Andressa Paladini

Phylogeny and biogeography of Neotropical spittlebugs (Hemiptera: Cercopidae: Ischnorhininae): revised tribal classification based on morphological data

The spittlebug family Cercopidae is currently divided into two subfamilies: the paraphyletic Old World Cercopinae and the monophyletic New World Ischnorhininae. The most recent classification scheme proposed by Fennah in 1968 divided the New World Cercopidae into four tribes: Tomaspidini, Ischnorhinini, Hyboscartini and Neaenini. Herein we present a phylogenetic analysis of Ischnorhininae using 108 morphological characters and including 53 of the 59 recognized genera, to evaluate the tribal‐level classification and understand the processes underlying the current distributional patterns of these genera. We found significant support for the monophyly of many Neotropical genera, but Fennahs tribal classification is revised because tribes Neaenini, Ischnorhinini and Tomaspidini were recovered as polyphyletic. Hyboscartini was synonymized with Tomaspidini. A taxonomic key to tribes and genera of Neotropical spittlebugs is provided based mostly on recovered apomorphies. The biogeographical analysis suggests a Neotropical origin of ischnorhinines, more specifically in northwestern South America. This was possibly coincident spatially and temporally with the origin of grasses, with ancestral range expansions southward to the Amazonian and Paraná regions, and posterior vicariant events, possibly related to the expansion of forests in the Chacoan region, the South America diagonal of open formations. Dispersals to the Chacoan region and to the Nearctic region are hypothesized to have occurred only within genera. In the Chacoan region it is associated with more recent events, such as the diversification of C4 grasses and establishment of the savannas and seasonally dry forests.

Endemism analysis of Neotropical Pentatomidae (Hemiptera, Heteroptera)

The definition of areas of endemism is central to studies of historical biogeography, and their interrelationships are fundamental questions. Consistent hypotheses for the evolution of Pentatomidae in the Neotropical region depend on the accuracy of the units employed in the analyses, which in the case of studies of historical biogeography, may be areas of endemism. In this study, the distribution patterns of 222 species, belonging to 14 Pentatomidae (Hemiptera) genera, predominantly neotropical, were studied with the Analysis of Endemicity (NDM) to identify possible areas of endemism and to correlate them to previously delimited areas. The search by areas of endemism was carried out using grid-cell units of 2.5° and 5° latitude-longitude. The analysis based on groupings of grid-cells of 2.5° of latitude-longitude allowed the identification of 51 areas of endemism, the consensus of these areas resulted in four clusters of grid-cells. The second analysis, with grid-cells units of 5° latitude-longitude, resulted in 109 areas of endemism. The flexible consensus employed resulted in 17 areas of endemism. The analyses were sensitive to the identification of areas of endemism in different scales in the Atlantic Forest. The Amazonian region was identified as a single area in the area of consensus, and its southeastern portion shares elements with the Chacoan and Parana subregions. The distribution data of the taxa studied, with different units of analysis, did not allow the identification of individual areas of endemism for the Cerrado and Caatinga. The areas of endemism identified here should be seen as primary biogeographic hypotheses.

Taxonomic notes on Mahanarva (Ipiranga) (Hemiptera, Cercopidae) with description of a new species.

Mahanarva (Ipiranga) takiyae sp. nov. (Cercopidae) is described and illustrated from Brazil. This new species can be distinguished from other known species in the genus by the tegmen with three rounded yellow spots and the shape of the paramere. Mahanarva (Mahanarva) rubripennis is transferred to the subgenus Mahanarva (Ipiranga).

A new species of Aeneolamia (Hemiptera: Cercopidae: Tomaspidinae) from the Neotropical Region

Aeneolamiabucca sp. nov. is described and illustrated based on specimens collected in the municipality of Sao Jose do Barreiro, state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. This new species can be distinguished from others of the genus by presenting an aedeagus with two long and slender processes directed upward (in the other species of the genus, this processes are directed downward); paramere with only one subapical strong spine and a concavity located below this spine, which is unusual in the Neotropical genera.

Descriptions of two new species of Sphenorhina (Hemiptera, Cercopidae, Tomaspidinae) from the Neotropical region

Cercopoidea form the largest group of xylem-sap sucking insects. The insects belonging to the largest family, Cercopidae, are popularly known as spittlebugs. They are easily characterized by the presence of one or two lateral spines and an apical crown of spines on the hind tibia. Most of the species have the tegmina with bright colors. Sphenorhina was established by Amyot & Serville (1843) without designation of a type-species. It is a Neotropical genus that currently includes 60 valid species (Carvalho & Webb 2005), most of them previously included in Tomaspis and Monecphora. In this paper we add two new species from Bolivia and Argentina to the genus.

New World spittlebugs (Hemiptera: Cercopidae: Ischnorhininae): Dated molecular phylogeny, classification, and evolution of aposematic coloration

The spittlebug family Cercopidae (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Cicadomorpha: Cercopoidea) is distributed worldwide, with highest species diversity in the tropics. Several included species are economically important pests of major agricultural crops and cultivated pasture grasses. Taxonomically, Cercopidae is divided into two subfamilies: the paraphyletic Old World Cercopinae and the monophyletic New World Ischnorhininae. Results are here presented from an investigation of phylogenetic relationships within Ischnorhininae based on DNA sequences from seven loci (18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, Histone 2A, Histone 3, Wingless, Cytochrome Oxidase I, and Cytochrome Oxidase II) generated from exemplars of 119 spittlebug species. The resulting topology is used to test alternative higher-level classification hypotheses of Ischnorhininae and, with fossil-calibration, dates were estimated for major events in the evolutionary history of Cercopidae, including a much earlier divergence date (around 68-50 Mya) than previously reported in the literature. In addition, for the first time in Cercopidae, ancestral states of some predation avoidances strategies were reconstructed, with results suggesting an origin of aposematic coloration in the Cercopidae ancestor, with subsequent independent losses of aposematic coloration in multiple lineages.

Systematics of the South American species of Cylindrostethus Mayr, 1865 (Hemiptera : Heteroptera : Gerridae), with a new species from Amazonian Brazil and Peru

Abstract. Water striders (pond skaters) occur worldwide and are conspicuous in most aquatic environments, but the taxonomy of many groups remains unresolved. Here we revise the South American species of the Palaeo- and Neotropically distributed Cylindrostethus Mayr, 1865, a genus characterised by its long, cylindrical body and fast jumping-gliding locomotion. Using a cladistic analysis of morphological characters, we confirm the subdivision of Neotropical Cylindrostethus into two major groups. Nine species of Cylindrostethus are recognised from South America, one of which was recently discovered in Amazonian Brazil and Peru: C. bassleri Drake, 1952; C. bilobatus Kuitert, 1942; C. drakei, sp. nov.; C. hungerfordi Drake & Harris, 1934; C. linearis (Erichson, 1848); C. meloi Floriano & Cavichioli, 2013; C. palmaris Drake & Harris, 1934; C. podargus Drake, 1958; C. regulus (White, 1879). Two species are placed in synonymy: (C. podargus = C. stygius Drake, 1961, syn. nov.); (C. linearis = C. erythropus (Herrich-Schäffer, 1850), syn. nov.). A key to the nine species is provided, along with detailed descriptions and illustrations.

A new species of Gypona from southern Brazil (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Gyponini)

Gypona (Marganalana) masamunesp. nov. is described and illustrated based on specimens from Brazil, state of Parana. This species can be distinguished from the others of the genus by the following combination of characters: 1) connective with stalk apex oriented anteriorly; 2) style, in lateral view, L-shaped and broader subapically; apex tapered and acute; 3) aedeagus slender, curved dorsally, with long and slender processes arising on each side of shaft near the base, as long as aedeagus shaft; shaft without apical processes. A key to the six subgenera of Gypona is provided.