SUPERFAMILY MEMBRACOIDEA (HOMOPTERA, AUCHENORRHYNCHA) .2. CLADISTIC-ANALYSIS AND CONCLUSIONS

Homologies among traditional morphological characters in the Membracoi dea (sensu lato) are reassessed and the phylogenetic relationships amo ng higher membracoid taxa are explored, incorporating new morphologica l evidence from nymphs and adults. Weighted and unweighted parsimony a nalyses of a matrix of Sixty-three characters and thirty-nine OTUs rep resenting the families Aetalionidae, Cicadellidae, Melizoderidae and M embracidae, and an outgroup (superfamily Cercopoidea) yielded various topologies that were largely congruent but presented alternative hypot heses of relationships among the Membracidae. These analyses indicate that the superfamily consists of the following clades: Cicadellidae (Melizoderidae + (Aetalionidae + Membracidae)). The family Membracidae , traditionally characterized by the presence of a posterior pronotal process, apparently gave rise to Nicomia Stal and other genera that la ck this process.