Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Xestocephalus desertorum
Leafhopper
Widespread and common in arid through pampa zones; January-December.
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
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
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.
- 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.