Phalangopsidae crickets from Tropical Africa (Orthoptera, Grylloidea), with descriptions of new taxa and an identification key for African genera
Author
Desutter-Grandcolas, Laure
text
Zootaxa
2015
3948
3
451
496
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.3948.3.5
48fd46c1-a333-45ef-85fd-bb89451998da
1175-5326
241857
809AC895-779E-419D-8EBE-071F0ACCD72E
Phaloriinae
Gorochov, 1985
Phaloriini
Gorochov, 1985
: 19
.
Phaloriinae
,
Gorochov 1996
: 55
.
Type
genus.
Phaloria
Stål, 1877
.
The
Phaloriinae
have been originally described by
Gorochov (1985)
as a tribe of the subfamily
Podoscirtinae
. Later, Gorochov (see
Gorochov 2003
and references therein) considered the
Phaloriini
as a subfamily close to a
Cachoplistinae
group comprising the
Cachoplistini Saussure, 1877
and the
Homoeogryllini Gorochov, 1986
, within the «
Phalangopsinae
subfamily group »: he then separated the
Phaloriinae
from the
Cachoplistinae
by two characters: « the ability of its representatives to powerful jumps (plesiomorphy) and the presence of more or less widened lobes on 2nd tarsal segments (autapomorphy of the
Phaloriinae
associated with obligatory or almost obligatory phylophilous mode of life) » (
Gorochov 2003, p. 84
). These characters revealed useless in a comparative frame, as the ability to jump could probably apply to most of the cricket clade, while widened second tarsal segments are found in all the crickets living on plants and could at best be a homoplasy, showing a parallel evolution related to common habitat.
The phylogenetic evidence did not support a close relationships between the
Phaloriinae
and a "
Cachoplistinae
group" (
Chintauan-Marquier
et al.
2013
,
2015
): the
Phaloriinae
were found monophyletic and robust, provided they include taxa previously not classified in the subfamily. Up to early 2015, nine genera were listed in the
Phaloriinae
according to the OSF, three of which subdivided into two to six subgenera. They were distributed into two tribes: the
Phaloriini
comprised
Ceyloria
Gorochov, 1996
,
Gorochovius
Xie, Zheng & Li, 2004
,
Phaloria
Stål, 1877
,
Pseudotrigonidium
Chopard, 1915
,
Strophiola
Uvarov, 1940
,
Sumatloria
Gorochov, 2003
,
Trellius
Gorochov, 1988
,
Tremellia
Stål, 1877
, and
Vescelia
Stål, 1877
, while the
Subtiloriini
Gorochov, 2003
included
Heterotrypus
,
Subtiloria
,
Schizotrypus
and
Kameruloria
. One additional genus belongs to the
Phaloriinae
clade:
Megacris
Desutter-Grandcolas, 2009
from the
Vanuatu
, actually described as a
Phaloriinae
. In the present paper, three additional new genera (six new species) of
Phaloriinae
are described,
Afrophaloria
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen., included in the phylogenetic analysis as '
Phaloriinae
ngen-Tan',
Upupagryllus
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen. and
Phasmagryllus
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen. Three new species of
Kameruloria
are also described.
Afrophaloria
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen. and
Upupagryllus
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen. are the first apterous
Phaloriinae
ever described. Taking into account these genera and the troglobitic
Megacris
greatly increases the ecological and morphological diversity of the subfamily.
Extended morphological definition.
Small to medium species (except the large
Megacris
).
Head.
Head longer than wide. Eyes moderately to highly protruding dorsally (less so laterally). Fastigium rounded laterally, squared, not separate from the vertex, as wide or slightly wider than the scapes, with three equidistant or almost equidistant ocelli. Scapes longer than wide. Maxillary palpi not very elongate (except in
Phasmagryllus
Desutter- Grandcolas, n. gen.); joint 5 widened regularly toward apex, its apex most often truncated apically nearly straight (oblique in
Afrophaloria
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen. and
Phasmagryllus
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen.).
Pronotum
. Transverse.
Legs.
TI most often with one inner and one outer tympana, but outer tympanum sometimes absent (both tympana lacking in
Afrophaloria
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen. and
Upupagryllus subapterus
Desutter- Grandcolas, n. sp.); tympana variously developed, with three different patterns: inner tympanum the widest, or outer tympanum the widest, or both tympana small and almost equal in size; at tympana level, TI shape almost not modified, or greatly inflated and rounded, or just higher in lateral view. TI with two apical spurs, ventral. TII with three apical spurs, the outer dorsal spur missing. TIII with three pairs of apical spurs, the median the longest on outer side (except in
Phasmagryllus
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen.), the dorsal the longest on inner side; four pairs of subapical spurs, slightly alternate, thin; two different patterns of subapical spur relative lengths: In
type
1, inner subapical spurs all much shorter than TIII dorsal apical spur, and nearly equal in length, although subapical spurs
2 and 3 may
be slightly longer than subapical spurs 1 and 4. In
type
2, inner subapical spurs growing longer toward TIII apex, the spur 4 being the smallest and the spur 1 the longest, with spurs 2 and 3 intermediate in size; the longest subapical spur shortly smaller than TIII dorsal apical spur (see
Desutter-Grandcolas 2009
,
Fig. 5
G). TIII dorsally narrowed, often but not always making a kind of keel undulating between the subapical spurs; serrulation very sparse, most often lacking between the subapical spurs (more numerous in
Megacris
); when present between the subapical spurs, spines most often aligned in one row only, located on the tibial keel; above subapical spurs, two rows of sparse spines, more numerous on outer side than on inner side. Second tarsomeres flattened and somewhat expanded (except in
Afrophaloria
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen.,
Phasmagryllus
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen.,
Upupagryllus
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen. and
Megacris
). Basitarsomeres III with one row of spines (two rows in
Megacris
).
Male.
No evident glandular structures on metanotum and tergites (except perhaps in
Phasmagryllus
Desutter- Grandcolas, n. gen.,
Fig. 8
F). FWs well developed and longer than the abdomen (except in
Afrophaloria
Desutter- Grandcolas, n. gen. and
Upupagryllus subapterus
Desutter-Grandcolas
,
n. sp.
; unknown in
Megacris
). When present, HWs most often longer than FWs. Stridulatory apparatus complete. Dorsal field venation: harp with numerous veins, either oblique, parallel and regularly distributed over the file length, or more rounded and irregularly distributed over file length; mirror large, crossed by two transverse veins, one attached to the anterior part of the mirror, and the other attached to the posterior part of the mirror, the two veins being parallel over most of their length, or not (only one vein in
Phasmagryllus
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen.,
Fig. 9
B, and
Upupagryllus alatus
Desutter-Grandcolas
,
n. sp.
,
Fig. 13
K); a wide, transverse cell running posteriorly to the mirror; diagonal vein bifurcate anteriorly (except in
Phasmagryllus
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen.); chords 1 and 2 well separate from chord 3, and fused quite posteriorly (except in
Phasmagryllus
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen., where chords 2 and 3 are fused posteriorly,
Fig. 9
B); CuP present and reaching the first harp veins (shorter in
Upupagryllus alatus
Desutter-Grandcolas
,
n. sp.
,
Fig. 13
K, and lacking in
Phasmagryllus
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen.,
Fig. 9
B); apical field present, more or less developed, most often with several clearly marked cell alignments (but reduced in
Phasmagryllus
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen.,
Fig. 9
B, and
Upupagryllus alatus
Desutter-Grandcolas
,
n. sp.
,
Fig. 13
K). Lateral field well developed, with numerous oblique, parallel veins (except in
Phasmagryllus
Desutter- Grandcolas, n. gen.). Supra anal plate smooth, or with thick denticles (see Gorochov's papers). Subgenital plate well-developed, except in
Afrophaloria
n. gen.
; apex straight or variously bisinuate.
Male genitalia.
Very diverse, often hypertelic and asymmetrical. Pseudepiphallus with a particular upper part, located on the membrane connecting the phallic complex to the paraprocts and partly sclerotized as a transverse paired or impaired sclerite; rami partly invaginated, separate from the upper part of pseudepiphallus, but connected to its lower "normal" part. Pseudepiphallic parameres variable. Ectophallic apodemes well-developed; arc most often not complete (but present at least in
Kameruloria
p.p.,
Fig. 6
, and
Afrophaloria
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen.,
Fig. 3
). Ectophallic fold most often hypertelic (ectophallic fold simple and symmetrical in
Upupagryllus
Desutter- Grandcolas, n. gen. and
Phasmagryllus
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen.); ventral margins often large and asymmetrical. Endophallic sclerite and apodeme, and ectophallic dorsal valves variable. Dorsal cavity lacking.
Female.
FWs and HWs most often well developed; lacking in apterous
Afrophaloria
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen. and
Upupagryllus
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen.; short and corneous in
Megacris
and
Phasmagryllus
Desutter- Grandcolas, n.gen. Subgenital plate transverse, the apex sinuate. Ovipositor apex laterally flattened and smooth (most
Subtiloriini
,
Upupagryllus
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n. gen.), more or less globulous (
Tremellia
,
Pseudotrigonidium
), or thicker with various ornementation (few big teeth, numerous small teeth, or apex small and acute with transverse crests).
Female genitalia.
Copulatory papilla variable.
Remark.
In two females of
Afrophaloria
Desutter-Grandcolas
, n.gen., a spermatophore was present in the female genitalia. The ampoula of the spermaphore was inside of a membranous pouch below the aperture of the spermathecal duct. This was observed also in one female of
Kameruloria nigricornis
Desutter-Grandcolas
,
n. sp.