Confucius Distant, 1907

Jones, Joshua R. & Deitz, Lewis L., 2009, Phylogeny and systematics of the leafhopper subfamily Ledrinae (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae) 2186, Zootaxa 2186 (1), pp. 1-120 : 36-37

Genus Confucius Distant

(Pl. 1C–D, 18E)

Confucius Distant, 1907: 191 .

Type species. C. granulatus Distant 1907: 191 , by original designation.

Synonymy. None.

Description. Linnavuori (1972): “Narrow medium-sized leafhoppers. Colouring brownish, sometimes with a greenish tinge. Body parallel-sided, convex. Upper surface densely punctate and +/– granulose. Head strongly produced, in ♂ much shorter than in ♀, spatulate, anterior margin broadly foliaceous. Face concave, lower part short, nearly semicircular in outline; anteclypeus parallel-sided; frontoclypeus narrow and flat, parallelsided in lower part, sharply triangularly tapering upwardly in front of antennal pits; lora elongate, genae flattish, antennal pits shallow. Crown convex, strongly sloping laterad, slightly upcurved apically, with a faint median carina, ocelli closer to each other than the eyes. Pronotum with lateral margins long, subacute, insinuated, diverging caudad, anterior margin curved, hind margin distinctly insinuated medially, humeral angles blunt, disk in basal part convex, sloping apicad. Elytra narrow, coriaceous, densely punctate, apical and subapical area with extra cross veins. Fore and middle tibiae moderately flattened, apical margin of hind femora with 3 spines, hind tibiae with one longitudinal row of distinct spines, those of the second row delicate, apex with two transverse rows of distinct spines, also apex of 1 st joint of hind tarsi with a transverse spine row. Male genitalia as in Petalocephala . Side lobes of pygophore with falcate appendages. Stylus elongate, apophysis only slightly hooked apically. Penis flattened, provided with longitudinal lamellae and sometimes with apical processes, gonopore on the ventral surface. Hind margin of 7 th sternite (♀) medially insinuated.”

Species. [9]: bituberculatus Distant ; cameroni Distant ; dispar Nast ; granulatus Distant ; maculatus Cai ; nigristigmatus Kuoh and Cai; ocellatus Distant ; poleman Linnavuori; zombanus (Distant) .

Range. Central African Republic [Republic of Central Africa]; China (Hainan Island; Hong Kong Island); Democratic Republic of the Congo [ Zaire]; “East Africa”; Guinea (Nimba); India (Sikkim); Liberia (Suokoko); Malawi; South Africa; Sri Lanka; Tanzania; Uganda (Kampala); Zimbabwe [ Rhodesia].

Host plants. Unknown.

Material examined. C. cameroni : 1 male, Uganda, AMNH, Led1_040; C. dispar : 1 female, India, BMNH, JRJ _Led1_041; C. zombanus : 1 male, Guinea, AMNH, JRJ _Led1_042 , 1 male, Liberia, USNM, JRJ _Led1_043 .

Remarks. Confucius is very similar to Ledropsis , but differs in not having very flattened tibia (the tibia are quadrate) and the metathoracic tarsomere I not being long and setose (as explained by Linnavuori 1972: 207) as in more derived ledrines. Its placement in the analysis basal to the Ledropsis -like species (Indomalayan) and the Jukaruka (Australian) genus group indicates that Confucius represents an ancestral lineage from which the latter two clades are derived. The genus as presently constituted appears to be paraphyletic.

Many of the described species of Confucius are found in Africa, and Africa may be the point of origin for the genus.