Jumping plant‐lice of the family Phacopteronidae (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) from Cameroon

Abstract

Nine species of the family Phacopteronidae are recorded from Cameroon. All are assigned to the large pan‐tropical genus Pseudophacopteron. Eight species are described as new, and P. electum Capener is redescribed. The species are diagnosed and illustrated, and keys for the identification of adults and fifth instar larvae are provided. Information is given on distribution, host plants, and biology. Eight species are associated with plants of the order Rutales/Sapindales (three Sapindaceae, one Burseraceae, one Burseraceae or Anacardiaceae, one Meliaceae, one Rutaceae, and one Anacardiaceae/Simaroubaceae); host plants of one species remain unknown. Four species, namely P. electum, P. fuscivenosum sp. n., P. lecaniodisci sp. n., and P. morion sp. n., induce nut or pit galls on the leaves.

Keywords:

• Afrotropical
• galls
• Pseudophacopteron
• Sapindales
• taxonomy

Acknowledgements

We are obliged to Jürgen Deckert (ZMB), David Hollis, Jon Martin (BMNH), Ian M. Millar (NCIP), and Thomas Wagner (Universität Koblenz‐Landau) for loans or gifts of material. The SEM photographs were prepared in the Zentrum für Mikroskopie, Universität Basel and we thank Daniel Mathys for his valuable help. We are also grateful to Denise Wyniger (Naturmuseum Luzern), Roland Mühlethaler (Naturhistorisches Museum Basel), Jiří Kolibáč (Moravian Museum Brno), and Jaromír Vaňhara (Masaryk University Brno) for various help. The comments by David Hollis and Andrew Polaszek improved the manuscript. This work was partially funded by a fellowship from the Eidgenössische Stipendienkommission für ausländische Studierende, Bern (to Igor Malenovský) and a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation (Project No. 3170A0‐109221/1 to Daniel Burckhardt and J. L. Tamesse).