Insect keys » Fulgoroidea

Family Fulgoridae - Fulgorid planthoppers

The Family Fulgoridae contains the world's largest and most spectacular planthoppers. They have been given the inaccurate and misleading common name of Lantern flies. It is inaccurate because the name is based on an erroneous report that some species produce light when they mate. Australia's fulgorid fauna, although containing some of our largest fulgoroids many of which are brightly coloured, is relatively depauperate when compared with the SE Asian fauna.

Fulgorids usually have a process on the front of the head, although in most species this process forms no more than a small knob pressed down onto the vertex. In some forms, however, the process is large and obvious. The Australian genera Rentinus Metcalf (1947: 109) and Eurinopsyche Kirkaldy (1906: 389) are notable for the apical prolongation of the head. Other Australian genera, such as Desudaba, Birdantis and Erilla do not have such a prolongation.

Species of Fulgoridae known to occur in Australia

The Asian and Australian fauna was reviewed by Lallemand (1963)

Subfamily Aphaeninae
Tribe APHAENINI
Genus Desudaba Walker Desudaba Walker 1858: 58 Metanira Stål 1863: 236, synonymised by Stål 1866a: 137
Desudaba aulica Stål Desudaba aulica Stål 1869: 241	Qld, PNG
Desudaba circe (Stål) Metanira circe Stål 1863: 237 Desudaba circe (Stål), Kirkaldy 1906: 390 [update: image added 6.iv.2007]	Qld
Desudaba danae (Gerstaecker) Metanira danae Gerstaecker 1895: 24 Desudaba danae (Gerstaecker), Kirkaldy 1906: 316	Qld
Desudaba maculata Distant Desudaba maculata Distant 1893: 277	Qld, NSW
Desudaba meridionalis Lallemand Desudaba meridionalis Lallemand 1928: 243	NSW
Desudaba modesta Jacobi Desudaba modesta Jacobi 1928: 2	WA
Desudaba psittacus Walker Desudaba psittacus Walker 1858a: 59 Metanira thisbe Stål 1863: 236, synonymised by Stål 1866: 389 Note: Lallemand (1963: 48) points out that the apparent disagreement of gender between generic and specific names here is due to psittacus being a noun rather than an adjective.	NSW, Qld
Genus Galela Distant Galela Distant 1906 : 26
Galela abdominalis Distant Galela abdominalis Distant 1906: 27	WA
Galela parva Distant Galela parva Distant 1906: 27 [update: image added 17.xii.2010]	WA
Tribe LIMOISINI
Genus Erilla Distant Erilla Distant 1906 : 28
Erilla turneri Distant Erilla turneri Distant 1906: 28	Qld, NSW
Genus Neolieftinckana Lallemand Lieftinckana Lallemand 1959 : 190, preoccupied by Lieftinckana Lallemand and Synave 1955 (Cercopidae) Neolieftinckana Lallemand 1963: 51, nom. nov. for Lieftinckana Lallemand 1959 Note: It is unlikely that this genus occurs in Australia (see note below)
Neolieftinckana fuscata (Guérin-Méneville) Aphaena fuscata Guérin-Méneville 1831: 10 Neolieftinckana fuscata (Guérin-Méneville), Lallemand 1963: 52 [update: image added 6.iv.2007] Note: The record from Australia, reported by Metcalf (1947: 150), is derived from Dohrn (1859: 57) who listed the species with no further information. Lallemand (1963: 52) gave PNG and Aru Island as the distribution for the species.	Australia?, PNG, Indonesia (Aru Island)
Subfamily Poiocerinae
Genus Birdantis Stål Birdantis Stål 1863a : 581 Myrilla Distant 1888: 487, synonymised by Lallemand 1963: 9
Birdantis goemansi Constant Birdantis goemansi Constant 2011: 48 [update: 20.v.2011]	N. Qld
Birdantis mouldsi Constant Birdantis mouldsi Constant 2011: 49 [update: 20.v.2011]	N.Qld
Birdantis virginiae Constant Birdantis virginiae Constant 2011: 51 [update: 20.v.2011]	N. Qld
Genus Desudaboides Musgrave Desudaboides Musgrave 1927: 47
Desudaboides fletcheri Constant Desudaboides fletcheri Constant 2010: 43 [update: images added 12.ii.2010]	NSW
Desudaboides fuscomaculata Musgrave Desudaboides fuscomaculata Musgrave 1927: 47 [update: image of live specimen added 29.v.2014]	Qld
Desudaboides melindae Constant Desudaboides melindae Constant 2010: 43 [update: images added 12.ii.2010]	Qld, NSW
Desudaboides nigrifrons Constant Desudaboides nigrofrons Constant 2010: 45 [update: images added 12.ii.2010]	Qld
Desudaboides rentzi Constant Desudaboides rentzi Constant 2010: 46 [update: images added 12.ii.2010]	NT
Subfamily Amyclinae Note: Metcalf's (1938) original spelling for this subfamily was Amycalinae but this was amended to match the type genus Amycle Stål by Metcalf (1939: 247). [update: 27.i.2011]
Genus Eurinopsyche Kirkaldy Eurinopsyche Kirkaldy 1906 : 389 Eurynopsyche Kirkaldy, Lallemand 1963: 63 (subsequent misspelling) Note: An examination of the male genitalia is needed to determine the status of the three subspecies recognised by Lallemand (1963).
Eurinopsyche obscurata obscurata (Fabricius) Fulgora obscurata Fabricius 1775: 674 Eurinopsyche obscurata (Fabricius), Kirkaldy 1906: 316 Eurystheus pallescens Distant 1906: 20, synonymised (as E. obscurata f. pallescens) by Lallemand 1963: 64 Eurinopsyche arborea Kirkaldy 1913: 12, synonymised by Lallemand 1963: 64 Note: The spelling of this generic name was amended to Eurynopsyche by Lallemand (1963) but no explanation was provided. Lallemand (1963) regarded Eurystheus pallescens Distant as a colour variant. Since, Lallemand's work appeared after 1961, ICZN Art. 15.2 states that f. pallescens is infrasubspecific.	Qld, Indonesia (Java)
Eurinopsyche obscurata clementi (Distant) Eurystheus clementi Distant 1906: 19 Eurinopsyche obscurata clementi (Distant), Lallemand 1963: 64 Note: Nagai & Porion (1996) listed this as a synonym of E. obscurata without providing any evidence to support this. [update: 10.ii.2011]	WA
Eurinopsyche obscurata doddi (Distant) Eurystheus doddi Distant 1906: 19 Eurinopsyche doddi (Distant), Kirkaldy 1907: 122 Eurinopsyche obscurata doddi (Distant), Lallemand 1963: 64 Note: Nagai & Porion (1996) listed this as a synonym of E. obscurata without providing any evidence to support this. [update: 10.ii.2011]	Qld
Genus Rentinus Metcalf Eurystheus Stål 1862: 303, preoccupied by Eurystheus Bate 1856 (Crustacea) Rentinus Metcalf 1947: 109, nom. nov. for Eurystheus Stål.
Rentinus dilatatus (Westwood) Fulgora dilatata Westwood 1838: xxxix Pyrops inducta Walker 1858b: 30, synonymised by Distant 1906: 18 Rentinus dilatatus (Westwood), Lallemand 1963: 63 Note: Metcalf (1947) chose Walker's species name over Westwood's but does not explain why. There is some confusion about the data of publication of this name. Westwood's paper was presented to the Linnaean Society of London on 21 November 1837. Metcalf (1947) states that it was published by Westwood (1839) in Trans. Linn. Soc. London: 18: 146 although the front cover of volume 18 is dated 1841. Lallemand (1963) appears to have confused the issue by giving the original description as being published by Westwood (1838) in the Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 8: xxxix, with a description also appearing in Westwood (1841) Trans. Linn. Soc. London 18: 146. An examination of all these publications has determined that: 1) the pages of the Annales de la Société Entomologique de France are numbered with arabic numerals except for the last section which contains reports of meetings and other matters and these pages are numbered with roman numerals. 2) Volume 8 of this journal was published in 1839 and no description of Fulgora dilatata Westwood appears in it. 3) Volume 7 of this journal was published in 1838 and contains a report (on pages xxxviii–xxxix in the last section) of Westwood's presentation to the Linnaean Society of London including the descriptions of all the new species with indication of type depository. 4) The first valid description of Fulgora dilatata Westwood was therefore published in Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 7: xxxix and the date of publication of Westwood's intended description in Trans. Linn. Soc. London has been gazumped. 5) The date on the front cover of volume 18 of T. Linn. Soc. London has been confirmed as 1841. [update: 10.ii.2011]	NSW, Vic, WA
Rentinus dilatatus perkinsi (Kirkaldy) Eurystheus perkinsi Kirkaldy 1906: 389 Rentinus dilatatus perkinsi (Kirkaldy), Lallemand 1963: 63 Note: Nagai & Porion (1996) listed this as a synonym of R. dilatatus without providing any evidence to support this. [update: 10.ii.2011]	Qld

Family Fulgoridae - Fulgorid planthoppers

Species of Fulgoridae known to occur in Australia

Subfamily Aphaeninae

Tribe APHAENINI

Genus Desudaba Walker

Genus Galela Distant

Tribe LIMOISINI

Genus Erilla Distant

Genus Neolieftinckana Lallemand

Subfamily Poiocerinae

Genus Birdantis Stål

Genus Desudaboides Musgrave

Subfamily Amyclinae

Genus Eurinopsyche Kirkaldy

Genus Rentinus Metcalf