The internal male and female reproductive apparatus in Cixidia sikaniae D’Urso & Guglielmino, 1995 (Fulgoromorpha, Achilidae).

Abstract

The morphology of the internal male and female reproductive apparatus in Cixidia sikaniae is described and illustrated. It is compared with the reproductive apparatus of other Achilidae taxa. In the male of C. sikaniae, the structure of the “ejaculatory duct” is peculiar. The presence of lateral ejaculatory ducts, known up to now exclusively in Cicadomorpha, is here described for the first time in a species belonging to the Fulgoromorpha. The phylogenetic value of some characters of the internal male and female reproductive apparatus within Fulgormorpha and between Fulgoromorpha and Cicadomorpha is discussed.