Thopha (from Hebrew: תף, romanizedtof, lit.'drum'[1]) is a genus of cicada native to Australia. Five species are recognised, the double drummer (Thopha saccata), the northern double drummer (T. sessiliba), the golden drummer (T. colorata), T. emmotti and T. hutchinsoni.[2][3] Within sessiliba, two subspecies are recognized, the nominotypical form and T. sessiliba clamoris Moulds and Hill.[4]

Thopha
Photograph of two brown and black cicadas mating on fallen leaves
Female Thopha saccata (behind, left) male (front, right)
Scientific classification
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Thopha

Amyot and Serville, 1843
Type species
Tettigonia saccata
Fabricius, 1803
Species

Thopha colorata
Thopha emmotti
Thopha hutchinsoni
Thopha saccata
Thopha sessiliba

Genetic and morphological data show that Thopha is closely related to the genus Arunta; together they comprise the tribe Thophini.

References

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  1. ^ Amyot CJB, Audinet-Serville, JG (1843) Homoptères. Homoptera Latr. [In] Histoire naturelle des Insectes. Hémiptères. Deuxième partie: 455-483. Librairie Encyclopédique de Roret, Paris, 676 pages.
  2. ^ Moulds, Maxwell Sydney (2001). "A review of the tribe Thophini Distant (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea: Cicadidae) with the description of a new species of Thopha Amyot Serville". Insect Systematics and Evolution. 32 (2): 195–203. doi:10.1163/187631201X00155. ISSN 1399-560X.
  3. ^ Moulds, Maxwell Sydney (30 April 2012). "A review of the genera of Australian cicadas (Hemiptera: Cicadoidea)". Zootaxa. 3287: 1–262 [56–57]. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3287.1.1.
  4. ^ Moulds, M.S., and K. B. R. Hill. 2015. Phylogeny for the tribe Thophini (Cicadoidea: Cicadidae) with the description of a new subspecies of Thopha sessiliba Distant from Western Australia. Rec. Aust. Mus. 67(2): 55-66