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| Neotibicen similaris apalachicola
Marshall & Hill, 2017
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Abstract
A morphologically cryptic subspecies of Neotibicen similaris (Smith and Grossbeck) is described from forests of the Apalachicola region of the southeastern United States. Although the new form exhibits a highly distinctive male calling song, it hybridizes extensively where it meets populations of the nominate subspecies in parapatry, by which it is nearly surrounded. This is the first reported example of hybridization between North American nonperiodical cicadas. Acoustic and morphological characters are added to the original description of the nominate subspecies, and illustrations of complex hybrid song phenotypes are presented. The biogeography of N. similaris is discussed in light of historical changes in forest composition on the southeastern Coastal Plain.
Keywords: Hemiptera, Acoustic behavior, sexual signals, hybridization, hybrid zone, parapatric distribution, speciation
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| Neotibicen similaris apalachicola, n. subsp., dorsal view, (holotype specimen 08.US.FL.TRA.03). |
Neotibicen similaris apalachicola, n. subsp.
Etymology. Named for the Apalachicola River of the Florida panhandle. The subspecies epithet is a noun in apposition and need not agree in gender with its genus following the Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN, 1999), articles 11.9.1.2 and 31.2.1.
David C. Marshall and Kathy B. R. Hill. 2017. A New Neotibicen Cicada Subspecies (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) from the southeastern USA Forms Hybrid Zones with A Widespread Relative Despite A Divergent Male Calling Song.
Zootaxa. 4272(4); 529–550. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4272.4.3
Zootaxa. 4272(4); 529–550. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4272.4.3
