Scaralina marmorata

Scaralina marmorata
Scaralina marmorata, North Carolina
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hemiptera
Suborder:	Auchenorrhyncha
Infraorder:	Fulgoromorpha
Family:	Fulgoridae
Genus:	Scaralina
Species:	S. marmorata
Binomial name
Scaralina marmorata (Spinola, 1839)
Synonyms
Calyptoproctus marmoratusSpinola, 1839 Crepusia glaucaMetcalf, 1923 Alphina glauca(Metcalf, 1923)

Scaralina marmorata is a species of planthopper in the family Fulgoridae, found throughout the southeastern United States. ^[1] It is one of four species (the others being Scaralina aethrinsula , Scaralina cristata , and Scaralina metcalfi ) that were, for several decades, erroneously grouped together under a single name, Alphina glauca; this name is now treated as a synonym of S. marmorata. ^[1]

Taxonomy

Historically, this species has been incorrectly associated with three other genera; the genus Calyptoproctus (which molecular DNA evidence suggests is not in the tribe Poiocerini), ^[2] the genus Crepusia , a slightly more closely related genus from South America, and Alphina , a closely related genus also from South America.

Biology

Scaralina marmorata is associated with oaks (Quercus spp.). ^[1] It is the only species in the genus routinely found at elevations below 1000 meters. ^[1]

Distribution

Scaralina marmorata is found from central Texas up to Oklahoma and across to Virginia, and all areas south and east of this, wherever oaks are found. ^[1]

References

1. Yanega, D.; Goemans, G.; Van Dam, M.; Gómez-Marco, F.; Hoddle, M. (2024). "Description of a new genus of North and Central American planthoppers (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) with fourteen new species". Zootaxa. 5443 (5443): 1–53. doi: 10.11646/ZOOTAXA.5443.1.1 .
2. Urban, J.M. & Cryan, J.R. (2009) Entomologically famous, evolutionarily unexplored: The first phylogeny of the lanternfly family Fulgoridae (Insecta: Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 50(3): 471–484.