Gaeana atkinsoni
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Gaeana atkinsoni | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hemiptera |
| Suborder: | Auchenorrhyncha |
| Family: | Cicadidae |
| Subfamily: | Cicadinae |
| Tribe: | Gaeanini |
| Genus: | Gaeana |
| Species: | G. atkinsoni |
| Binomial name | |
| Gaeana atkinsoni Distant, 1889 | |
Gaeana atkinsoni is a colourful cicada species and is the only member of the genus Gaeana that is found in southern India. Other species are found along the Himalayas and in Southeast Asia.[1] It is endemic to the forests of the Western Ghats where it emerges in summer. Males are brightly coloured with a yellow and black forewing and a bright red hindwing that is visible in flight.[2]
The species was described by William Lucas Distant in 1889 based on a specimen obtained from Karwar by E.T. Atkinson and named after the collector who was also accountant-general of Bengal and a president of the board of trustees of the Indian Museum at Calcutta.[3] The colourful wing patterns are thought to mimic toxic moths and a possible model suggested is Pangora.[4]
Specimen at Zoologische Staatssammlung München- Calling in summer
