Tonga westwoodi, Redescription.

Now, This article is only on one weird species of fugoromorph: Tonga westwoodi. Range: South-east Asia.

This is a redescription of the species. It's the only species under the monotypic¹ genus Tonga.

Redescription

Head:

The head's generally green, but pls don't use colour for identifying fulgoromorphs. It can lead to maverick ids. I had made the same mistake, but I don't want any one else to misidentify by just trusting colour. The weird part starts: The head has a notable cephalic process²; despite the fact that this feature is common among planthoppers/fulgormorphs, you will get to understand the weirdness when it will come to the wings. A line runs from the tip of cephalic process² to the back tip of the wings, like in Genus stenocranus It is generally peach or yellow, but varies.

Legs:

Legs are generally mid-tone brown, but don't use this for identification.

Wings:

The wings are shaped in a strange way: The apex³ at the bottom the wings are rounded and and the apex at the top of the wings is like a spike. There are spots, but not like the ones on the Torpedo bug, or Siphanta acuta, but more like the ones on pyrops species which have long cephalic processes² like this species, but the "leaf" shaped wings are like those of Flatidae. Weird, isn't?

Word help:
¹ Monotypic: A taxon with only one subtaxon.
² Cephalic process: a "snout" or projection protruding from the front of and insect's head.
³ Apex: (of an insect) The point farthest on an organ (Eg. legs or wings) from where it attaches from the rest of the body.

Posted on February 8, 2023 08:31 PM by aaravmishra