Family CERCOPIDAE Westwood, 1838

Museums

Regional Maps

• Cercopidae Westwood, J.O. 1838. Synopsis of the genera of British insects. (1838–1840). pp. 1-48 in Westwood, J.O. (ed.). An Introduction to the Modern Classification of Insects. London : Longman 158 pp. [pp. 1-48 (1838), 49-80 (1839), 81-158 (1840)] [39].

Introduction

The froghoppers are not well represented in Australia, although some species are distinctive in both size and colour. The most common and widespread species is Petyllis deprivata, a medium sized brown species covered with golden hairs, while the orange and black Euryaulax carnifex is common in Northern Australia. Evans (1966) treated the group as a family but Hamilton (2001) regards the froghoppers as a subfamily of the Cercopidae sensu lato which also includes the spittlebugs as subfamily Aphrophorinae.

Diagnosis

In the head, the postclypeus is usually swollen, sometimes very considerably, and the crown, which is usually longer in the centre than against the eyes, is anteriorly rounded. The pronotum usually widens posteriorly and is sometimes very large. The tegmina may be entirely, or in part, rugose and/or pubescent, and are usually apically rounded. The eyes are approximately as long as wide and the hind margin of the pronotum is straight or slighly curved.

ID Keys

http://www1.dpi.nsw.gov.au/keys/cercopid/cercopid/cerc00.htm

Diagnosis References

Evans, J.W. 1966. The leafhoppers and froghoppers of Australia and New Zealand. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 12: 1-347 [310]

General References

Evans, J.W. 1966. The leafhoppers and froghoppers of Australia and New Zealand. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 12: 1-347 [310]

Hamilton, K.G.A. 2001. A new family of froghoppers from the American tropics (Hemiptera: Cercopoidea: Epipygidae). Biodiversity 2(3): 15-22 [18]

History of changes