Genus Batracomorphus Lewis, 1836

Museums

Regional Maps

• Batracomorphus Lewis, R.H. 1836. Descriptions of some new genera of British Homoptera. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 1: 47-52 [51].

  Type species:

   Batracomorphus irroratus Lewis, 1834 by monotypy.
• Eurinoscopus Kirkaldy, G.W. 1906. Leafhoppers and their natural enemies. Bulletin of the Hawaiian Sugar Planters' Association Experimental Station Entomological Series 1(9): 271-479 [346].

  Type species:

   Eurinoscopus lentiginosus Kirkaldy, 1906 by original designation.
• Ossana Distant, W.L. 1914. Homoptera (Membracidae and Jassidae) collected in the Lagos district by W.A. Lamborn. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 1913: 515-520 [518].

  Type species:

   Ossana bicolor Distant, 1914 by original designation.
• Acojassus Evans, J.W. 1972. Some leafhoppers from New Guinea, Australia and Thailand belonging to the subfamily Jassinae and a new genus from New Guinea referred to a new subfamily, the Acostemminae (Homoptera: Cicadellidae). Pacific Insects 14(4): 647-662 [656].

  Type species:

   Acojassus montanus Evans, 1972 by original designation.
• Edijassus Evans, J.W. 1972. Some leafhoppers from New Guinea, Australia and Thailand belonging to the subfamily Jassinae and a new genus from New Guinea referred to a new subfamily, the Acostemminae (Homoptera: Cicadellidae). Pacific Insects 14(4): 647-662 [656].

  Type species:

   Edijassus pallidus Evans, 1972 by original designation.
• Batrachomorphus Linnavuori, R.E. 1960. Homoptera : Cicadellidae. Insects of Micronesia 6(5): 225-344 [238] [subsequent misspelling].

 

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Linnavuori, R.E. 1960. Homoptera : Cicadellidae. Insects of Micronesia 6(5): 225-344 [238] (synonymy of Eurinoscopus Kirkaldy)
• Linnavuori, R. & Quartau, J.A. 1975. Revision of the Ethiopian Cicadellidae (Hemiptera-Homoptera): Iassinae and Acroponinae. Etudes du Continent Africain 3: 1-170 [30] (synonymy of Ossana Distant)
• Knight, W.J. 1983. The leafhopper genus Batracomorphus (Cicadellidae) in the eastern Oriental and Australian Regions. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology 47(2): 27-210 [31] (synonymy of Acojassus Evans, Edijassus Evans)

 

Introduction

Batracomorphus is one of the most species-rich genera in Australian Cicadellidae with 30 species, although 8 of these are regarded as nomina dubia because they are either based on female types or the type is missing. The Australian species are generally medium-sized leafhoppers of stout build and with the crown very short and usually forming a continuous curve with the face. The colour ranges from green to pale brown, with some species having dark brown spots scattered over the body and wings. Some species are very common locally and the widespread green jassid, B. angustatus (formerly known as Eurinoscopus punctatus), is a known vector of the phytoplasma diseases tomato big bud and potato purple top wilt (Grylls 1979). The genus was revised in the eastern Oriental and Australian regions by Knight (1983) who demonstrated that identification was dependent on examination of the male genitalia and identification of females is almost impossible since many species have overlapping distributions.

 

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

PNG: New Britain.

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Tas, Vic, WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Coolgardie (COO), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Central Ranges (CR), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Darwin Coastal (DAC), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU), Gulf Plains (GUP), Jarrah Forest (JF), Mallee (MAL), Nandewar (NAN), New England Tablelands (NET), Northern Kimberley (NK), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Pilbara (PIL), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Tanami (TAN), Tiwi Cobourg (TIW), Tasmanian South East (TSE), Tasmanian Southern Ranges (TSR), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Wet Tropics (WT)

Other Regions

Christmas Island terrestrial & freshwater, Norfolk Island terrestrial & freshwater

Diagnosis

The two iassine genera occuring in Australia can be differentiated from each by the presence of rows of short spines on the subgenital plates of male specimens of Thalattoscopus while these same structures in Batracomorphus have long hair-setae and not spines (Knight 1983). The species of Thalattoscopus are also larger in overall size than most species of Batracomorphus. These are the only two genera of Iassini known from the Pacific region.

Knight (1983) provides a comprehensive description of the genus.

 

Diagnosis References

Knight, W.J. 1983. The leafhopper genus Batracomorphus (Cicadellidae) in the eastern Oriental and Australian Regions. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology 47(2): 27-210 [31]

 

General References

Grylls, N.E. 1979. Leafhopper Vectors and the Plant Disease Agents they Transmit in Australia. pp. 179–214 in Maramorosch, K. & Harris, K.F. Leafhopper Vectors and Plant Disease Agents. New York, San Francisco, London : Academic Press. [182]

Knight, W.J. 1983. The leafhopper genus Batracomorphus (Cicadellidae) in the eastern Oriental and Australian Regions. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology 47(2): 27-210

 

History of changes

Published	As part of group	Action Date	Action Type	Compiler(s)
05-Dec-2019		02-Dec-2011	MODIFIED
		12-Feb-2010	(import)