Family Delphacidae

Subfamily Stenocraninae 

Tribe Stenocranini

Distribution: Southwest USA and Mexico..

Type species (in original combination): Obtusicranus bicarinus Bartlett, 2006.

Recognized species

There are two species currently placed in this genus.

Obtusicranus bicarinus Bartlett, 2006 - USA: Arizona, Colorado, Utah

Obtusicranus bifidus Bartlett, 2010 - Mexico

Hosts:

Obtusicranus bifidus Bartlett, 2010 - Bromus exaltatus Bernh. (Pooaceae: Pooideae: Bromeae).

Economic Importance: Limited. Both species are uncommonly encountered.

Recognition

New World Stenocraninae were recently reviewed by Bartlett (2010), including a key to genus. 

Obrusicranus has its head projected in front of the eyes to a greater degree than Stenocranus, but less than Frameus or Tanycranus.  The median carina of the frons is paired (single in Kelisicranus and Stenocranus), and the head is blunt in lateral view.

Obtusicranus bifidus is larger (~5.3-5.7mm vs. 4.1-4.8mm) than O. bicarinus and has a pale vitta on the mesothorax; O. bifidus also has two processes from the phallobase instead of one in O. bicarinus.

Obtusicranus bicarinus

Obtusicranus bifidus

Molecular resources

There are no data on this genus in Genbank or BOLD.  Urban et al. (2010) sequence 4 genetic loci (18S rDNA, 28S rDNA, wingless, and cytochrome oxidase I) for Obtusicranus bicarinus.

Selected references

Bartlett, C. R. 2010 (dated 2009). Diversity in New World Stenocranine Planthoppers (Hemiptera: Delphacidae). Transactions of the American Entomological Society 135(4): 443-486.

Bartlett, C. R. 2006 (dated 2005). Two new genera and species of stenocranine planthoppers (Hemiptera : Delphacidae) from North America. Entomological News 116(5): 291-303.

Urban J. M. C. R. Bartlett, and J. R. Cryan. 2010. Evolution of Delphacidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoroidea): combined-evidence phylogenetics reveals importance of grass host shifts. Systematic Entomology 35(4): 678-691.