Tettigadinae Distant, 1905

Moulds, MS, 2005, An Appraisal of the Higher Classification of Cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea) with Special Reference to the Australian Fauna, Records of the Australian Museum 57 (3), pp. 375-446 : 428

Subfamily Tettigadinae Distant, 1905

Tibicinae Buckton, 1889: 270 n.syn.

Tibicininae sensu Distant, 1905b: 304 (partim).

Tettigadinae Distant, 1905d: 479 .

Tibicinidae sensu Metcalf, 1939: 247 (partim).

Platypediinae Kato, 1932 n.syn.

If one follows the principle of priority (Code, Article 23) then the name Tibicininae should take priority as it is the oldest available family-group name associated with the genera included in this new subfamily concept 1. However, the name Tibicininae previously represented a major family group of quite different concept as discussed at length throughout much of this paper. To now change its meaning would not only cause confusion in this regard but more importantly perpetuate a multitude of digressions and confusion previously associated with it and which are well documented by Boulard (1988a, 1998, 2001). I therefore take this opportunity to abandon the use of the name Tibicininae and its family-group derivatives and adopt the next available family-group name, Tettigadinae , a name which not only lacks a history of confusion but also retains its meaning to a large extent in this new concept. Official use of Tettigadinae requires suppression of the name Tibicininae and its derivatives by the International Commission of Zoology Nomenclature (Code, Article 19); a case for suppression is in preparation.

Type genus. Tettigades Amyot & Serville (type species: T. chilensis Amyot & Serville ).

Included tribes. Platypediini Kato, Tettigadini Distant, Tibicinini Distant.

Diagnosis. Metanotum entirely concealed at dorsal midline (except in Platypedia and Tibicina ). Fore wing veins CuP and 1A unfused. Hind wing 1st cubital cell width at distal end about equal to 2nd cubital cell; veins RP and M unfused at their bases. Rim of abdominal timbal cavity with a turnedback rim. Pygofer with distal shoulder undeveloped; pygofer upper lobe absent. Uncus exceedingly long and nonretractable within pygofer. Claspers absent. Aedeagus with ventrobasal pocket present; aedeagal restrained by tubular encapsulation below uncus. Apical part of theca with a pair of leaf-like lateral lobes.

Distinguishing characters. Fore wing veins CuP and 1A not fused. Hind wing veins RP and M unfused at base. Uncus exceedingly long and non-retractable within pygofer. Aedeagus with ventrobasal pocket present. Aedeagus with apical part of theca bearing a pair of leaf-like lateral lobes and a non-retractable tubular vesica. The male opercula have a distinctive S-shape, their lateral margins deeply concave, distal margins not reaching distal margins of tympanal cavities, basally not extending beyond meracantha.

Discussion. This is an entirely new subfamily concept expanded to incorporate the former Tettigadinae , Platypediinae and the tribe Tibicinini . Previously identified attributes for the Tettigadinae in its former concept ( Distant, 1905d; Jacobi, 1907b; Chen, 1943; Boulard, 1976a, 1986b; Hayashi, 1984; Duffels, 1993; Chou et al., 1997) are now applicable at tribal rank for the Tettigadini.