Haphsa Distant, 1905

Lee, Young June, 2008, A checklist of Cicadidae (Insecta: Hemiptera) from Vietnam, with some taxonomic remarks, Zootaxa 1787, pp. 1-27 : 14-15

Genus Haphsa Distant, 1905

Haphsa Distant, 1905 a: 64 . Type species: Dundubia nicomache Walker, 1850 (North India). Aola Distant, 1905 a: 69 . Type species: Pomponia bindusara Distant, 1881 . syn. nov.

Remarks. The genus Aola Distant, 1905 was established based mainly on the following characteristics distinguishable from allied genera: postclypeus prominent anterad; abdomen short, about as long as distance from head to cruciform elevation; opercula short, not or scarcely extending beyond sternite II and not covering lateral margins of timbal covers. However, only the last characteristic (operculum shape) is effective for distinguishing this genus from the closely allied genera, Haphsa and Meimuna .

So far only Aola bindusara (Distant, 1881) , as the type species, has been placed in this genus. However, the peculiar shape of the operculum of Aola bindusara is thought to be an infrageneric, not intergeneric, variation. Beuk (2002) argued that Aola bindusara should form a monophyletic group together with Haphsa nicomache (Walker, 1850) , the type species of Haphsa , together with some other species currently placed in Haphsa and Meimuna . Therefore, Aola is synonymized here with Haphsa , placing bindusara in Haphsa .

Pomponia scitula Distant, 1888 , once a member of Aola but placed in Pomponia again by China (1925), is also placed here in Haphsa because the above-mentioned main characteristics of Aola are present in this species although the shape of the operculum is peculiar. Again, this is interpreted as an infrageneric variation of Haphsa .

65. Haphsa scitula (Distant, 1888) comb. nov.

Pomponia scitula Distant, 1888 c: 456 [TL: Burma; Tenasserim]; Jacobi, 1905: 431; Boulard, 2003 c: 179; Sanborn et al., 2007: 29.

Aola scitula: Distant, 1917 a: 101 ; Metcalf, 1963 a: 519.

Distribution. China (Xinjiang, Yunnan and Guangxi), N. Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and India.

66. Haphsa bindusara (Distant, 1881) comb. nov.

Pomponia bindusara Distant, 1881: 642 [TL: Tenasserim].

Aola bindusara: Distant, 1917 a: 101 ; Metcalf, 1963 a: 519; Sanborn et al., 2007: 32. Distribution. China (Yunnan), Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar and India.

67. Haphsa crassa Distant, 1905

Haphsa crassa Distant, 1905 a: 64 [TL: Yun-nan]; Distant, 1917 b: 319; Metcalf, 1963 a: 573.

Distribution. China (Yunnan) and Vietnam.

Remarks. Beuk (2002) argued that this species should be congeneric with Meimuna mongolica (Distant) and its relatives ( Meimuna mongolica group), which he also argued should receive a new generic name. Until the new genus is described, this species remains in Haphsa .