Genus Aka White, 1879

Museums

Regional Maps

• Aka White, F.B.W. 1879. List of the Hemiptera of New Zealand. Entomologist's Monthly Magazine 15: 213-216 [216].

  Type species:

   Cixius finitimus White, 1879 by original designation.

Introduction

Aka is a genus distributed between New Zealand and Tasmania with a single species found in the high country of the SE Australian mainland. The New Zealand fauna of five endemic species were catalogued by (Larivière et al. 2010) and the Australian fauna were revised by Löcker (2015) who recognised nine endemic species, eight of which are endemic to Tasmania. Larivière (1999) noted that the distribution of Aka follows very closely the distribution of species of Nothofagus Blume (Fagaceae) on mainland New Zealand. Two of the species in Tasmania also appear to be associated with this genus while two others have been collected from sassafras, Doryphora sassafras Endl. (Atherospermataceae).

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, Tasmania, Victoria

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

ACT, Tas, Vic: Flinders (FLI), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), Tasmanian South East (TSE), Tasmanian Southern Ranges (TSR), Tasmanian West (TWE) ; Tas: Ben Lomond (BEL)

Diagnosis

Brownish species, often with rather heavy blotches of dark brown approaching black on head, thorax and forewings; characterised by long legs and forewings which are short and curved to fit the body (Larivière 1999).

The three genera Aka White, Chathamaka Larivière and Yanganaka Löcker share a very small to almost inconspicuous pterostigma, a forked frontal carina and a curved apical and subapical carina of the vertex connected by two ridges. Aka can be distinguished from Chathamaka and Yanganaka by the shape of the lateral carinae of the pronotum. In Aka these carinae are s-shaped. The first bend of the “s” is rounded but with its sides forming a rectangular angle, therefore not following the contour of the eye. The second bend forms an obtuse angle (arched) and gently turns towards the mesonotum. In Chathamaka the first bend is more evenly rounded, following the contour of the eye. Then the carina turns abruptly (angularly) towards the mesonotum. In Yanganaka the lateral carinae are c-shaped, with their lateral parts (ends) directed towards the head. The following combination of characters uniquely identifies Aka within other Australian Cixiidae: frons with forked median carina; vertex in midline about as long as pronotum (Löcker 2015).

ID Keys

Löcker 2015: 200

Diagnosis References

Larivière, M.-C. 1999. Cixiidae (Insecta: Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha). Fauna of New Zealand 40: 1-93 [18]

Löcker, B. 2015. Revision of the Australian species of Aka White, 1879 (Fulgoromorpha: Cixiidae) with the description of a new genus. Zootaxa 3956(2): 199–223 [200–203]

General References

Larivière, M.-C. 1999. Cixiidae (Insecta: Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha). Fauna of New Zealand 40: 1-93 [18]

Larivière, M.-C., Fletcher, M.J. & Larochelle, A. 2010. Auchenorrhyncha (Insecta: Hemiptera): catalogue. Fauna of New Zealand 63: 1-228 [85]

Löcker, B. 2015. Revision of the Australian species of Aka White, 1879 (Fulgoromorpha: Cixiidae) with the description of a new genus. Zootaxa 3956(2): 199–223 [200]

History of changes