Rhicnogryllus nanlingensis He, Zhang & Ma, 2021

He, Zhixin, Ma, Ge, Zhang, Tao & Ma, Libin, 2021, First report of the genus Rhicnogryllus Chopard, 1925 (Orthoptera: Trigonidiidae Trigonidiinae) in China with description of a new species, Zootaxa 4950 (3), pp. 589-594 : 592-593

Rhicnogryllus nanlingensis He, Zhang & Ma , sp. n.

Holotype. China: Male, Guangdong, Nanling National Forest Park, Tianjing Mountain , 4-viii-2019, Tao Zhang & Zhixin He coll.

Description. Male. Body size small for the genus. Head small, slightly broader than pronotum; antennal scape as long as rostrum; ocelli very small, median ocellus round, slightly larger than lateral ocelli; genae somewhat swollen; clypeus slightly convex, anterior and posterior margin almost straight and parallel with each other; labrum much narrower than clypeus; maxillary palpi somewhat extended, the third joint longer than terminal one distinctly, terminal joint broadened apically; labial palpi rather short, terminal joint longer than the former two. Pronotum almost oblong with lateral edges hirsute. Tegmen short, dorsal field armed with 5 longitudinal, elevated and parallel veins; transverse veins inconspicuous; median part pubescent. Hind wing absent. Hind legs long, spotless; hind tibia armed with 4 spines inner and 3 outer ones.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 3 ). Pseudepiphallus separated into two lateral parts joined by an anterior sclerotized bridge, bridge thin and straight. Posterior apex of pseudepiphallus forming short and curved inward. Lobule at the posterior edge of pseudepiphallic sclerite curved upward and lobate. Pseudepiphallic parameres elongated, not exceeding posterior apex of pseudepiphallus. Ectophallic fold strongly sclerotized and not exceeding the lobule at the posterior edge of pseudepiphallic sclerite. Ectophallic apodeme weakly sclerotized but long. Endophallic sclerite elongated with lamella of apodemes appearing flat and broad.

Coloration ( Fig. 1 ). Head colored yellow with dark red spots. Pronotum colored yellow all around and middle part brown. Hind wings and abdomen colored dark yellow with dark red spots. Legs colored light grey. Cerci colored dark yellow.

Measurements. BL 3.76, PL 0.69, PW 1.15, TL 1.88, TW 1.50, HFL 3.02, HTL 3.39.

Etymology. The name refers to its type locality, Nanling National Forest Park.

Remarks. The new species is similar to Rhicnogryllus tahitensis ( Saussure, 1878) in body coloration, but its hind femur are without any spots. It differs from Rhicnogryllus elegans (Bolívar, 1910) in basal coloration of cerci (it is very pale, the new species is yellow), different with R. fascipes in body coloration (it is dark, the new species is yellowish brown), different with Rhicnogryllus zeuneri Chopard, 1936 in body size and number of veins (its tegmen possesses 4 veins, the new species possesses 5 veins). It differs from Rhicnogryllus limbatus Willemse, 1951 in tegmen’s coloration (its tegmen bears blackish stripes, the new species bears reddish brown stripes). It differs from Rhicnogryllus flavipes Willemse, 1951 in tegmen’s length (its tegmen reaching tip of abdomen, the tegmen of the new species reaching 4th segment of abdomen). With Rhicnogryllus annulipes Chopard, 1956 it differs in facial coloration and legs without brown rings. However, its genitalia are different from any other species which has been described ( Rhicnogryllus ogasawarensis ( Shiraki, 1930) , Rhicnogryllus viettei Chopard, 1957 , Rhicnogryllus seyrigi Chopard, 1958 , Rhicnogryllus lepidus Chopard, 1962 , Rhicnogryllus bipunctatus Ingrisch, 1987 and Rhicnogryllus paetensis Tan, Yap & Baroga-Barbecho, 2020). For our new species, the posterior apex of pseudepiphallus is very short, slightly curved inwards and without teeth; the lobes at the posterior edge of pseudepiphallic sclerite form as a leaf in dorsal view.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Living habitus of Rhicnogryllus nanlingensis sp. n. A. Male. B. Female.

FIGURE 3. Line drawing of male genitalia of Rhicnogryllus nanlingensis sp. n. A. Dorsal viewed. B. Ventral viewed. ens, endophallic sclerite (formula); ec ap, ectophallic apodeme (endoparamere apodeme); ps, pseudepiphallus (epiphallus); ps lb, lobule at the posterior edge of pseudepiphallic sclerite; ps lo, sclerotized lophus at the posterior apex of pseudepiphallus; ra, ectophallic fold (rachis).