INTRODUCTION 



The present catalogue of the family Tettigometridae forms one part of 

 a fascicle of the General Catalogue of the Hemiptera of the world. The plan 

 is to issue the catalogue of each family of the Fulgoroidea, as recently de- 

 fined by Muir, as a separate part of the general fascicle of the Fulgoroidea 

 and then to issue a special part containing the bibliography and the index 

 for the whole. It is believed that this scheme will facilitate reference in view 

 of the fact that there are so many genera and species involved. The families 

 to be treated in Fascicle IV are listed at the end of this Introduction. 



CHARACTERS OF THE FAMILY 



The Family Tettigometridae is a small family of medium or medium 

 small fulgoroids, containing 12 genera and 70 species. It is the most iso- 

 lated of all the families of the Fulgoroidea. The members of this family re- 

 semble jassids or cercopids. This resemblance is superficial, however, as most 

 of the characters are distinctly fulgoroid. The antennae are two jointed 

 with the second segment with complex sense organs. The arista has a dis- 

 tinct basal segment. The ocelli are on the face in front of and between the 

 eyes, not on the cheeks. The lorae are distinctly developed. Tegulae are 

 well developed. The wing venation is suggestive of the Issidae and in ma- 

 cropterous individuals the hind wings are well developed with the anal area 

 greatly developed. The fore wings are coriaceous with the venation greatly 

 reduced and the claval veins united before the apex. The legs are simple and 

 the hind tibiae are armed at the apex with a single row of robust spines. 



CLASSIFICATION ADOPTED 



The classification adopted in this catalogue is the one proposed by Baker 

 (1924b) since this is the latest classification available. As pointed out by 

 Muir (1930c) this classification has its limitations and a thorough revision 

 of the subfamilies, tribes, and genera by a competent European student is 

 badly needed. 



Baker's classification recognizes three subfamilies and 12 genera as tabu- 

 lated below: 



Family TETTIGOMETRIDAE 

 Subfamily Tettigometrinae 

 Genus Mitricephalus Signoret 

 Tettigometra Latreille'- 

 Brachycephalus Signoret 

 Eurychila Signoret 



1 The name of this genus was originally spelled Tetigometra but Latreille shortly 

 changed this to Tettigometra and this spelling has been followed by all recent authors. 



