Subfamily Evacanthinae Metcalf, 1939

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Subfamily Evacanthinae Metcalf, 1939

Compiler and date details

16 September 2011 - Murray J. Fletcher

Evacanthinae Metcalf, Z.P. 1939. Hints on bibliographies. Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History 1: 241-248 [247] [emendation].
Type genus:
Evacanthus Le Peletier & Serville, 1825.
Euacanthinae Crumb, S.E. 1911. The Jassoidea of Kansas. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 23/24: 232–238 [234].
Type genus:
Euacanthus Burmeister, 1835.
Nirvaniidae Baker, C.F. 1923. The Jassoidea related to the Stenocotidae with special reference to Malayan species. Philippine Journal of Science 23: 345-405 [353].
Type genus:
Nirvana Kirkaldy, 1900.
Pythamiinae Baker, C.F. 1915. Studies in Philppine Jassoidea: III. The Stenocotidae of the Phlippines. Philippine Journal of Science 10(D): 189–200 [193].
Type genus:
Pythamus Melichar, 1903.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

Metcalf, Z.P. 1939. Hints on bibliographies. Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History 1: 241-248 [247]
Dietrich, C.H. 2004. Phylogeny of the leafhopper subfamily Evacanthinae with a review of Neotropical species and notes on related groups (Hemiptera: Membracoidea: Cicadellidae). Systematic Entomology 29: 455–487 [458] (synonymy of Nirvaniidae)

Introduction

The origin of the name of this subfamily is somewhat obscure. It was originally Euacanthinae, based on the genus Euacanthus Burmeister and first credited, by Metcalf (1963), to Crumb (1911) who simply listed it with two included species from Kansas, one of Neocoelidia and one of Jassus (later in Coelidia) but without a description or diagnosis of any taxa. The next reference was by Baker (1923) who provided a key and a description as Euacanthidae. The type genus Euacanthus Burmeister, 1835, had been synonymised with Evacanthus Le Peletier & Serville, 1825, by Distant (1908) although he used the younger name Euacanthus with Evacanthus listed as a synonym. The first use of the name Evacanthini (as a tribe of the subfamily Jassinae) was by Oman (1938) who provided comparative notes between Evacanthini and Errhomenellini while Metcalf (1939) was the first to use the name Evacanthinae as a subfamily even though he simply listed it as a subfamily of Evacanthidae together with Pythaminae. Medler (1942) first used the name in the current sense as a subfamily of the Cicadellidae in a key to subfamilies and he also treated the single species of Evacanthus which had been recorded in Minnesota. Medler (1942) credited the name to Baker (1923) who provided the first description of the group albeit under the older name. The Evacanthinae was revised by Dietrich (2004) who credited it to Metcalf (1939) presumably on the grounds that he was the first to use the name as a subfamily. Dietrich (2004) transferred the Nirvanini, which is the only group of Evacanthinae which occurs in Australia, into the subfamily.

Diagnosis

Pronotum short, broad, broadly rounded anteriorly, the head but slightly narrower; vertex very broad, nearly twice as broad as long; width of head greater than length of head and pronotum together; ocelli situated a little within anterior margin of crown, but outside the anterolateral carina of vertex and invisible in facial view (Baker 1923).

Evacanthinae in the present sense differ from other leafhoppers in having the following combination of features: head produced; crown elevated mesad of eyes, with complete marginal or submarginal carina (incomplete or absent in Pagaroniini); ocelli on crown anterad of eyes and near margin; frontoclypeus usually with median longitudinal carina, at least dorsally; lorum much narrower than clypellus and well separated from lateral margin of maxillary plate; clypellus tapered; pronotum with lateral margin long and carinate; forewing crossvein r-m1 absent, venation often obscure basally, Cu joining submarginal vein immediately adjacent to claval apex; inner apical cell parallel-sided; hindwing veins R4þ5 and M1þ2 separate, connected by crossvein; front femur with one or more basal setae in ventral row distinctly larger than others; hind femur with macrosetal formula 2þ1þ1, 2þ1, or 2þ0 (except Pagaronia, which has supranumerary femoral setae), tibia with basal macroseta of row PD well distad of basal macroseta of row AD, approximately even with second AD macroseta; ovipositor with first valvulae sculpturing usually concatenate or granulose; second valvulae with toothed distal blades shorter than fused basal section; male pygofer fused to valve, macrosetae present; subgenital plates separated from each other, ligulate, macrosetae, if present, usually uniseriate and well separated from lateral margin; style apex usually foot-shaped (Dietrich 2004)

ID Keys

Fletcher, M.J. (2009 and updates). Key to the leafhoppers and treehoppers of Australia and neighbouring areas (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha). http://www1.dpi.nsw.gov.au/keys/leafhop/index.html