Albanycada Villet 1989

Albanycada Villet, 1989 Figs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 Albanycada Villet, 1989: 60, pl. III, fig. 10. Type species: Platypleura albigera Walker, 1850: 12, by original designation. Morphological diagnosis and description. Albanycada was described and illustrated by Villet (1989). A defining character is that the male urite (Figs 3 B, 3 D, 4 D) has a distinctive shape, with the apices of the ventral mediolateral processes turned laterally as in the African species of Platypleura Amyot & Audinet-Serville, 1834 sensu stricto (s. s.), but robust, short, conical and lacking spine-like setae. The urite’s lateral lobes are moderately developed and also without dense, spine-like setae (Figs 3 B, 3 D, 4 D). Albanycada differs from Platypleura s. s. in that the hind wings are yellowish rather than distinctly orange, and the mediolateral and lateral processes of the uncus are spineless rather than spiny. With a few exceptions (Villet and Edwards 2021), the species of Platypleura s. s. have well developed mediolateral processes on the uncus, and fore wings that are (almost) entirely pigmented. In addition, the relatively small body size and some general features of the male genitalia link Albanycada to Platypleura, Kongota Distant, 1904 and their relatives (Boulard 1972). The median processes of the uncus are very reduced, fused, with a median groove, its basal margins are smoothly curved and swollen, forming a depression beneath anal ring and its apex is atrophied, disappearing between mediolateral processes. The mediolateral processes of the uncus are well developed, with arms separate, appressed to posterior of median processes, tube-like, meeting in midline and tapering apically; apices turned laterally, conical, spineless and unadorned. The lateral processes of the uncus are subtriangular, equilateral, about as long as broad, and without dense setae. Features of Albanycada that are characteristic of Platypleurini in general (Villet 1989; Moulds 2005; Marshall et al. 2018) include the relatively short, broad and slightly flattened body (Figs 1, 2, 3); the width of the head across the eyes about equal to that of the mesonotum (Figs 1, 2, 3); the small, rounded paranotal lobes; the fore wings with eight apical cells and the hind wings with six apical cells; the proximal spine on the protibia that is pressed against the leg (Fig. 4 A); the reniform opercula that almost meet in the midline (Fig. 4 B); the apical tergite of the abdomen with a band of whitish tomentum; and pygoferal processes that are vestigial and not visible in profile (Fig. 4 C). Albanycada has a smaller body size relative to related genera. The fore wing of Albanycada is more oval than is usual in the Platypleurini, the costal margin is only slightly dilated, and the marginal membranes of the fore- and hind wings are about equal in width (Figs 1, 2 A, 3 A, C). Other closely related African platypleurine genera (e. g. Severiana Boulard, 1972, Soudaniella Boulard, 1972, Munza Distant, 1904, Kongota Distant, 1904, or Brevisana Boulard, 1972) have an uncus with a distinctly different structure; no orange or yellowish pigmentation on the hind wings; and sometimes large, angular paranotal lobes (e. g. Oxypleura Amyot & Audinet-Serville, 1843, Ioba Distant, 1904, Sadaka Distant, 1904) or an unusually wide marginal membrane on the hind wing (Munza) (Boulard 1972). Molecular systematics. The genus may be identified using either four genes (COI, COII, 16 S, and EF-1 α: Price et al. 2019) or 490 nuclear Anchored Hybrid Enrichment loci (Stukel et al. 2026). Etymology. The name of the genus is formed from “Albany”, referring to the historical Albany District of the Cape Province from which the type species originates, and “-cada”, a truncated version of the Latin noun “ cicada ”, a cicada; it is a grammatically feminine noun denoting a cicada from the Albany region of South Africa (Villet 1989, 60). Distribution. Albanycada is endemic to the Albany Thicket Biome (Kaffrarian Succulent Thicket, Subtropical Thicket, Valley Bushveld: Acocks 1953; Low and Rebelo 1996; Hoare et al. 2006; South African National Biodiversity Institute 2021) in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces of South Africa (Fig. 5). Discussion. Albanycada was estimated to have diverged from its sister genus, Platypleura s. s., in the mid-Miocene, c. 13.5 Ma (Price et al. 2019). It is now endemic to South Africa.