Tribe Rhotalini Fennah, 1950

Museums

Regional Maps

• Rhotalini Fennah, R.G. 1950. A generic revision of the Achilidae (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) 1(1): 1-170 [15].

  Type genus:

   Rhotala Walker, 1857.

Introduction

This tribe was based by Fennah (1950) on the genus Rhotala which was primarily eastern Oriental with a single species in Central America. Errada Walker, with a single species in Sumatra, was synonymised with Rhotala by Distant (1907) and this synonymy was maintained by Fennah (1950). However, it was not followed by Emeljanov (2005) who recognised four genera in the tribe; Rhotala (= Chiotasa Melichar), Hebrotasa Melichar (transfered from the Tropiduchidae) from Madagascar and Indonesia, Errada which included a number of oriental species, and the new genus Errotasa for a single new species from Australia. Unfortunately, the description was based on a single specimen when numerous examples were available in Australian collections.

Diagnosis

Head about half as wide as pronotum; pronotum elongate, three-quarters length of mesonotum; mesonotal disk flat, ecarinate medially; apical veinlets numerous, parallel. Female with seventh abdominal sternite greatly produced caudad. Male with medioventral process of pygofer paired, free from hind margin. (Fennah 1950)

The elongate, scoop-shaped medioventral extension of the female pregenital sternite and the male pygofer with its paired medioventral pygofer process attached by membranous tissue are distinctive features of this tribe. In addition, the hind tibia has six lateral spines in the Australian genus of Rhotalini while other Australian achilids have no more than four lateral spines.

ID Keys

Fletcher, M.J. (2004). Illustrated key to the tribes of the family Achilidae found in Australia (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea) http://www1.dpi.nsw.gov.au/keys/fulgor/achilidae/achilid00.htm

General References

Distant, W.L. 1907. Rhynchotal Notes. xli. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 7 19: 277-295 [292]

Emeljanov, A.F. 2005. New genera and species of the Family Achilidae (Homoptera). Entomologicheskoe Obozrenie (English translation as Entomological Reviews) 84 1: 10-45 [11]

Fennah, R.G. 1950. A generic revision of the Achilidae (Homoptera: Fulgoroidea). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) 1(1): 1-170 [15]

History of changes