Megacris, Desutter-Grandcolas, 2012

Desutter-Grandcolas, Laure, 2012, Phalangopsidae crickets from Espiritu Santo Island, Vanuatu (Insecta, Orthoptera, Grylloidea), Zoosystema 34 (2), pp. 287-304 : 294-296

Genus Megacris n. gen.

TYPE SPECIES. — Megacris lipsae n. sp.

ETYMOLOGY. — Taxon named after its very large size (greek adjective μεγας, μεγαλη) and the suffix “-acris”, common in Orthoptera .

DIAGNOSIS. — Very large species.Fastigium wide, bearing three small ocelli arranged as an equilateral triangle. Inner and outer tympana both oval and very small. Inner subapical spurs of TIII increasing in length through tibia length, the longest almost as long as basitarsus III. FWs present in females (and so certainly in males), but short. Female ovipositor with dorsal valves apex ornamented with transverse crests, ventral valves with ventral teeth. Female genitalia hardly sclerotised, having the shape of a finger; aperture of spermathecal duct trench-like, located apically and ventrally on the papilla. Spermathecal duct short.

REMARK

We describe here a new species and a new genus, although it is known by females and juveniles only. Cricket taxonomy being mostly based on male genitalia, it is difficult to compare this species with known taxa. However, it presents a combination of morphological characters not yet encountered in long-legged crickets, which justifies the definition of a new genus: if the spurs, serrulation and dorsal crest of TIII are similar to those of Trellius Gorochov,1990 and other Phaloriinae Gorochov, 1985 , wing condition and size are radically different. Also, to my knowledge no Phaloriinae has yet been reported from caves.