Taphura Stal 1862
Creators: name: Sanborn, Allen F.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Cicadidae
Taphura

description: Taphura Stål, 1862a
Cicada (Taphura) Stål 1862a: 20.
Type species. Cicada misella Stål 1854: 243 (Brazil, Minas Gerais).
Species included. Taphura attiguclava n. sp., Taphura boulardi Sanborn, 2011, Taphura cernuunca n. sp., Taphura charpentierae Boulard, 1971, Taphura crispula n. sp., Taphura debruni Boulard, 1990, Taphura demissa n. sp., Taphura dolabella n. sp., Taphura egeri Sanborn, 2011, Taphura hastifera (Walker, 1858), Taphura lanceola n. sp., Taphura maccagnani n. sp., Taphura maculata Sanborn, 2011, Taphura minusculus Thouvenot, 2012, Taphura misella (Stål, 1854), Taphura nitida (Degeer, 1773), and Taphura sauliensis Boulard, 1971.
Description. Species of Taphura are small species of cicadas. Males generally have elaborate genitalia.
Body size small (6–18 mm body length), females longer than males due to elongated ovipositor. Head wider than pronotum and greater than width of mesonotum, eyes protruding beyond anterior pronotum, vertex at area of ocelli about as long as front, postclypeus rounded in transverse section, lacking central sulcus, rostrum length species specific reaching from the middle trochanters to the hind coxae. Pronotum shorter than mesonotum, trapezoidal with anterior margin narrower than lateral margins of pronotal collar, lateral angles of pronotal collar expanded, lateral margins of pronotal collar confluent with adjoining pronotal sclerites, Metanotum partially visible at dorsal midline, metanotum extends laterally beyond wing groove, cruciform elevation posterior species specific, with smoothly arched, notched or transverse margin. Fore wings and hind wings hyaline, with eight and six apical cells, respectively, sometimes with infuscation on apex of fore wing, radial and radiomedial crossveins generally parallel, approximately perpendicular to radius posterior and median veins respectively and without infuscation. Basal cell longer than broad and unmarked. Basal area of fore wing clavus and hind wing costal cell without infuscation. Fore wing cubitus posterior and anal vein 1 fused in part, median vein and cubitus anterior separated when meeting the basal cell, the two veins extending from near the base of the fore wing basal cell, the costal margin straight to the middle where it curves distinctly, costa and radius + subcosta close together, and radius anterior 1 aligned with subcosta, hind wing radius posterior and median veins fused at their bases, cubitus posterior and anal vein 1 unfused, and distal end of anal vein 3 curved. Fore femora with oblique primary, secondary, tertiary spines, possibly with small apical spine, tarsi three-segmented. Male operculum small, not covering tympanal cavity or encapsulating meracanthus curving towards abdominal midline, opercula well separated along midline, meracanthus tapering to a point, reaching to or past posterior margin of operculum, female operculum and meracantus generally of similar shape to male for each species but smaller. Abdomen about as long as distance between apex of head and cruciform elevation in males but lengthy ovipositor makes the abdomen longer in females, timbal cover lacking, timbals extend slightly below wing bases, abdominal segments with sides expanding laterally to tergite 4 where the abdomen begins narrowing posteriorly to the genitalia. Pygofer distal shoulder undeveloped, dorsal beak well developed, pygofer upper lobe small, adjacent to depression on pygofer, pygofer basal lobes variable from simple to highly modified, uncus absent, claspers developed often elaborately shaped, and male aedeagus simple tubular structure lacking a strong basal recurve of the theca. Female abdominal segment 9 with dorsal beak well defined and sinuate posterior margin, ovipositor sheath extends well beyond dorsal beak. Female sternite VII with deep medial notch almost to anterior margin of sternite, variable in size from a simple medial notch to a large U-shaped indentation extending laterally almost to the epipleurites.
Measuremens (mm). Length of body: 6.0–18.0; length of fore wing: 8.3–18.5; width of fore wing: 3.1–7.2; length of head: 0.8–2.2; width of head including eyes: 2.1–4.8; width of pronotum including suprahumeral plates: 2.0–4.9; width of mesonotum: 1.8–4.4.
Diagnosis. The species of the genus Taphura Stål, 1862a are unique in the elaborate processes of the male genitalia. The large expanding, hood-like aedeagus promptly distinguishes male specimens of Malloryalna Sanborn, 2016b from all other Taphurini (females are unknown). Species of Taphura can be distinguished from Dulderana Distant, 1905b and Nosola Stål, 1866 by the large, arching costal margin of these genera. The head is about as wide as and not wider than the mesonotum in the Panamanian Dorachosa Distant, 1892, the Brazilian Prosotettix Jacobi, 1907, the Guatemalan Chrysolasia Moulds, 2003, as well as Chalumalna Boulard, 1998 known only from St. Martin in the Lesser Antilles. Psallodia Uhler, 1903 is recorded only from Hispaniola and is characterized by the strongly curved costal margin at its base, the highly arched cubital cell of the fore wing and seven apical cells in the hind wings. Selymbria Stål, 1861 can be distinguished by its larger body size, the expansion of ventrolateral tergite 2 extending towards or covering part of the timbal, the opercula are larger and more lobate reaching to sternite II, the widely sulcate postclypeus of most species, the highly angled tergiteepipleurite margin, and the flattened claspers of the male genitalia. The Ecuadorian Imbabura Distant, 1911 lacks the strongly bent costal margin proximal to the node of Taphura and the apical region of the bronzed fore wing is infuscated. The only known species of the Argentine genus Elachysoma Torres, 1964 is also small with a body length less than 13 mm but the fore wing length is three times the width, there are well developed opercula, and the male claspers are short and recurved both dorsally and ventrally to the aedeagus which is strongly bent twice.
Remarks. The elaborate genitalia of the male Taphura species combined with their small body size distinguish the genus quickly.
Distribution. The genus is found over much of South America including references to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Guyana, Panama, Peru, Surinam, and Venezuela (Metcalf 1963; Sanborn 2011; 2013; 2016a; Sanborn & Heath 2014). The first records for Ecuador and Trinidad & Tobago are provided here.
Key to species of Taphura
1 Body length less than 7 mm ................................................................... T. minisculus
1’ Body length greater than 7 mm ......................................................................... 2
2 Infuscation on the apex of the fore wing................................................................... 3
2’ Fore wing apex without infuscation..................................................................... 14
3 Infuscation well developed as spot on fore wing apex, head with piceous W-shaped mark in area of the ocelli, claspers straight with swollen terminus........................................................................... T. egeri
3’ Infuscation reduced, head with five distinct piceous spots in area of the ocelli or transverse piceous mark between eyes that may be incomplete................................................................................... 4
4 Infuscation on ambient vein of fore wing apical cell 1, hind wing without infuscation in anal cell 2, head with five distinct piceous spots in area of the ocelli, claspers curve dorsally then form a terminal hook........................ T. boulardi
4’ Infuscation restricted to distal marginal area of fore wing, hind wing with infuscation in anal cell 2, head with complete or incomplete transverse piceous fascia between eyes, claspers curve ventrally not forming a terminal hook............... 5
5 Infuscation restricted to distal marginal area of fore wing extending from apex of fore wing to apical cell 8, transverse fascia on head not extending to postclypeus, claspers straight, elongated to spear-shape........................ T. lanceola n. sp.
5’ Infuscation restricted to distal marginal area of fore wing on apex of wing to apical cell 3 to apical cell 5, transverse fascia on head incomplete or extending anteriorly to postclypeus, claspers not as above...................................... 6
6 Abdominal tergites with transverse piceous band anteriorly................................................... 7
6’ Abdominal tergites without transverse piceous band anteriorly................................................. 10
7 Transverse fascia on head incomplete or reduced, not extending anteriorly to postclypeus, claspers claw-like.................................................................................................. T. attiguclava n. sp.
7’ Transverse fascia on head complete, extending anteriorly towards postclypeus, claspers not claw-like................. 8
8 Fore wing cubitus anterior arching touching median vein near basal cell, claspers arching downward toward apex with recurved spine dorsally..................................................................... T. charpentierae
8’ Fore wing cubitus anterior arching but separated from median vein near basal cell, claspers not as above............... 9
9 Fore wing median vein curved along ulnar cell 3, claspers bent at approximate right angle...................... T. nitida
9’ Fore wing median vein almost straight along ulnar cell 3, claspers curve ventrally forming a terminal hook. T. crispula n. sp.
10 Transverse mark in ambient fissure anterior to pronotal collar reduced to single medial mark........................ 11
10’ Transverse mark in ambient fissure anterior to pronotal collar continuous or split into three parts...................... 12
11 Transverse mark on head reduced, fore wings not bronzed distally, claspers forming a terminal claw-like structure..................................................................................................... T. hastifera
11’ Transverse mark on head complete covering majority of dorsal head, fore wings bronzed distally, claspers forming a pickaxe shape................................................................................. T. dolabella n. sp.
12 Male claspers bent medially at an approximate right angle terminating in a curved point, aedeagus with two terminal spines, female sternite VII with a semicircular notch................................................ T. maccagnani n. sp.
12’ Male claspers not as above, aedeagus lacking terminal spines, female sternite VII notch not semicircular............... 13
13 Male claspers bent ventrally at approximate right angle at terminus, notch in female sternite VII with curved lateral margin....................................................................................... T. cernuunca n. sp.
13’ Male claspers bifurcated at terminus, notch in female sternite VII with straight lateral margin............... T. sauliensis
14 Head with five spots in the area of the ocelli....................................................... T. maculata
14’ Head piceous dorsally, with transverse piceous fascia dorsally, or lateral ocelli surrounded by piceous................ 15
15 Fore femora with three spines, male genitalia with four prominent parallel extensions....................... T. debruni
15’ Fore femora with four spines, male genitalia without four prominent parallel extensions............................ 16
16 Infuscation in distal hind wing anal cell 2 and middle of anal cell 3, male genitalia simple, very short claspers, notch in female sternite VII wide U-shape........................................................................ T. misella
16’ Infuscation in distal hind wing anal cell 2 absent in middle of anal cell 3, male genitalia with extended claspers and curving downward with recurved medial extension, notch in female sternite VII wide V-shape.................. T. demissa n. sp.
description: Published as part of Sanborn, Allen F., 2017, Generic redescription, seven new species and a key to the Taphura Stål, 1862 (Hemiptera: Cicadidae: Cicadetttinae: Taphurini), pp. 451-481 in Zootaxa 4324 (3) on pages 452-479, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4324.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/998410