Karooprosbole magnifica gen. et sp. nov., oldest African cicadomorphan Prosbolidae, is described from middle Permian deposits (Abrahamskraal Formation, Karoo Supergoup) at the Onder Karoo locality in South Africa. It is compared to the genera currently included in Prosbolidae but also those in the Tettigarctidae: Cicadoprosbolinae. The limits and definitions of the two groups are discussed, because the new taxon has diagnostic characters of venation common to both groups. Also, some characters currently used to define these groups are clearly subject to homoplasy. This suggests that a phylogenetic analysis of the whole extant and fossil Cicadomorpha is needed to better define these families and verify their monophyly.

Key words: Hemiptera, Cicadomorpha, Prosbolidae, monophyly, Permian, South Africa.

André Nel [anel@mnhn.fr, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4241-7651 ], Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité (ISYEB) Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université des Antilles, CP50, 57 rue Cuvier 75005 Paris, France. Rose Prevec [r.prevec@am.org.za, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6674-1547 ], Department of Earth Sciences, Albany Museum, Makhanda, South Africa & Department of Botany, Rhodes University, Makhanda, South Africa.