Bothriocera Burmeister, 1835

Bahder, Brian W., Myrie, Wayne, Helmick, Ericka E. & Bartlett, Charles R., 2023, A new species of planthopper in the genus Bothriocera (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cixiidae) from coconut palm (Cocos nucifera) in Jamaica, Zootaxa 5375 (1), pp. 111-127 : 114-115

Genus Bothriocera Burmeister, 1835

Type species: Bothriocera tinealis Burmeister, 1835 .

Diagnosis. (modified from Kramer 1983) Small to medium-sized (3.9–5.8 mm); head in dorsal view narrower than pronotum, broad and subrectangular, strongly produced beyond anterior margin of eyes, its anterior margin concave and as broad or broader than its interocular width at base, lateral and posterior margins of vertex carinate, subapical transverse carina between anterior margins of eyes medially joining median carina extending anteriorly onto frons (median carina of vertex absent posterior to subapical transverse carina), posterior margin of vertex nearly transverse between eyes. In lateral view, head declinate to level of antennae, antennae arising from a deep elongated depression in front of eye formed by lateral carinae of the frons defining a foliate, inverted C-shaped concavity, ocellus prominent above antennae in front of anterodorsal margin of eye. Head from frontal view with sides of frons and clypeus carinate, dorsolateral portions of frons expanded and auriculate and level of antennae, longitudinal midline of frons carinate only on upper half, frontal ocellus prominent (ventral margin of frons may bear a variably expressed broadly U-shaped ridge above frontoclypeal suture). Frontoclypeal suture approximately transverse. Longitudinal midline of clypeus incompletely carinate. Pronotum extremely narrowed medially (may be entirely concealed medially by hind margin of head). Mesonotum elongated, tricarinate. Hind tibiae without spines before apex. Forewings broadly spatulate, held broadly tectiform only slightly (or not) overlapping on inner margin (versus more broadly overlapped in Bothrioceretta ), usually boldly patterned, veins without prominent setae-bearing pustules. Male pygofer bearing short medioventral lobe (approximately as tall as wide, not elongated as in Bothrioceretta ). Phallus bearing varied but few processes or projections from shaft, endosoma (flagellum of Kramer 1983) elongate, sinistrally curving into a partial helix, bearing varied processes.

Remarks. The position of the antennae (in front of the eye in a distinct cup-like concavity) readily separates Bothriocerini from all other New World cixiids. The only extant genera of Bothriocerini are Bothriocera and Bothrioceretta . Bothrioceretta is putatively distinguished from Bothriocera by the presence of a ‘prominent transverse carina’ at midlength of the vertex (in addition to the subapical transverse carina), head not as forward-produced as in Bothriocera , and by wing orientation (forewings distinctly overlapping apically in Bothrioceretta and slightly (or not) overlapping in Bothriocera ), and the male terminalia (the medioventral process of the pygofer elongate in Bothrioceretta and short in Bothriocera , and the aedeagus with flagellum bearing processes in Bothriocera that are lacking in Bothrioceretta ). It also appears that Bothrioceretta includes species that tend to be dark in color (both wings and body).