Distribution patterns of Chinese Cixiidae (Hemiptera, Fulgoroidea), highlight their high endemic diversity

Abstract

Background Cixiidae are small strictly phytophagous hemipteran insects worldwide distributed. Ecology and systematics of Chinese fauna remains poorly investigated. For instance, does their distribution follows the patterns of biogeogaphical distribution established for their host plants or other related-taxa because they are all obligatory phytophagous taxa? Do they follow the usual distributional Chinese realms and boundaries already recognized? Which zoogeographical Chinese regions and connections between them do they depict. To investigate these issues, we provide here a referenced and comprehensive checklist of the 250 cixiid species currently reported from China (77 new records), with their precise distribution at the regional level. In the 8 Chinese main zoogeographical regions usually recognized and 2 adjacent areas, we analyzed further their diversity at the tribal, generic, and specific levels using a non-metric multidimensional scaling and an unweighted pairwise group analysis using an arithmetic mean cluster analyses. The observed distribution patterns shown that an intercalary Sino-Japanese realm is recognizable between the Palaearctic and Oriental realms. At the regional level, the South China region clusters more closely with the Southwest, Central and North China regions. Taiwan, clearly separated from the South China region and mainland China, is more closely related to the Qinghai-Tibet region and Indochina countries. Although Central and South China regions remain close to each other, the Qinghai-Tibet region appears singularly different.