Coptopola StÅl, 1869

Genus Coptopola StÅl, 1869 View in CoL

Coptopola STÅL, 1869: 239 View in CoL . Type species: Coptopola cincticrus StÅl, 1869 View in CoL , by monotypy.

AMENDED DESCRIPTION. Relatively small fulgorids, body squat and roughly lachrymiform (teardrop-shaped) from dorsal view, slightly depressed; in lateral view body distinctly humpbacked (highest point near level of hind coXae). Head broad and transverse, slightly narrower than prothoraX, anteriorly weakly conveX. VerteX much wider than long, carinate on all margins, disc depressed; anterior margin of head (dorsal view) appearing to have second anterior carina (i.e., with “double carina between forehead and crown”, viz. METCALF, 1938: 342). Frons broad, roughly quadrate (broader than high), somewhat narrowing ventrad; in lateral view, face ventrally declining. Frontoclypeal suture arched, lateral margins of clypeus sinuate. Antennae short, pedicel barrel-shaped. Eyes bulbous, laterally projecting, subcircular, lacking a vertical carina or spine in front of eye. Lateral ocelli distinct.

In lateral view, mesonotum and pronotum on same plane, declining anteriorly. Pronotum broad, about 2X broader than verteX along midline, anterior margin arched and carinate, posterior margin truncate. Mesonotum triangular, a little longer than pronotum at midline, bearing prominent sinuate transverse carina and weak median carina. Tegulae conspicuous. Legs strong, front and middle legs with femora and tibiae thick and conspicuously foliately eXpanded; hind legs elongate, extending far beyond the apex of the abdomen, hind femora with strong apical spine, lateral (outer) margin of tibiae armed with 5 large spines. Forewings broad and relatively short, opaque proXimally, becoming translucent distad, apices overlapping. Hindwings short and broad, patterned (type species reddish proXimally, washed with deep grey on clavus and apeX leaving transparent median portion). Anal tube of female elongate relative to last abdominal tergum.

ETYMOLOGY. DMITRIEV (2022) indicated that this genus name was derived from Greek: copto - (κόπτω; strike, cut, divide) + pola (poleo, πώλα; seller) and is feminine in gender.

REMARKS. The elongated last abdominal tergum that covers the anal region of the female places this genus in the subtribe Calyptoproctina of METCALF (1938); however, YANEGA et al. (2024) recently rejected recognition of subtribes in Poiocerini because of inconsistency in this feature. Superficially the most similar genera in the Poiocerini to Coptopola StÅl, 1869 would be those genera that are relatively short and broad, such as Aburia StÅl, 1866 , Crepusia StÅl, 1866 , Itzalana Distant, 1905 , and Oomima Berg, 1879 , all of which are placed in the Poiocerina in METCALF (1938). However, none of these four genera possess a distinctive strong apical spine of the metafemora, which appears to be a unique character of Coptopola . The most similar genus is Oomima Berg, 1879 , which has an even shorter body, measuring just 6.3 mm in length (around 8 mm in Coptopola ) with regularly ovoid shape in dorsal view, and evenly conveX dorsum in lateral view; the tegmina of Oomima are of the coleopteroid kind and have no clear differentiation of an apical membrane, which can be recognized in Coptopola . Also, none of the other three genera are as small or as distinctly humpbacked as Coptopola , and none appear to have the posterior margin of the pronotum truncate. Among them, Aburia is perhaps the most similar superficially in having the apeX of the forewings overlapped and the front and middle legs dark with a subapical white band on the tibiae (reminiscent of Coptopola ), but the femora and tibiae of Aburia are not as expanded as those of Coptopola , the apex of the forewings of Aburia are opaque (not translucent), and the face of Aburia bears three longitudinal carinae (also the ventrolateral portion of the frons is eXpanded to subtend the antennae). Itzalana is easily separated from Coptopola because it is a Mesoamerican genus whose head is broader than the prothorax, and the anterior portion of the head of Itzalana is tricarinate, due to a strong straight transverse carina across the frons, very close to its upper border. Crepusia is perhaps more similar to Aburia than Coptopola in general appearance, except that members of the genus are larger, more elongate, and with the distal portions of the forewings transparent (not overlapping at the apeX, unlike Coptopola ), the legs of Crepusia are similar to Aburia and not as expanded as Coptopola , and the face of Crepusia bears three longitudinal carinae like Aburia but unlike Coptopola .

Coptopola is monotypic and specimens are few in collections. Observations of the species remain infrequent on iNaturalist.