Sobre a provável parafilia de Centrotinae Amyot & Serville (Homoptera, Membracidae)

Abstract

ABSTRACI. ABOUTTHEPROBABLEPARAPHYLYOFCENTROTINAE AMYOT & SERVILLE (HOMOPTERA, MEMBRACIDAE). An altemative proposition for the analysis of the diagnostic states of the pronotum in the Centrotinae and Membracinae (sensu Strümpel) is presented. ln this analysis, a linear transformation series is proposed for this character, departing from the state found in Tolania Stal, 1858 changing to an intermediate state in Centrotinae, which is still treated as plesiomorphic when compared with the one found in Membracinae. The transformation series thus defined, c1arifies the problems related to the monophyly of the Membracidae, which is herein supported by the state of pronotum previously used to define the Centrotinae. This late r taxon is treated as paraphyletic. The monophyly of the Membracinae is unquestioned, but its sister group is still unknown. Finally, this analysis permitted the reinterpretation of several characters, previously treated as homoplasies, nowas synapomorphies.

Morphology‐based phylogeny of the treehopper family Membracidae (Hemiptera: Cicadomorpha: Membracoidea)

“…Although we treated the scutellar concealment (ch. 5) as a linear transformation series as hypothesized by Creão‐Duarte (1992), our analysis did not support his cladistic hypothesis, based on pronotal form, that the Centrotinae are paraphyletic with respect to membracid subfamilies having the scutellum completely concealed by the pronotum. Indeed, a posteriorly produced pronotum appears to have arisen at least three times (ch.…”