Viettealna Boulard, 1980a

Sanborn, Allen F., 2021, The cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Cicadidae) of Madagascar including a new tribe, five new genera, twelve new species, four new species synonymies, five revised species status, ten new combinations, new tribal assignments for four genera, one new subtribe synonymy, a checklist and key to the species, Zootaxa 4937 (1), pp. 1-79 : 65-66

Viettealna Boulard, 1980a

Viettealna Boulard 1980a: 106 .

Type species.— Viettelana griveaudi Boulard 1980a: 106 . ( Parc de Tsimbazaza , Tananarive, Central Madagascar)

Remarks.— Boulard (1980a) assigned the monospecific genus to the Taphurini . Marshall et al. (2018b) reassigned the genus to the Lamnotialnini but were unable to examine specimens to verify this placement as correct. The presence of the large, non-retractable uncus, the absence of claspers and an upper pygofer lobe prevent placement of the genus in Lamnotialnini. Viettelana possesses a partially fused fore wing cubitus posterior and anal vein 1, the fore wing cubitus anterior 1 division about in the middle, the fused bases of the hind wing radius posterior and median vein, the lack of timbal covers, the lack of S-shaped male opercula, the well developed pygofer distal shoulder, the lack of a pygofer upper lobe, a large, unretractable uncus that is not bent caudally, what appears to be a mid lateral flange on the uncus, and the lack of claspers are all characteristic of the Tettigomyiinae ( Marshall et al. 2018b; Sanborn et al. 2020).

The genus is transferred here to the Malagasiini within the Tettigomyiinae based on the close costal and radius & subcostal veins in the fore wing, the dorsal beak on the pygofer, the aedeagus being restrained by ventral apophyses of the uncus, the distally narrowing uncus and the lack of distal ornamentation of the aedeagus. These characters eliminate the other tribes of the Tettigomyiinae as a potential site for the transfer ( Marshall et al. 2018b).

The only species of the genus is characterized by the head with the anterior postclypeus smoothly curved, eyes globular, protruding anteriorly, slightly wider than the anterior pronotum but not as wide as mesonotum, the second ulnar cell of the fore wing is short, about half the length of the first ulnar cell, hind wings have six apical cells, opercula small, male abdomen subcylindrical with a conical apex, longer than distance between apex of postclypeus and posterior cruciform elevation, and the pygofer distal shoulder is small and curved (illustrated in Boulard 1980a).

Distribution.—The genus has been reported only from Madagascar ( Duffels & van der Laan 1985; Sanborn 2013).