Cercopidae spittle-bugs (Hemiptera, Cicadomorpha) of Madagascar: a new species of Bourgoinrana and revision of the Locris species

Abstract

The Locris species and subspecies from Madagascar are revised and a new combination is proposed: Locris johannae var. nigrolimbata Lallemand, 1910 to L. nigrolimbatacomb. nov. Illustrations and description of male terminalia are given for the first time for the three Locris species and an identification key is provided. A new species of the Malagasy endemic genus Bourgoinrana Soulier-Perkins, 2012 is described: B. beondrokaensis Le Cesne & Soulier-Perkins sp. nov. An updated identification key to the species of Bourgoinrana is provided.

Molecular phylogeny of Cercopidae (Hemiptera, Cercopoidea)

“…The presence of the sterno‐lateral plate (Le Cesne et al, 2021) (Figure 6j) between the pygofer and subgenital plate is observed in all taxa in this lineage, except for the Locris group (node 156, Figure 3, and node 179, Figure S5). This character is believed to characterize the Rhinaulacini and was previously observed and illustrated from its exemplars (Liang & Webb, 2002; Liang et al, 2012; Soulier‐Perkins & Kunz, 2012; Soulier‐Perkins & Le Cesne, 2016; Wang et al, 2018; Bouteille et al, 2021; Crispolon et al, 2019, Crispolon et al, 2021; Le Cesne & Soulier‐Perkins, 2021; Le Cesne et al, 2021).…”

“…All specimens with newly obtained DNA sequences were identified and validated by all the authors using available taxonomic keys constructed by Lallemand (1949), Lallemand and Synave (1961), and Liang and Webb (1994, 2002). We also used taxonomic keys included in the latest revisionary works of Liang et al (2012), Soulier‐Perkins and Kunz (2012), Soulier‐Perkins and Le Cesne (2016), Wang et al (2018), Crispolon et al, (2019), Crispolon et al, (2021), Bouteille et al (2021), and Le Cesne and Soulier‐Perkins (2021).…”

Malagasy spittlebugs (Hemiptera: Cercopidae), a taxonomic review of genera from Madagascar

“…Stål (1866) initially described Locris in a very brief manner, making it impossible to currently determine the genus with his original publication. Lallemand proposed a refined description of this genus in 1949 on the basis of morphological characters that are not all completely consistent, according to Bouteille et al (2021). It is true that in addition to a list of general characters supposed to describe the genus, Lallemand (1949) also listed a series of exceptions in order to include more species, probably making the genus paraphyletic.…”

“…The homogeneity of this genus and its taxonomic unity is therefore questionable. Bouteille et al (2021) revised the three Malagasy species of Locris and provided descriptions of their genitalia with new characters. Nevertheless, the lack of systematic information for the genitalic characters of the entire genus highlights the need for further taxonomic studies.…”

“…Subgenital plates wide and sometimes silky at base, forming thin and long filament (Lallemand 1949) curved up or downwards on its apical half. Parameres silky and wide from pygofer's attachment to its tip and they can form a cup prolonged by one or two structures that can have a little spine curved up-or downwards (Bouteille et al 2021). Aedeagus can have little bumps on top.…”