ramakrishnan ).

Pygophore longer than high, with or without a ventral process, usually with long setae arranged in one or more tufts. Valve triangular. Subgenital plate triangular, either entire or bilobed, from about 0.5–1.0 times length of pygophore, distal 0.66 usually narrowed, with hairlike and spinelike setae. Style variously shaped, its apophysis either short or long, with serrated ventral margin, apex usually sharply pointed. Connective anteriorly Y­shaped, fused with or attached to variously shaped paraphyses, rarely crossing over each other at theirdistal tip. Aedeagal shaft slender, elongate or short and stout, often compressed with a pair of apical or subapical toothlike, elongate or lamellate processes, dorsal apodeme well­developed, dorsal connective often well sclerotized with or without fingerlike processes. Female pygophore long, narrowed to apex with tufts of long setae, ovipositor extending beyond pygophore.

Remarks: Scaphoideus belongs to a group of genera comprising Scaphodhara Viraktamath & Mohan , Scaphotettix and Coroticus Distant. Differences between the first two genera and Scaphoideus are given by Viraktamath & Mohan (1994a and 1994b, respectively). The identity of Coroticus , known only from the female type, is uncertain.