Garciaitettix mirabilis Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares, 2025

Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J., Quintana-Arias, Ronald Fernando, Infante, Ivette Coque, Silva, Daniela Santos Martins & Tavares, Gustavo Costa, 2025, Studies on pygmy grasshoppers: On the current Metrodorinae sensu lato classification (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) with emphasis on American and Malagasy taxa, Zootaxa 5597 (1), pp. 1-265 : 145

Garciaitettix mirabilis Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares , sp. nov.

( Figs. 96, 97, Map 6)

Type material. Holotype. Male, Colombia, Meta, Cubarral , “Reserva Natural Las Palmeras”, 1600 m. 3°49’22.4”N 73°53’20.1”W. 1100 m, N. Gonzalez leg. ( CAUD) Paratype. 1 male, same data as holotype ( CAUD) .

Description. Male. Small-sized (7.9–8.2 mm) ( Fig. 96). Coloration. General coloration of the body brown, with each granule on the body with a small whitish spot ( Fig. 96). Head dark brown; eyes reddish-brown and ocelli yellowish; clypeus dark brown, labrum with most of the central surface dark brown, towards the sides with a conspicuous white stripe and the edge outlined in black; palpi light ocher ( Fig. 97A). Scapus and pedicellus ocher; third to sixth antennomeres light brown; seventh, eighth, and the basal half of the ninth dark brown; distal half of the ninth and tenth antennomere white ( Fig. 97B). Pronotum brown with small black and whitish spots of medium size scattered in the media carina; middle section of the pronotal disc with a longitudinal black stripe on each side, extending from the external lateral carina towards the median carina of the pronotal disc ( Fig. 96A); infrascapular area black, with two whitish stripes traversing it in the middle and in the distal section ( Fig. 96A). Fore and mid femora brown with two whitish stripes, one faint at the base and one more conspicuous in the middle; anterior and middle tibiae with a stripe near the base and another forming a ring in the middle ( Figs. 97D, E); hind femur brown with margins delineated by alternating brown, white, and black spots, also with a white stripe near the base and another near the apex of the median external area; hind tibia grayish, with two whitish-yellow rings near the base ( Fig. 96A). Tarsi of the fore and mid legs with the first segment black, last segment with the base grayish-brown, middle section white, and tip black; hind tarsi with the first tarsomere whitish, outer face blurred gray, second tarsomere black, last tarsomere with the base gray, middle white, and tip black. Head. Eyes occupying a quarter of the cephalic capsule; space between the eyes 1.5 times the width of one of the eyes ( Fig. 97A); fastigium of the vertex straight in dorsal view and not prolongated in lateral view ( Fig. 97B). Antennae with ten flattened segments, last segment lanceolate, and an antennal organ in the shape of a small spine ( Figs. 97B, C). Thorax. Pronotum rugose and undulated, extending near the tip of the abdomen, with a hump at the level of the meso and metathorax ( Fig. 97B), after there with a less elevated undulation, which projects near the distal portion; apex of pronotum slightly curving upward; external lateral carina with fine serrulation ( Fig. 96B); infrascapular area widened and ovoid; lateral lobes of the pronotum a slightly wider than long, lower margin acute ( Fig. 96A); posterior margin of lateral lobe rounded; lateral shoulder carina narrow and moderately prolonged ( Fig. 97C). Legs slender, moderately long; fore and mid femora with two small prolongations on the ventral margin ( Figs. 97D, E). Hind femur with slightly undulated margins; antegenicular and genicular teeth well-developed ( Fig. 96A); hind tibia armed with six small spines on each dorsal margin ( Fig. 96B). Abdomen. Subgenital plate slender and mid-sized, with dorsal edge straight; epiproct ovoid longer than wide; cerci cylindrical and tapering towards the tip ( Fig. 97F); penultimate abdominal sternite rounded ( Fig. 97G).

Female. Unknown.

Measurements (in mm): CFP: 7.9–8.2. PL: 6.3–6.5. PLB: 4.3–4.5. FF: 2.1–2.3. FL: 2.5–2.6. MFL: 2.5–2.7. MTL: 2.7–2.8. HL: 5.0–5.2. HW: 1.5–1.6. HL: 5.0–3.1.

Remarks. This is the first tetrigid described from “Las Palmeras” Natural Reserve. Previously, two crickets from this reserve have been described: Crinklyalis gracilis Cadena-Castañeda, García García, Castellanos & Tavares, 2023 ( Phalangopsidae ), a small phalangopsid with a curious dome-like morphology of the tegminae ( Cadena-Castañeda et al., 2023a), and Laureopsis andina Cadena-Castañeda, Quintana-Arias & Tavares, 2023 ( Gryllidae ), a tiny cricket, from a group previously recorded only for the Amazon ( Cadena-Castañeda et al., 2023b).

Etymology. The specific epithet of this species comes from the Latin mirabilis , which means wonderful or incredible, referring to the nice morphology of the species, which is notable in the shape of its antennae and pronotum.