Polyglyptini incertae sedis, new placement

McKamey, Stuart H., 2017, The identity of three South American " smiliine " treehoppers (Hemiptera, Membracidae) and related taxonomic changes, including description of a new genus in Thuridini, ZooKeys 678, pp. 65-72 : 65

Polyglyptini incertae sedis, new placement

Thelia planeflava Fairmaire, 1846: 306. [sp. n.] Brazil.

Heranice planeflava ; Funkhouser 1927: 317.

Ophiderma planeflava ; Goding 1929: 277.

Discussion.

No holotype or other specimen was located. Fairmaire’s (1846) description of T. planeflava translates to: "Prothorax projecting backward, very little elevated, rugosely punctate throughout the head; entirely yellow; base of the abdomen a little orange; forewings hyaline, with the internal margin slightly coated." He reported it as 6 mm long.

In the mid 1800's, Fairmaire’s period, the concept of Thelia Amyot & Serville contained many unrelated taxa that have since been referred to other tribes and subfamilies. Fairmaire’s (1846) publication is a good example, with three of his species now belonging to Hypheodana Metcalf ( Darninae: Darnini ), Carynota Fitch ( Smiliinae: Telamonini ), and Heranice Stål ( Smiliinae: Polyglyptini ). His placement of his fourth, Brazilian species, planeflava in Thelia , therefore, offers no clues to it’s true identity. It is also unfortunately not illustrated, as were the other species.

In his catalogue, without explanation, Funkhouser (1927) moved planeflava from Thelia to Heranice , and Goding (1929) moved it to Ophiderma Fairmaire. Schmidt (1931) discussed planeflava and ultimately included it in his key to Heranice , restating Fairmaire’s original description.

Based on Fairmaire’s description, the species’ length, and reported distribution, it is unlikely to be any of the aforementioned genera; Thelia , Carynota , and Ophiderma have Nearctic distributions (and further, Ophiderma feeds on oaks, which do not occur in Brazil). Heranice are larger and apparently confined to high elevations in the Andes Mountains, and Hypheodana are brown.

Polyglyptini often have the anterior region of the forewing coriaceous and punctate, which may be what Fairmaire considered “coated” and, while no entirely yellow species are known, most Polyglyptini genera have a slightly elevated pronotum that extends backward over the body.