206 W. D. FUNKHOUSER 



Ethiopian region 



(Africa and its islands except the northern parts; Arabia) 



Rich in genera and species. Little work has been done on these forms of the family, but 

 there is evidence of an abundant membracid fauna. 



Oriental region 



(India and the East Indies! 



Extremely rich both in number of forms represented and in number of indi\'iduals. The 

 center of distribution for the subfamily Centrotinae. 



Australian region 



(Australia, New Zealand, and neighboring islands) 



Well represented by rather distinct forms. The region has been fairly well worked and 

 has yielded a large number of species. 



Nearctic region 



(America north of Mexico; Greenland) 



Forty or fifty genera, gradually becoming less abundant northward. A few species common 

 in Canada as "far north as Perry Sound. None reported from Greenland. 



Neotropical region 



(Mexico, West Indies, Central and South America) 



The most important of all the regions for the Membracidae. Central America and the 

 northern part of South America have yielded as many species as all the rest of the world 

 together. 



• 



In North America the family is best rPi)resentetl in Mexico, where the 

 characteristic bizarre forms are plentiful. Southern United States shows 

 fewer species and these lose their grotesque appearance as they spread 

 northward. Northern United States continues to show the thinning-out 

 of the forms as the climate becomes colder, and the native species are on 

 the whole smaller and of less striking development. Canada, as has been 

 noted, marks the northern limit of the family and shows few represen- 

 tatives. 



New York State, either because it includes a transitional zone or because 

 the fauna has been more intensively studied, yields more Membracidae 

 than any other northern State. The species, however, are not characteris- 

 tic of the family and show little of the striking appearances of the exotic 

 forms. 



As has been i-emarked, the Cayuga Lake Basin is surprisingly well repre- 

 sented in the forms common to the State. It is to be noted, however, 

 that both in the State and in the basin two of the great trojncal sul)- 

 families — Darninae and Hoplophorinae — arc entirely without repre- 

 sentatives. 



