Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Xestocephalus desertorum (Berg, 1879)

Leafhopper

Widespread and common in arid through pampa zones; January-December.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Hemiptera

Suborder
Auchenorrhyncha

Superfamily
Membracoidea

Family
Cicadellidae

Genus
Xestocephalus

Species
desertorum

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 1989

Mode of introduction: Accidental

Introduction Pathway: Contaminant

Subpathway: Contaminant on plants (inc. seeds and plant associated material)

Introduced status: Naturalized

Invasive status: No data

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: Fernandina, Floreana, Isabela, Marchena, Pinta, San Cristóbal, Santa Cruz, Santi- ago, Seymour.

References

  • Liebhold, A. M. Turner, R. M., Bartlett, C. R., Bertelsmeier, C., Blake, R. E., Brockerhoff, E. G., Causton, C. E., Matsunaga, J. N., McKamey, S. H., Nahrung, H. F., Owen, C. L., Pureswaran, D. S., Roques, A., Schneider, S. A., Sanborn, A. F., & Yamanaka, T. (2024) Why so many Hemiptera invasions? Diversity and Distributions, 30, e13911. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.13911
  • Peck, S.B. (1996) Origin and development of an insect fauna on a remote archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. In: Keast A., Miller S.E. (eds.): The origin and evolution of Pacific Island biotas, New Guinea to eastern Polynesia: patterns and processes. SPB Academic Publishing, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, p. 91-122.
  • Peck, S.B. Heraty, J., Landry, B. & Sinclair, B.J. (1998) Introduced insect fauna of an oceanic archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Am. Entomol. 44: 218-237.
  • Peck, S.B. (2001) Smaller Orders of Insects of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity. NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, 278 pp.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Xestocephalus desertorum", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7051. Accessed 3 November 2026.