Acanthotingis Monte, 1940

(Figs. 1A–D, 2 A–B, 4)

Acanthotingis Monte, 1940: 13–15 .

Type species. Acanthotingis apicicornis Monte, 1940, by original designation.

Diagnosis. Acanthotingis can be separated from all other known genera of Tingidae by the following combination of characters: head with five long spines; antennae moderately long, pedicle extremely short, basiflagellomere slender, four or more times longer than distiflagellomere; paranota biseriate, lateral margins armed with irregular spines or spinules, constricted near calli and near pronotal angles; hemelytra devoid of hairs, but costa may have spinules along lateral margins; costal area of hemelytra biseriate, subcostal area with two to four rows of areolae, rm vein or apex of discoidal cell produced vertically into a tubercle.

Redescription. Head with five spines. Antennae moderately long; scape (segment I) stout, infuscate; pedicel (segment II) shorter, one third length of scape; basiflagellomere (segment III) slender, extremely long, more than four times length of scape; distiflagellomere (segment IV) short, clavate, covered with fine hairs. Rostrum moderately long, reaching to mesocoxae. Pronotum finely punctate, tricarinate; paranota biseriate, constricted near calli and also near humeral angles, lateral margins with irregular spines or spinules (Fig.2). Hemelytra constricted or narrowed near middle, spines may be present along lateral margins; rm vein elevated above cubitus vein in lateral view. Each rm vein with one infuscate, elevated tubercle, which may be present at apex of discoidal cell. Abdomen narrow; abdominal spiracular peritremes projecting outward.

Geographic distribution. Brazil and Panama.

Comments. Acanthotingis bears a striking resemblance to several species of the paleotropical genus Haedus Distant, but can be easily separated from that genus by the longer first antennal segment, the differently shaped paranota with irregularly sized spines along the lateral margins, and by the lack of hairs on the pronotal carinae or hemelytral veins. Leptopharsa Stål is also a similar genus, but can be separated by the rounded, unarmed paranota.