Hovana, Distant, 1905

Sanborn, Allen F., Marshall, David C., Moulds, Maxwell S., Puissant, Stéphane & Simon, Chris, 2020, Redefinition of the cicada tribe Hemidictyini Distant, 1905, status of the tribe Iruanini Boulard, 1993 rev. stat., and the establishment of Hovanini n. tribe and Sapantangini n. tribe (Hemiptera: Cicadidae), Zootaxa 4747 (1), pp. 133-155 : 148

The Classification of Hovana

Hovana (from the north-west of Madagascar) presents a more difficult problem, both because no genetic data are available and because it possesses a more unusual combination of characters ( Tables 2 & 3 ). The reticulated forewing veins render one of the useful features inapplicable (forewing vein CuA1 division). The remaining characters support the classification of Hovana in Cicadinae , Tettigomyinae, and Tibicininae about equally ( Tables 2 & 3 ). However, there are issues with the known Tibicininae being absent from equatorial and southern Africa or Madagascar ( Sanborn 2013; Marshall et al. 2018), and the lack of fused hindwing RP+M and lack of a ventrobasal pocket of the aedeagus suggest that Hovana does not belong in the Tibicininae . Similarly, a retractable uncus is an important genitalic structure found in Cicadinae that is lacking in Hovana . Although there are some contradictory structures in Hovana and other Tettigomyiinae , the long, non-retractable uncus and the turned–back rim of the timbal cavity suggest an affiliation with Tettigomyiinae . Furthermore, one tettigomyiine tribe (Iruanini rev. stat.) is noted to have “distal shoulders developed but fused as one due to apical narrowing of the pygofer” ( Marshall et al., 2018, p. 49), and we speculate that the broad dorsal beak of Hovana could represent a continuation of that trend. Because Hovana does not fall within any described Tettigomyiinae tribe, and appears incompatible with other tribes elsewhere, Hovanini n. tribe is proposed here with the type genus Hovana Distant, 1905g .