Cercopis

Abstract: The Clastopteridae (about 85 described species in one genus) and Machaerotidae (about 105 species in 27 genera) are sister groups, limited to the New and Old World, respectively. The Machaerotidae are predominantly tropical, with a handful of temperate species in China and Japan. The Clastopteridae are abundant from Canada to Argentina, all in the single speciose genus Clastoptera (the status of an additional isolated Philippine genus is problematic). The Aphrophoridae (about 820 species in 150 genera) probably represent a polyphyletic group, in which the Cercopidae constitute one monophyletic branch. The Aphrophoridae are best represented in north temperate habitats, but also occur widely in the tropics. There are approximately 1,360 described species in the Cercopidae in 140 genera, and a recent revision lists 416 of those species distributed in the New World. This group is predominately tropical. Only two species, Prosapia bicincta and P. ignipectus, occur north of Mexico in the Americas, and only two genera, Cercopis and Haematoloma, occur in Europe.