The Tymbal: Evolution of a Complex Vibration-Producing Organ in the Tymbalia (Hemiptera excl. Sternorrhyncha)

Abstract

The tymbal is the most complex sound-and vibration-producing organ in arthropods. The tymbal organ was first described from cicadas which use it to produce sound levels of more than 100 dB. Subsequently, it was discovered that leaf-and planthoppers, as well as true bugs and moss bugs, communicate by substrate-borne vibrations, which are also produced by tymbal-like organs. We suggest the name Tymbalia for the taxon comprising Cicadomorpha, Fulgoro-morpha, and Heteropteroidea (i.e., Hemiptera exclusive of Sternorrhyncha) based on the possession of a tymbal apparatus as an autapomorphic character. While our knowledge of the hoppers' and bugs' ''silent songs'' is still patchy, vibrational communication is obviously used ubiquitously in the Tymbalia and we hypothe-size a common origin for the vibration-producing apparatus more than 300 Mya.