Subfamily Centrotinae Amyot & Serville, 1843

Museums

Regional Maps

• Centrotides Amyot, C.J.B. & Audinet-Serville, J.G. 1843. Histoire Naturelle des Insects. Hémiptères. Paris : Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret, Rue Hautefeuille 10 B13 676 pp. [549].

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Wallace, M.S. & Deitz, L.L. 2004. Phylogeny and Systematics of the Treehopper Subfamily Centrotinae (Hemiptera: Membracidae). Memoirs on Entomology, International 19: 1-377 [17] (Provides a list of synonyms and their taxonomic history)

Introduction

All the Membracidae naturally found in Australia belong to the single tribe Terentiini of the Centrotinae. The subfamily is large and diverse and found in all bioregions of the world although New Zealand has a single species introduced from Australia and there are no records from Madagascar.

Excluded Taxa

Misidentifications

Membracidae: Centrotypus nigris Funkhouser, 1927 [as with Leptocentrus gracilis Funkhouser, this species was based on a holotype sent to Funkhouser by Mr F.W. Shephard who lived at Broken Hill, New South Wales. Evans (1966) suggested that these specimens were not Australian in origin but had been acquired by Shephard from elsewhere. The species was excluded from the Australian fauna by Day (1999). Tricentrus pinguidorsis Funkhouser (1927: 308) was synonymised with this species by Evans (1966)] — Funkhouser, W.D. 1927. New Australian Membracidae (Homoptera). Records of the Australian Museum 15(5): 305-312 [306]; Evans, J.W. 1966. The leafhoppers and froghoppers of Australia and New Zealand. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 12: 1-347 [308]; Day, M.F. 1999. The genera of Australian Membracidae (Hemiptera : Auchenorrhyncha). Invertebrate Taxonomy 13: 629-747 [630]

Membracidae: Gargara australensis Funkhouser, 1936 [this was the only representative of the tribe Gargarini recorded from Australia. The only "Australian" specimen of this species ever collected is the holotype said to be from Brocks Creek, Northern Territory. Day (1999) presumed it was a vagrant but it may simply have been mislabelled. The genus is otherwise widespread in Indonesia and the Australian record is here regarded as dubious. Day (1999) stated that specimens identified as Gargara Amyot & Serville in collections are actually species of Strzeleckia Day] — Funkhouser, W.D. 1936. New Membracidae in the Handschin collection. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 4-3(1): 189-198 [189]; Day, M.F. 1999. The genera of Australian Membracidae (Hemiptera : Auchenorrhyncha). Invertebrate Taxonomy 13: 629-747 [630]

Membracidae: Leptocentrus gracilis Funkhouser, 1927 [as with Centrotypus nigris Funkhouser, this species was based on a holotype sent to Funkhouser by Mr F.W. Shephard who lived at Broken Hill, New South Wales. Evans (1966) suggested that these specimens were not Australian in origin but had been acquired by Shephard from elsewhere. The species was excluded from the Australian fauna by Day (1999)] — Funkhouser, W.D. 1927. New Australian Membracidae (Homoptera). Records of the Australian Museum 15(5): 305-312 [307]; Evans, J.W. 1966. The leafhoppers and froghoppers of Australia and New Zealand. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 12: 1-347 [308]; Day, M.F. 1999. The genera of Australian Membracidae (Hemiptera : Auchenorrhyncha). Invertebrate Taxonomy 13: 629-747 [630]

Membracidae: Stalobelus serpentarius Buckton, 1905 [in describing this species from Cameroon, Africa, Buckton (1905) included Tasmania as a locality. Day (1999) excluded it from the Australian fauna] — Buckton, G.B. 1905. Observations on some undescribed or little-known species of Hemiptera-Homoptera of the family Membracidae. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology (2)9: 329-338 [335]; Day, M.F. 1999. The genera of Australian Membracidae (Hemiptera : Auchenorrhyncha). Invertebrate Taxonomy 13: 629-747 [630]

MEMBRACIDAE: Xiphistes australasiae Distant, 1916 [the origin of the holotype of this species was presumed by Distant (1916) to be Queensland because it had come from the Goddefroy collection. The specimen is labelled "Sud-Austral". Evans (1966) raised doubt about the Australian origin since the genus is otherwise restricted to Africa and the species was excluded from the Australian fauna by Day (1999)] — Distant, W.L. 1916. Rhynchotal Notes. lx. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 8(18): 19-44 [21–22]; Evans, J.W. 1966. The leafhoppers and froghoppers of Australia and New Zealand. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 12: 1-347 [309]; Day, M.F. 1999. The genera of Australian Membracidae (Hemiptera : Auchenorrhyncha). Invertebrate Taxonomy 13: 629-747 [630]

Diagnosis

Ce groupe se distingue notablement du suivant par la réticulation des éiytres, à cellules longitudinales et parallèles. Il ne contient que deux genres d'une physionomie très -différente l'un de l'autre (Amyot & Serville 1843).

Pronotum produced posteriorly. Scutellum not concealed by posterior process (except some genera including the Australian Neosextius Day and some species of Sextius Stål). Forewing clavus truncate; apical limbus broad in most genera; posterior pronotal process rarely overlapping forewing. Abdomen with inornate pits, each with associated lateral seta (Wallace & Deitz 2004).

ID Keys

Fletcher, M.J. and Day M. F. (2005) Illustrated Key to the Genera of the Family Membracidae found in Australia (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Membracidae) http://www1.dpi.nsw.gov.au/keys/leafhop/membracid/membrac00.htm [accessed: 2.iv.2012]

Diagnosis References

Wallace, M.S. & Deitz, L.L. 2004. Phylogeny and Systematics of the Treehopper Subfamily Centrotinae (Hemiptera: Membracidae). Memoirs on Entomology, International 19: 1-377 [17]

History of changes