[Back to North American Derbidae]
Contents
Family Derbidae Spinola, 1839
Subfamily Otiocerinae Muir, 1917
Tribe Otiocerini Muir, 1917
Clade Otiocerina (American genera bearing an antennal process; Bahder et al. 2025)
Genus Litophallus Bahder & Bartlett, 2025
Type species Litophallus inornatus Bahder & Bartlett, 2025
Distribution
Eastern USA (especially southeastern), Jamaica
Recognized species
Litophallus inornatus Bahder & Bartlett, 2025—Jamaica
Litophallus schellenbergii (Kirby, 1821) —Southeastern USA (viz. USA: AL, AR, AZ, FL, GA, IL, LA, MA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NJ, NY, OH (Bugguide adds WV). The Arizona record may prove to be a new species.
= Otiocerus schellenbergii Kirby, 1821: 18 (original combination)
= Shellenius schellenbergii (Kirby, 1821), combination by Osborn (1938: 329)
= Litophallus schellenbergii (Kirby, 1821), combination by Bahder et al. 2025
Economic Importance
Species are seldom encountered, but the type species of this genus was found on Coconut during a survey of possible phytoplasma vectors.
Plant associations
Litophallus schellenbergii – Acer, Carpinus caroliniana, Sabal palmetto, Fraxinus (“on ash” in Spooner 1937)
Litophallus inornatus – Coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.).
Recognition
A key to genus was provided in Bahder et al. (2025).
Description of S. schellenbergii from Kirby 1821: 18:
Schellenbergii. 7. O. pallidus, capite sanguineo, elytris absque vasis roseis.
[female]
Long. corp. lin. 2.
Expans. alar. lin. 7-1/4
Corpus pallidum. Caput oblongum, sanguineum : rostro obtusion vix ascendenti ; carinis superioribus approximatis niveis,inferioribus
Diagnosis from Bahder et al. (2025)
“Medium-sized. Head in lateral view broad, lachrymiform or broadly rounded and projected for distance
greater than maximum width of eye; head broader than long (length 0.5–0.8x greatest width); vertex convex, apex
rounded. Vertex narrowly triangular, lateral margins in contact at head apex, disc deeply concave (median carina
obsolete). Frons strongly narrowed with lateral margins in close contact for entire length. Pits on lateral margins
of vertex and frons. Lateral ocelli obscure or absent. Antennae with scape bearing elongated curved projection
(projection shorter than antennal length), pedicel elongated and curved, about 3x longer than scape. Apex of rostrum
reaching hind coxae, apical segment short (about as wide as long). Composite vein reaching CuP before wing
margin (i.e., clavus open), C5 cell (i.e., procubital cell) closed. Stridulatory plate on trailing margin of hindwing
small, with concave external margin. Hind tibia lacking lateral spines, second tarsal segment bearing two apical
spines. Hind tibial spinulation 4–(4–5)–2. Aedeagal shaft straight, lacking processes, endosoma simple (lacking
processes in type species).”
lateral view.
Online resources
TaxonPages.
iNaturalist.
Collecting
Found infrequently, like many Otiocerini, occasionally at (or near) lights, or on the underside of leaves. Litophallus inornatus was found sweeping coconut fronds (inspection may be more effective)
Molecular resources
There is molecular data for 56 ‘items’ representing 3+ species on Genbank. Barcode of Life has 7 sequences for Shellenius balli, which fall into 3 BINs.
References
Bahder, B.W., W. Myrie, E.E. Helmick & C.R.Bartlett. 2025. A new genus and species of otiocerine planthopper (Hemiptera: Auchenorrhyncha: Derbidae) from coconut palms (Cocos nucifera) in Jamaica, revised status of Shellenius schellenbergii and an updated molecular phylogeny of New World Otiocerinae. 5723(2): 209-226. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5723.2.3
Ball, E.D. 1928. Some new genera and species of N. A. Derbidae with notes on others (Fulgoridae). Canadian Entomologist 60: 196-201.
Bartlett, C.R., L.B. O’Brien & S.W. Wilson. 2014. A review of the planthoppers (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea) of the United States. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 50: 1-287.
Kirby, W.F. 1821. The characters of Otiocerus and Anotia, two new genera of Hemipterous insects belonging to the family of Cicadiadae : with a description of several species. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London (Second series) Zoology 13: 12-23.
Osborn, H. 1938. The Fulgoridae of Ohio. Bulletin of the Ohio Biological Survey, 6, 283–349.
Spooner, C.S. 1937. Derbid field days. Papers presented in the thirtieth annual meeting, Rockford, Illinois, May 7 and 8, 1937 (papers in Zoology). Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science 30(2): 315-316.
