Froghopper

Evolutionary history

The oldest froghoppers are known from the Early Jurassic. Mesozoic froghoppers are divided into two main families, Procercopidae known from the Early Jurassic to early Late Cretaceous of Asia, which are thought to be ancestral to living froghoppers, and Sinoalidae, which is known from the late Middle Jurassic and early Late Cretaceous of Asia. The genus Qibinius the Middle Jurassic Yanan Formation of China mixes characters of both families and cannot be assigned to either. The genus Cercopion from the Aptian aged Crato Formation of Brazil appears to be derived from the Procerocopidae and closely related to the crown group.