Dorisiana semilata ( Walker, 1850 )

Sanborn, Allen F., 2024, The cicada (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) fauna of the Lesser Antilles sensu lato with the description of two new species, two new combinations, and a key to species, Zootaxa 5497 (1), pp. 33-69 : 46

Dorisiana semilata ( Walker, 1850)

Cicada semilata Walker 1850: 122 ( St. Lucia, Antilles and Cayenne, French Guiana).

Cicada passer Walker 1850: 124 ( Venezuela).

Cicada brizo Walker 1850: 125 (Unknown collection locality).

Cicada melisa Walker 1850: 127 ( Venezuela).

Cicada melina Walker 1850: 128 (Unknown collection locality).

Cicada panyases Walker 1850: 133 ( British Guiana).

Cicada pidytes Walker 1850: 134 (Unknown collection locality).

Cicada physcoa Walker 1850: 135 (Unknown collection locality).

Cicada braure Walker 1850: 136 (Pará, Brazil).

Cicada solennis Walker 1850: 143 (St. Lucia, Antilles) .

Remarks. Metcalf (1963a) synonymized a number of species but they may not all represent the same species but some, e.g., Dorisiana metcalfi Sanborn & Heath, 2014 , have been removed from synonymy due to differences in genitalia ( Sanborn & Heath 2014). Metcalf (1963a, b) synonymized multiple species without comment, probably as a result of abbreviated descriptions like those found in Walker (1850), that have since been resurrected (see summary in species list of Sanborn 2013).

Diagnosis. Dorisiana semilata is a species presenting a greenish tawny head and thorax with an ochraceous abdomen. It is similar in general appearance to Guyalna bogotana ( Distant, 1892b) but can be distinguished by the triangular timbal cover with ventral margin angled dorsally to the long body axis distinguishing it as a species of Dorisiana . In addition, Dorisiana semilata is a wider species with a more rotund mesothorax. The transverse fascia through the ocelli is thick and generally complete, there is a transverse piceous fascia on the posterior of the head, and the anterior and posterior extensions from the lateral angle of the pronotal collar are about the same size in Dorisiana semilata .

Distribution. The species has been reported from a wide geographic range but continued work suggests some of these are the result of misidentifications (e.g., Sanborn 2018; 2020b, c). Records for the species have been published for Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Suriname, St. Lucia, the Antilles, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela ( Metcalf 1963a; Duffels & van der Laan 1985; Dorval et al. 2011; Sanborn 2007a; 2011a, b; 2013; 2014; 2019a; 2020b; 2023a; Sanborn & Heath 2014). Previous records to Panama ( Sanborn 2018), Peru ( Sanborn 2020b), and Ecuador ( Sanborn 2020c) have been shown to be in error. The status of some synonyms needs to be investigated in greater detail. The range of the species may continue to be refined in the future if some of the synonyms turn out to be valid species.

The species and one of its junior synonyms were originally described from St. Lucia in the Lesser Antilles ( Walker 1850). Distant (1883), Cobben (1965), Sanborn (2007a; 2010; 2011a), and Sanborn & Heath (2014) report the species from Trinidad but without specific locality data.