Pseudophacopteron Enderlein, 1921

Malenovský, Igor & Burckhardt, Daniel, 2009, A review of the Afrotropical jumping plant-lice of the Phacopteronidae (Hemiptera: Psylloidea), Zootaxa 2086 (1), pp. 1-74 : 7-8

Pseudophacopteron Enderlein

Pseudophacopteron Enderlein, 1921: 116 ; Brown and Hodkinson 1988: 168. Type species: Pauropsylla tuberculata Crawford, 1912 , by original designation.

Chineura Tuthill, 1964: 358 . Type species: Chineura latipennis Tuthill, 1964 , by original designation. Synonymised by Yang and Li 1983: 128.

A detailed generic diagnosis of adult Pseudophacopteron was provided by Brown and Hodkinson (1988). They redefined the genus on the basis of fore wing venation, the presence of ridges on vertex, the angled margin of the metacoxa, the thorn-like meracanthus and the long slender saltatorial spurs on the metatibia. Some of these characters (fore wing venation, shape of metacoxa and meracanthus) are, however, shared with all other Phacopteronidae , including the Oriental Phacopteron lentiginosum Buckton and probably constitute synapomorphies at the family-level. Long slender, unsclerotised apical saltatorial spurs on the metatibia are also found, besides Pseudophacopteron , in the Oriental Cornegenapsylla sinica Yang & Li and the Neotropical Phacosemoides sicki Costa Lima & Guitton. The ridging of vertex seems to be a more restricted character but a variety of conditions with transitional forms can be observed in the Afrotropical members of the Phacopteronidae (Figs. 1–16). The definition of the Phacopteronidae genera thus needs to be improved and an analysis on a world basis is a priority. This is, however, beyond the scope of this paper. Provisionally, all Afrotropical species are treated here as belonging to Pseudophacopteron .

Within the Afrotropical fauna, two groups of Pseudophacopteron are recognized as differentiated by the characters given in Table 1. Each is probably monophyletic in the context of the Afrotropical fauna but might be paraphyletic in respect to the world fauna (see Discussion and Conclusions).

Character P. zimmermanni -group P. caffrariense -group

Vertex with ± developed median ridge or flat lacking median ridge, flat or with weakly raised in the middle midline

Lateral tubercles on vertex absent present or absent adjacent to eyes

Median epicranial suture reduced throughout distinct basally and/or apically, reduced in the middle

Genae relatively small, with tubercle below relatively large, with tubercle below torulus broad torulus narrow and acute apically and blunt or right-angled apically

Antenna with a single rhinarium on each of with more than one rhinarium at least on some of segments 4–9 the segments (3–)4–8 and one rhinarium on segment 9

Fore wing veins M 1+2, M 3+4 usually lacking well-delimited dark with 1–2 well-delimited dark spots medially and Cu 1a spots medially

Metafemur constricted medially not constricted medially

Metatibia with lateral spurs similar to apical lacking such lateral spurs spurs

In the following keys, easily observable characters (e.g. the fore wing pattern) were preferred to facilitate the identification. The keys therefore do not necessarily reflect phylogenetic relationships.