The subfamily Nicomiinae is a poorly known, plesiomorphic group of Neotropical treehoppers currently comprising two genera, Tolania Stal and Nicomia Stal. This group is of considerable interest phylogenetically because, unlike typical membracids, nicomiines lack a posterior pronotal process. Morphological evidence indicates that Nicomiinae are derived from treehoppers with the posterior process well-developed. Two genera included in this study, Holdgatiella Evans and Euwalkeria Goding, are as yet unplaced but believed to be closely related to the Nicomiinae. Like the nicomiines, these two genera lack a posterior pronotal process, with the exception of some Euwalkeria, and the head is wider than the distance across the pronotal humeri. Four main characters support grouping these four genera into a single subfamily: 1. more complete wing venation, with forewing vein M having three or more branches; 2. scutellum exposed; 3. lacking a posterior pronotal process; and 4. an L-shaped aedeagus. A phylogenetic analysis using maximum parsimony of morphological characters will be presented.
Species 1: Homoptera Membracidae (treehoppers)
Keywords: systematics, biological diversity
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