Species Euacanthella palustris Evans, 1938

<I>Euacanthella palustris </I>Evans, macropterous male.

Euacanthella palustris Evans, macropterous male.

<I>Euacanthella palustris </I>Evans, macropterous female.

Euacanthella palustris Evans, macropterous female.

<I>Euacanthella palustris </I>Evans, brachypterous female.

Euacanthella palustris Evans, brachypterous female.

Museums

Museum list

Regional Maps

Species Euacanthella palustris Evans, 1938

Compiler and date details

1 August 2010 - Murray J. Fletcher

Euacanthella palustris Evans, J.W. 1938. Australian Leafhoppers (Homoptera: Jassoidea): Part VIII. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 1938: 1-18 [8].
Type data:
Holotype AM ♀ (coll.: J.W. Evans), Snug, Tasmania.
Euacanthella insularis Evans, J.W. 1938. Australian Leafhoppers (Homoptera: Jassoidea): Part VIII. Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania 1938: 1-18 [9].
Type data:
Holotype AM ♂, Hobart, Tasmania.
Euacanthella brunnea Evans, J.W. 1966. The leafhoppers and froghoppers of Australia and New Zealand. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 12: 1-347 [143].
Type data:
Holotype AMNZ ♀ (coll.: 20.iii.1956, K.D. Hill), Portland Rd, Auckland, New Zealand.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

Evans, J.W. 1966. The leafhoppers and froghoppers of Australia and New Zealand. Memoirs of the Australian Museum 12: 1-347 [143] (synonymy of E. insularis)
Evans, J.W. 1974. New Caledonian leafhoppers and the systematic position of Kosmiopelix Kirkaldy and Euacanthella Evans (Homoptera: Cicadellidae). Pacific Insects 16(2-3): 165-175 [173] (synonymy of E. brunnea)

Introduction

This species occurs in both a macropterous and brachypterous form. The head of the brachypterous form is much longer than that of the macropterous form. The images provided show both forms. Evans (1938) described three species, E. palustris, E. bicolor and E. insularis. In 1966, Evans synonymised all three names under E. palustris and added another species, E. brunnea from NZ. Later (Evans 1974) he reinstated E. bicolor and synonymised E. brunnea with E. palustris. At the same time, Knight (1974) also synonymised E. brunnea, but under the name E. insularis. As Evans (1966) can be regarded as the first reviser, and was certainly the first to propose the synonymy between E. palustris and E. insularis, his use of the name E. palustris gives this name seniority over E. insularis. This is the only euacanthelline shared between Australia and New Zealand. Evans (1974) suggested that it might be an introduction to New Zealand from eastern Australia. Larivière et al. (2010) also regarded the species as being an introduction to New Zealand.

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Tasmania

IBRA and IMCRA regions (map not available)

IBRA

NSW, Tas: Australian Alps (AA), Sydney Basin (SB), Tasmanian Central Highlands (TCH), Tasmanian South East (TSE)

Ecological Descriptors

All stages: phloem feeder.

Diagnosis

Head ventrally black, mottled sparsely with pale brown; eyes pale brown. Crown produced anteriorly, dark brown mottled with yellowish brown. Anterior third of crown divided from the posterior two thirds by a transverse ridge. Pronotum concolorous with the crown. Scutellum dark brown with two more or less oval yellow markings. Tegmen reaching as far as the first abdominal segment; wings not developed. Thorax and abdomen and legs very dark brown, mottled with pale brown. Length 8 mm. (Evans 1938).

Face of head pale yellow with an irregular pale brown pattern, or black, or brown, mottled with yellowish. Crown of head and pronotum concolorous with the face. Tegmen, when fully developed, pale hyaline brown or dark brown. Thorax, abdomen and legs, in brachypterous forms, dark brown mottled with pale brown, or pale yellow and pale brown; in winged forms, ventrally whitish mottled with grey. Length, alate ♂ 4.5 mm, brachypterous ♂ 8 mm; alate ♀ 8.2–8 mm (Evans 1966).