''Ancyra'' is a small genus of

planthopper A planthopper is any insect in the infraorder Fulgoromorpha, in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, a group exceeding 12,500 described species worldwide. The name comes from their remarkable resemblance to leaves and other plants of their environment ...

s of the family

Eurybrachidae Eurybrachidae (sometimes misspelled "Eurybrachyidae" or "Eurybrachiidae") is a small Taxonomic rank, family of planthoppers with species occurring in parts of Asia, Australia and Africa. They are remarkable for the sophistication of their Mimicry ...

and the only genus in the tribe Ancyrini. Species in this genus occur in southeast Asia.

Description

Members of the genus are well known for having a pair of prolonged filaments at the tips of the forewings that arise near a pair of small glossy spots; this creates the impression of a pair of antennae, with corresponding "eyes" (a remarkable case of

automimicry In zoology, automimicry, Browerian mimicry, or intraspecific mimicry, is a form of mimicry in which the same species of animal is imitated. There are two different forms. In one form, first described by Lincoln Brower in 1967, weakly-defended ...

). The "false head" effect is further reinforced by the bugs' habit of walking backwards when it detects movement nearby, so as to misdirect predators to strike at its rear, rather than at its actual head.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Ancyra'' was first named in 1845 by Scottish zoologist Adam White. It is the only genus of the tribe Ancyrini (subfamily Platybrachinae, family Eurybrachidae). The type species is '' Ancyra appendiculata'', the species name meaning ''bearing appendages''.

Species

, lists the following seven species in the genus ''Ancyra'': *'' Ancyra annamensis'' – Vietnam *'' Ancyra appendiculata'' – Myanmar *'' Ancyra histrionica'' – Cambodia, Myanmar *'' Ancyra luangana'' *''

Ancyra nigrifrons Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

'' – Malaysia *'' Ancyra vicina'' – Vietnam *'' Ancyra xiengana''

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4753273 Fauna of Southeast Asia Eurybrachidae Auchenorrhyncha genera