FNZ 63 - Auchenorrhyncha (Insecta: Hemiptera): catalogue - Methods and Conventions
Larivière, M-C; Fletcher, MJ; Larochelle, A 2010. Auchenorrhyncha (Insecta: Hemiptera): catalogue. Fauna of New Zealand 63, 232 pages.
(
ISSN 0111-5383 (print),
ISSN 1179-7193 (online)
;
no.
63.
ISBN 978-0-478-34720-3 (print),
ISBN 978-0-478-34721-0 (online)
).
Published 16 Jun 2010
ZooBank: http://zoobank.org/References/ED0686ED-A8A6-42C2-AEFA-CDDBE9BF001D
Methods and Conventions
This catalogue is based on an exhaustive survey of the literature published between 1777 and July 2009 (over 800 publications) and the recording of information associated with authoritatively identified specimens deposited in the following New Zealand entomological museums and collections:
AMNZ Auckland War and Memorial Museum, Auckland.
CMNZ Canterbury Museum, Christchurch.
LUNZ Entomology Research Museum, Lincoln University, Lincoln.
MONZ Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Wellington.
NZAC New Zealand Arthropod Collection, Landcare Research, Auckland.
OMNZ Otago Museum, Dunedin (including BPNZ, Brian Patrick Private Collection).
Field surveys and collecting techniques. Most areas of New Zealand have been visited by Auchenorrhyncha collectors. This has provided a basic inventory of taxa and resulted in New Zealand collections having representatives of most species, either described or undescribed. The South Island has generally received the closest attention whereas the North Island has been somewhat neglected by collectors, except for the Northland, Auckland, and Wellington areas. Coastal habitats (estuaries, sand dunes, salt marshes, mangroves), flaxlands, edges of streams crossing forests, the underside of loose tree bark, mosses, and rotten logs are among the macro- and microhabitats least surveyed.
The material collected so far is rich in geographical information but often poor in associated biological data. Furthermore, many species are represented only by a few specimens, impeding the ability of taxonomists to assess morphological variations within and between populations. More specialised field surveys need to be carried out in the future in order to provide a more detailed picture of geographical distribution and to increase our knowledge of the natural history of as many species as possible.
Taxonomic information. The appropriate taxonomic literature was checked to obtain original spellings, years of publication, page citations, type-species designations, type-locality information, and the nomenclatural acts and changes affecting the status of New Zealand taxa.
The catalogue is arranged alphabetically by infraorder, superfamily, family, subfamily, tribe, genus, subgenus, species, and subspecies. This arrangement provides the quickest access to information and the easiest use of the catalogue by non-specialists, as well as specialists. A table showing the higher classification of Fulgoromorpha and Cicadomorpha is also provided (Table 1). The nomenclature adopted in this catalogue adheres to the provisions established in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, Fourth Edition (1999).
Family-group names. Valid names of families, subfamilies, and tribes (when available) are given as bold centred headings. Treatment of nomenclature of family-group names is not included. The familial classification adopted in this catalogue is explained in the Introduction (see pp. 20–22) and follows Table 1.
Genus-group names. Valid names are given with author and year as bold centred headings. Under this heading the valid name and its synonyms, in chronological order, are given with citation of the original authority, year of publication, and page reference. Information on original rank, availability, homonymy and synonymy, or changes of rank are also included. Incorrect subsequent spellings are not given unless they affect our understanding of the nomenclature. The full synonymy of adventive taxa from outside the Australian Region is omitted except in some cases for added clarity. Instead, literature references providing access to the complete synonymy are given. Type species (in their original combination) and method of fixation are given for valid native genus-group names as well as synonyms. Strict adherence is given to the definition of “available name” by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (1999).
Species-group names. Valid names are given in their current combination with author and year as bold left justified headings. Under this heading valid names of native species, subspecies, and their synonyms are given in chronological order as for genus-group names. Information on original rank, availability, homonymy and synonymy, or changes of rank are also included. Incorrect spellings are not given unless they affect our understanding of the nomenclature. The full synonymy of adventive taxa from outside the Australian Region is omitted except in some cases for added clarity. Instead, literature references providing access to the complete synonymy are given. New combinations are listed chronologically and followed by a colon (:) and the bibliographic reference of the combination. Type data are provided for available names of native species and subspecies.
Due to conservation imperatives, common names of cicadas have been provided or created anew. For other Auchenorrhyncha groups, only previously existing common names have been provided.
Biostatus. This is indicated for all genera, species, and subspecies (A=adventive; E=endemic; N=native but not endemic). The biostatus categories used are defined in the glossary (Appendix A). A combination of criteria was used to assess whether taxa were adventive including: recency of first New Zealand record in the literature and collections; fit of current geographical and ecological distribution with recognised natural patterns or similarity of such distribution with that of other adventive arthropods; and dispersal ability, especially in relation to flightlessness and distance from the nearest overseas populations.
Type data. These are listed in the following format: Type, Holotype, Lectotype, Syntypes, or Neotype followed by sex (accompanied by number of specimens in the case of syntypes), acronym of entomological collection or museum (repository; see Appendix C for list of acronyms), area code (Crosby et al. 1976, 1998) of type locality and name of type locality. An asterisk indicates type specimen(s) not seen by the authors.
Photographs of primary types deposited in New Zealand collections and museums were captured through a Leica DC500 digital camera on a Leica MZ-12 stereo-microscope or, in the case of larger specimens, with a Canon 20D or 40D as well as the in-focus composite imaging systems Auto-Montage (Synoptics, U.K.) and Helicon Focus (HeliconSoft, Ukraine). Type label information was digitised using a flat bed scanner (Microtek ScanMaker 4). Further photo-processing and figure layouts were done with the software packages PhotoShop® and CorelDRAW® graphics suite. The type photographs in this catalogue (pp. 149–191) and photos of other types are available on the Landcare Research website (http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz, New Zealand Hemiptera website).
Geographic distribution. The catalogue contains distributional information for genera, subgenera, species, and subspecies, based on literature and specimen label data. The distribution of supraspecific groups is usually given as broad geographical regions, or in slightly more detail if the taxon is widely known within the Australian Region.
For species and subspecies, the area codes of Crosby et al. (1976, 1998) are given in alphabetical order for the North Island, South Island, Stewart Island, and Offshore Islands, respectively. When appropriate, the extralimital distribution (outside New Zealand and its offshore islands) is also included, as well as the first New Zealand records of adventive species. Full distributional information is given for species and subspecies known from ten localities or fewer with the collection acronym or literature reference supporting each record. Appendix E contains a list of the main collecting localities and their geographic coordinates.
Two-letter abbreviations for the area codes of Crosby et al. (1976, 1998) used in this catalogue are as follows (see maps 1–3, pp. 192–194):
New Zealand. North Island: AK, Auckland; BP, Bay of Plenty; CL, Coromandel; GB, Gisborne; HB, Hawke’s Bay; ND, Northland; RI, Rangitikei; TK, Taranaki; TO, Taupo; WA, Wairarapa; WI, Wanganui; WN, Wellington; WO, Waikato. South Island: BR, Buller; CO, Central Otago; DN, Dunedin; FD, Fiordland; KA, Kaikoura; MC, Mid Canterbury; MK, Mackenzie; NC, North Canterbury; NN, Nelson; OL, Otago Lakes; SC, South Canterbury; SD, Marlborough Sounds; SL, Southland; WD, Westland. Stewart Island, SI. Offshore Islands: AN, Antipodes Islands; AU, Auckland Islands; BO, Bounty Islands; CA, Campbell Island; CH, Chatham Islands; KE, Kermadec Islands; SN, Snares Islands; TH, Three Kings Islands.
The authors are aware of the arbitrary nature of the Crosby et al. (1976, 1998) system for recording specimen localities, as well as its obvious limitations when it comes to uncovering biogeographical patterns. Nevertheless, recording geographic information in this way is a useful, well-established approach adopted by most New Zealand entomological collections, museums and publication series. It has the advantages of allowing distributional information to be uniformly recorded and easily compared. Broad biogeographical trends can still be observed and it remains relatively easy to relate species distributions to any one of a range of ‘more natural’ land or ecosystem classifications, e.g., Department of Conservation’s Ecological Regions and Districts of New Zealand, especially when georeferenced point-data are also available.
During the course of this research species-level geographical information and type-locality data were maintained in a MicrosoftAccess® database. This database was used to prepare the species distribution maps (pp. 199–221, presented alphabetically by taxa), the maps on taxonomic diversity (pp. 195–198), and the appendices listing type localities (Appendix G) and species by areas of New Zealand (Appendix F). All maps were prepared using the software CorelDRAW graphics suite. Appendix D provides a list of taxa incorrectly or erroneously recorded from New Zealand.
Biological information. The information provided under the heading Biology is based on the literature and specimen label data. In order to eliminate spurious records, an effort was made to summarise available information by using the smallest common denominator representing the essentials of each species’ requirements. Information given between square brackets (e.g., [ ]) is assumed from available knowledge on related taxa. Biological trends were summarised for each species, using a series of standardised terms following the approach taken in the previous catalogue on the suborder Heteroptera (Larivière & Larochelle, 2004). Many terms used in this catalogue are defined in the glossary (Appendix A). Altitudinal distribution, or distribution related to altitude or elevation, is expressed as coastal, lowland, montane, subalpine, and alpine, following the categories used by Brownsey & Smith-Dodsworth (2000). Habitat and/or plant associations are listed from most commonly encountered to least commonly encountered associations. When this is not known, plants are listed alphabetically. Seasonality, or the period of year when an animal is active, is expressed as months from September (start of spring) to August (end of winter). Because this information was gathered mostly from collection data, it may only be loosely indicative of actual seasonality. Feeding-type is indicated as much as possible. Dispersal power, or the capability of dispersal, has been assessed when possible, using wing condition and flight data (including light-trapping observations). Wing condition was evaluated for each species using the literature and personal observations made in the field and in the laboratory.
References. Under Reference(s), only the most important references are given for valid taxa, with an indication of their contents between parentheses. In general the authors aimed to limit the number of references to no more than ten for each species or subspecies. Page numbers are only provided for taxonomic citations from recent catalogues.
Notes. Additional information is given as Notes under each valid taxon.