Sophonia Walker, 1870

Gou, Guangli & Xing, Jichun, 2024, Description of a new leafhopper species of the genus Sophonia Walker (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae: Evacanthinae) from China, Zootaxa 5405 (3), pp. 411-421 : 414

Genus Sophonia Walker, 1870

Sophonia Walker, 1870: 327 ; Li et al., 2020: 398. Type species: Sophonia rufitelum Walker, 1870 .

Pseudonirvana Baker, 1923: 386 . Type species: Pseudonirvana sandakanensis Baker, 1923

Quercinirvana Ahmed & Mahmood, 1970: 260 . Type species: Quercinirvana longicephala Ahmed & Mahmood, 1970 . Synonymised by Webb & Viraktamath, 2004: 4.

Description. Body medium-sized. Predominant color usually bright yellow with red, white or brown markings often including median longitudinal dorsal stripe, oblique lines near forewing costal margin and false eyespot near forewing apex.

Head including eyes narrower than greatest width of pronotum. Crown extended forward, usually subequal to or longer than width between eyes. Ocelli located at lateral edge of crown anterad of eyes. Frontoclypeus distinctly longer than width, with a median longtudinal ridge near dorsal margin. Forewing with four apical cells, appendix small. Hind wing with three apical cells. Hind femur apical setal formula 2+1+1. Hind tibia flattened and nearly straight, row PD with approximately 21–23 macrosetae; row AD with approximately 12–14 long stout setae and 1–3 shorter stout setae between each long seta.

Male genitalia. Male pygofer with strong apical setae, usually with one or more spinelike apical processes. Subgenital plate broad and long, with 3–8 strong setae. Aedeagus usually with paired or unpaired processes on shaft or atrium, or both; shaft usually curved dorsad. Connective Y-shaped, stem longer than arms. Style apex usually footlike, preapical lobe strongly produced.

Remarks. This genus is similar to Nirvana Kirkaldy, 1900 in external appearance including coloration, but can be distinguished by the male pygofer side usually with a distal process; the aedeagus with complex processes; and the subgenital plate relatively broad.

Distribution. Oriental Region, Palaearctic Region, Nearctic Region,Australian Region (adventive in continental USA, Hawaii, Spain and Portugal).