Brevialavenosa egae ( Distant, 1892 ) Sanborn, 2023

Sanborn, Allen F., 2023, Resolving taxonomic issues of cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) including new combinations, new synonymies, and revised status, with updates on the diversity of the Brazilian cicada fauna and new records for four South American countries, Zootaxa 5318 (3), pp. 339-362 : 342-344

Brevialavenosa egae ( Distant, 1892) new combination

Tibicen egae Distant, 1892: 64 (Ega, on the Amazon).

REMARKS. Nunes et al. (2023) reported two species, Abroma egae ( Distant, 1892) and Abroma temperata ( Walker, 1858) , from the genus Abroma Stål, 1866 and the tribe Lamotialnini Boulard, 1976 in Brazil. Neither the genus nor the tribe is found in South America ( Marshall et al. 2018). Both species were transferred without comment to Abroma in Distant (1906). Abroma was classified in the Taphurini Distant, 1905a in Distant’s (1906) catalogue but the remaining members of the genus are found in Africa, Madagascar, and south, southeast and insular Asia ( Metcalf 1963c; Duffels & van der Laan 1985; Sanborn 2013). Historically, the Taphurini was a tribe where taxa were placed when it was unclear where the taxon actually belonged and had representatives from most of the world ( Marshall et al. 2018). However, the tribe has been redefined and currently includes only Neotropical genera ( Sanborn 2021a; 2021b).

Abroma egae ( Fig. 2 , type specimen BMNH, specimen NHMUK010392112) possesses the following combination of structures that place the species in the Cicadettinae Buckton, 1890: partially fused fore wing cubitus posterior and anal vein 1, division of fore wing vein cubitus anterior 1 with the proximal portion shorter than the distal portion, hindwing cubital cell 1 width two or more times the width of cubital cell 2, hindwing radius posterior and median veins fused at their bases, partially visible dorsal metanotum, male opercula not strongly S-shaped and lacking a deeply concave lateral margin, lack of timbal covers, undeveloped pygofer distal shoulder, pygofer upper lobe is present, and claspers that restrain the aedeagus ( Marshall et al. 2018; Simon et al. 2019; Sanborn et al. 2020a). This combination of characters eliminates all remaining subfamilies as an option for the placement of the species.

In addition, Abroma egae can be classified in the Taphurini based on the lack of timbal covers, the small, narrow opercula that curve towards the midline but remain well separated medially and do not cover the tympanal cavity completely, the undeveloped pygofer distal shoulder, the small upper pygofer lobes, the large, flat basal pygofer lobes, the lack of an uncus, and the presence of claspers. Within the Taphurini, the species is very similar to Brevisalavenosa auripilosa Sanborn, 2021b differing in that Distant’s species lacks dense, golden pile covering the body, the anterior abdomen is darker than the rest of the body instead of being lighter, the piceous mesonotal markings are absent, the spot of infuscation in distal fore wing apical cell 1 is smaller, fore wing radiomedial crossvein is less obliquely angled to the radius posterior vein, the costal margin is thicker to the node, the anterolateral margin of the lateral pronotal collar curves ventrally, the angled lateral opercular margin, the semicircular medial opercular margin, the operculum reaching the posterior tympanal cavity, and especially the large aedeagus with the two lateral, terminal spines but the membrane is ventral instead of terminal in Distant’s species. As a result, Abroma egae ( Distant, 1892) is reassigned to the genus Brevialavenosa Sanborn, 2021b to become Brevialavenosa egae ( Distant, 1892) n. comb.

DISTRIBUTION. The species is known only from Brazil ( Metcalf 1963c).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Tibicen egae Distant, 1892 type specimen (NHMUK010392112) dorsal (top) and ventral (middle) habitus. The inflated aedeagus with membrane and recurved terminal spines are characteristic of Brevialavenosa. ©The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London. Photos courtesy of Fernley Symons and Mick Webb.