Punia (cicada)

Punia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Suborder:	Auchenorrhyncha
Family:	Cicadidae
Tribe:	Cicadettini
Genus:	Punia Moulds, 2012
Type species
Pauropsalta minima Golding & Froggatt, 1904
Species
5, see text.

Punia is a genus of cicadas in the family Cicadidae endemic to Australia. ^[1] Members of the genus are called grass pygmies. ^[2] They are found in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland. ^[3] The genus was considered to be monotypic, only containing P. minima , until the 2020 description of four congeners.

Species

As of 2025 there were five described species:

• Punia hyas Moulds, 2020 (Top End Grass Pygmy)
• Punia kolos Moulds, 2020 (Small Grass Pygmy)
• Punia limpida Moulds, 2020 (Green Grass Pygmy)
• Punia minima (Goding & Froggatt, 1904) (Pale Grass Pygmy)
• Punia queenslandica Moulds, 2020 (Eastern Grass Pygmy)

References

1. Owen, Christopher L.; Marshall, David C.; Hill, Kathy B. R.; Simon, Chris (2017-01-25). "How the Aridification of Australia Structured the Biogeography and Influenced the Diversification of a Large Lineage of Australian Cicadas". Systematic Biology. 66 (4): 569–589. doi: 10.1093/sysbio/syw078 . ISSN   1063-5157. PMID   28123112.
2. "Genus Punia (Grass Pygmy)". dr-pop.net. Retrieved 2021-01-17.
3. Moulds, M. S. (2020-10-09). "A revision of the Australian cicada genus Punia Moulds, 2012 (Cicadidae: Cicadettinae: Cicadettini) with the description of four new species". Zootaxa. 4860 (1): 101–115. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4860.1.5 . ISSN   1175-5334. PMID   33056174.

Further reading

• Moulds, M.S. (2005). "An Appraisal of the Higher Classification of Cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea) with Special Reference to the Australian Fauna". Records of the Australian Museum. 57 (3): 375–446. doi: 10.3853/j.0067-1975.57.2005.1447 . ISSN   0067-1975.