Xerophloeini, Oman, 1949

Jones, Joshua R. & Deitz, Lewis L., 2009, Phylogeny and systematics of the leafhopper subfamily Ledrinae (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) 2186, Zootaxa 2186 (1), pp. 1-120 : 60

Tribe Xerophloeini

Type genus Xerophloea Fabricius 1803

Primary Synonymy. None.

Description. Medium to large leafhoppers. Crown flattened and spatulate, anterior margin foliaceous; ocelli on crown, closer to each other than to eyes, texture coarsely rugose or deeply punctate; face convex; frontoclypeus expanded and convex, visible in lateral view, with numerous punctuations; antennal pits weakly defined or absent, inner margins sometimes a thin carina adjacent to frontoclypeus; antennal ledges absent or present, if present, then as a thin anterior carina projecting forward only slightly and merging with the marginal carina of the crown; pronotum broad and usually distinctly elevated, often with distinct ridges, texture coarsely rugose or deeply punctate; forewing venation simple with cells well defined, appendix absent or present, but if present, generally broad and reaching completely around apex of wing; proepisternum exposed, large, long and narrow, or small and tab-like; metathoracic femur apical macrosetal formula 2+1; metathoracic tibia rows I and II with large macrosetae. Male genitalia: pygofer with or without apical setal patch; aedeagus often with laterally compressed and more-or-less triangular dorsomedial lobe, long and slender apically, often curving dorsad. Female genitalia: valvulae II long and very slender, moderately sclerotized.

Range. Nearctic and Neotropical regions.

Ecology. Generally associated with grasses, although the first author has collected Proranus in mixed forbs on steep, tree-covered hillsides, above streams in south-central Guatemala. Lawson (1931) noted that members of Xerophloea are occasionally abundant in an area, and Oman (1949) suggested that during those times, Xerophloea might constitute a forage pest. Some species of Xerophloea may be vectors of plant disease ( Nielson 1962).

Remarks. Xerophloea Germar was placed in its own subfamily by Oman (1943), and Evans (1947) was the first to include it in Ledrinae . Later (1949), Oman elevated it to tribal level within Ledrinae . Szwedo (2002) considered this tribe to include a number of genera, namely Proranus , Xerophloea , Pariacaca , Hespenedra , Xedreota , and possibly Clinonana , but he gave no characters uniting the group. In this analysis, Hespenedra and Clinonana are shown to not belong within Xerophloeini , while Proranus , Xerophloea , and Xedreota do. Pariacaca , though not examined, appears from Szwedo’s drawings and description to also belong in Xerophloeini . Piezauchenia Spinola 1850 , included in Xerophloeini by Linnavuori (1959), was not available for examination, and its placement is here considered incertae sedis within Cicadellidae . The extinct genus Paracarsonus , treated above in "Biogeographic considerations and fossil evidence" under Results and Discussion section, is also herein recognized to belong to Xerophloeini .

Though distinct in many ways, Xerophloeini share many features with other Ledrinae and especially some herein newly recognized members of Afrorubrini . Xedreota and “Genus 4” have distinct similarities (see discussion for Xedreota ), as do Xerophloea and one undescribed afrorubrine genus (“Genus 3” in phylogenetic analysis). In general, Afrorubrini and Xerophloeini share valvulae II being long and slender and intermediately sclerotized, with two dorsal teeth and other supernumerary teeth. Proranus , Xedreota , Xerophloea , Genus 2, Genus 3, and Genus 4 all share punctuations on the frontoclypeus, and the frontoclypeus being expanded and convex with the anterior foliaceous portion of the crown short.

The following genera are herein included in Xerophloeini : Paracarsonus , Pariacaca , Proranus , Xedreota , and Xerophloea . The extinct genus Paracarsonus is not treated here.