INTRODUCTION 
The present catalogue of the Family Meenoplidae forms Part 6 of 
Fascicle IV of the General Catalogue of the Hemiptera of the World, which 
is devoted to the Superfamily Fulgoroidea. 
CHARACTERS OF THE FAMILY 
This is another small family of fulgorids, containing 9 genera and 53 
species. This family has affinities with the Cixiidae and was formerly in- 
cluded as a subfamily of that family. However, there are a number of char- 
acters which distinguish it at once from the Cixiidae, and for the present, 
at least, this family should be kept separate. All the species are moderately 
small insects, with the body strongly compressed and the tegmina tectiform. 
The head is usually small, with the vertex and frons usually broad and the 
lateral carinae strongly elevated. The antennae are generally short and 
simple. The last segment of the labium is elongate. The median ocellus is 
generally present. The thorax is usually large, with the carinae indistinct or 
wanting. The tegulae are large, the pronotum is short, broader than the 
head, and the mesonotum is broader than the pronotum. The tegmina are 
always macropterous and normally are held vertically in repose. The vena- 
tion is in general cixiid-like, with the basal costal area more or less expanded. 
Subcosta and radius are typically united for more than half their lengths. 
Radius and media are usually simple, but cubitus is complex, generally with 
supernumerary veins. One or both claval veins are typically granulate. The 
abdomen is compressed, with the sixth, seventh and eighth tergites bearing 
wax-secreting pores. The male genitalia superficially resemble the genitalia 
in many derbids, with the genital plates large and complex. The female 
genitalia are incomplete, the ovipositor being absent or greatly reduced. 
CLASSIFICATION ADOPTED 
The family is divided into two subfamilies as proposed by Muir in 1930. 
Family MEENOPLIDAE 
Subfamily NiSIINAE 
Subfamily MEENOPLINAE 
HISTORICAL RESUME 
This family was established by Fieber in 1866 to include a single species 
from Greece. Since that time the list of genera and species has been increased 
by the work of Kirkaldy and Muir principally in the Pacific area; by Dis- 
tant, Muir, and Jacobi in the Ethiopian Region; by Distant and Melichar 
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SciELO 
