Deltocephalini Dallas 1870
Creators: name: Zahniser, James N.
name: Dietrich, Chris H.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hemiptera
Cicadellidae

description: Deltocephalini Dallas, 1870
Fig. 17
Type genus: Deltocephalus Burmeister, 1838.
Diagnosis
Deltocephalini are small to medium sized leafhoppers and are variable in color. They can be identified by the tapering or parallel-sided clypellus, narrow lorum, linear connective with anterior arms closely appressed, connective fused to the aedeagus, and first valvula dorsal sculpturing imbricate.
Description
HEAD. Head subequal to or wider than pronotum. Discal portion of crown glabrous with radial or longitudinal striae or shagreen.Anterior margin of head shagreen, rounded or angled to face.Frontoclypeus not tumid; texture shagreen. Clypellus parallel-sided or tapering apically; apex following or slightly surpassing normal curve of gena. Lorum distinctly narrower than clypellus near base. Antennal bases near middle or posteroventral (lower) corners of eyes. Antennae short, less than 1.5 x width of head. Gena obtusely incised laterally; with fine erect seta beside laterofrontal suture. Antennal ledge absent. Ocelli present; close to eyes; on anterior margin of head.
THORAX. Pronotum lateral margin not carinate; lateral margin shorter than basal width of eye.
WINGS. Forewing brachypterous to macropterous; appendix absent, reduced, or present and restricted to anal margin; with 3 anteapical cells; veins not raised; without reflexed costal veins; A1-A2 crossvein usually absent.
LEGS. Profemur with AM1 seta only; intercalary row with one row of five or more fine setae; row AV with short, stout setae. Protibia dorsal surface rounded, convex. Metafemur apex macrosetae 2+2+1. Metatarsomere I not expanded apically; plantar setae simple, tapered.
MALE GENITALIA. Valve articulated with pygofer or rarely fused to subgenital plates (Miradeltaphus, Yuanamia); lateral margin short, articulating with pygofer at a point. Pygofer basolateral membranous cleft present; macrosetae well differentiated into several rows. Subgenital plates free from each other; articulated with valve or rarely fused to each other (Miradeltaphus, Yuanamia); macrosetae uniseriate laterally. Style broadly bilobed basally, median anterior lobe pronounced. Basal processes of the aedeagus/connective absent or reduced or present, connected or articulated to connective or near base of aedeagus. Aedeagus with single shaft and gonopore. Connective anterior arms closely appressed anteriorly, linear-shaped; fused to aedeagus.
FEMALE GENITALIA. Pygofer with numerous macrosetae. Ovipositor not protruding far beyond pygofer apex. First valvula convex or not strongly convex; dorsal sculpturing pattern imbricate (with overlapping scales); sculpturing reaching dorsal margin; without distinctly delimited ventroapical sculpturing. Second valvula broad, gradually tapered; without dorsal median tooth; dorsal teeth on apical 1/3 or more; teeth small, regularly or irregularly shaped.
Geography and ecology
Distribution: cosmopolitan. Deltocephalini feed on grasses and sedges and are diverse and abundant in grassland ecosystems. Several species are economically important as vectors of disease agents. Graminella nigrifrons (Forbes, 1885), Maiestas dorsalis (Motschulsky, 1859) and Endria inimica (Say, 1830) are vectors of pathogens of maize, rice, and wheat, respectively.
Remarks
Deltocephalini contains 68 genera and 587 species. Morphological and molecular phylogenetic analyses to date suggest that it is monophyletic and closely related to Paralimnini, but further taxon sampling in these large tribes and more data are needed. The two tribes together appear to be related to Tetartostylini which also possesses the tapered clypellus and linear connective. Many genera and species of Deltocephalini are morphologically quite similar to each other, and some genera, e.g., Amplicephalus and Polyamia, are probably artificial. Revisions of many genera and identification keys, especially of the Neotropical fauna, are needed. As presently defined, the tribe encompasses the “ Deltocephalus -group” of genera recognized by Fang et al. (1993, 1995) and Webb & Viraktamath (2009), but is considerably narrower than the concepts of Deltocephalini employed by Oman (1949) and Linnavuori (1959).
Selected references
Oman (1949), Linnavuori (1959), Fang et al. (1993, 1995), Blocker et al. (1995), Dmitriev (2004b), Webb & Viraktamath (2009).
Included genera
Afrosus Linnavuori, 1959
Alobaldia Emeljanov, 1972
Alodeltocephalus Evans, 1966
Amblysellus Sleesman, 1929
Amplicephalus DeLong, 1926
Arundanus DeLong, 1935
Bolarga Oman, 1938
Bolivaia Linnavuori & DeLong, 1979
Cabrellus Emeljanov, 1964
Cabrulus Oman, 1949
Crumbana Oman, 1949
Cruziella Linnavuori & DeLong, 1979
Ctenurellina McKamey, 2003
Daltonia Oman, 1949
Deltanus Oman, 1949
Deltazotus Kramer, 1971
Deltella Oman, 1949
Deltocephalus Burmeister, 1838
Destria Oman, 1949
Endria Oman, 1949
Fusanus Linnavuori, 1955
Graminella DeLong, 1936
Haldorus Oman, 1938
Heidinus Theron, 1988 placement nov. (previously unplaced in Deltocephalinae)
Horouta Knight, 1975
Kanorba Oman, 1938
Kansendria Kramer, 1971
Limpica Cheng, 1980
Lonatura Osborn & Ball, 1898
Lorellana DeLong & Kolbe, 1975
Loreta Linnavuori, 1959
Lusitanocephalus Quartau, 1970
Maiestas Distant, 1917
Maricaona Caldwell, 1952
Matsumuratettix Metcalf, 1952
Mattogrossus Linnavuori, 1959
Mendozellus Linnavuori, 1959
Mexara Oman, 1949
Miradeltaphus Dash & Viraktamath, 1995
Neodeltocephalus Linnavuori, 1959
Nullamia DeLong, 1970
Ochromelanus Stiller, 2011
Onura Oman, 1938
Paramesodes Ishihara, 1953
Parandanus Linnavuori & DeLong, 1976
Parayuanamia Xing & Li, 2011
Peitouellus Vilbaste, 1969
Picchuia Linnavuori & DeLong, 1979
Planicephalus Linnavuori, 1954
Polyamia DeLong, 1926
Ragia Theron, 1973
Recilia Edwards, 1922
Reventazonia Linnavuori, 1959
Sanctanus Ball, 1932
Sanluisia Linnavuori, 1959
Spathifer Linnavuori, 1955
Tetramelasma Stiller, 2011
Theronus Stiller, 2009
Tideltellus Kramer, 1971
Toldoanus Linnavuori, 1954
Tumupasa Linnavuori, 1959
Unerus DeLong, 1936
Unoka Lawson, 1928
Vicosa Linnavuori & DeLong, 1978
Wakaya Linnavuori, 1960
Warlucephala Fletcher, 2006
Wyushinamia Zhang & Duan, 2006
Yuanamia Zhang & Duan, 2006
description: Published as part of Zahniser, James N. & Dietrich, Chris H., 2013, A review of the tribes of Deltocephalinae (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadellidae), pp. 1-211 in European Journal of Taxonomy 45 on pages 62-65, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2013.45, http://zenodo.org/record/3822710