Cophonemobius Chopard, 1929

Desutter-Grandcolas, Laure, 2009, New and little known crickets from Espiritu Santo Island, Vanuatu (Insecta, Orthoptera, Grylloidea, Pseudotrigonidium Chopard, 1915, Phaloriinae and Nemobiinae p. p.), Zoosystema 31 (3), pp. 619-659 : 647-648

Genus Cophonemobius Chopard, 1929

TYPE SPECIES. — Cophonemobius buxtoni Chopard, 1929 .

EMENDED DIAGNOSIS. — TI without tympana.TIII with 3 pairs of long subapical spurs; 3 outer apical spurs; 3 inner apical spurs, the dorsal 1.5 times as long as the median, and longer than half basitarsus III. FWs present in both males and females, hardened, very short, and only slightly overlapping; lateral and dorsal fields with longitudinal, parallel veins. Palpi very long.

In Vanuatuan species, male genitalia wide and distinctly curved dorso-ventrally ( Fig. 14 ). Pseudepiphallic sclerite

TL Lpron lpron LFW lFW LW LFIII LTIII Lovip.

Holotype 25.5 2.4 4.1 16.9 4.1 21.1 11.1 10.1 4.7

round and convex, its anterior margin deeply indented; 4 more sclerotized longitudinal areas, each bearing long and strong setae; pseudepiphallic “lophi”, parameres and ectophallic fold gathered under pseudepiphallus apex, with a 90° angle from pseudepiphallic sclerite. Pseudepiphallic parameres having the shape of vertical plates, hardly sclerotized. Female ovipositor with acute apex, slightly raised dorsally; dorsal valves with longitudinal carinae and inconspicuous lateral teeth. No distinct copulatory papilla.

DISTRIBUTION. — Until now Cophonemobius was known from Samoa islands only. Its presence is largely attested in Vanuatu, where it is abundant in cave habitats. It is not present in New Caledonia (Chopard 1915; Gorochov 1986; Otte et al. 1987; Desutter-Grandcolas 1997a, b).

REMARKS

Cophonemobius is widely distributed in Espiritu Santo. It occurs in many caves, often with great abundance and deep inside galleries, and could be one of the most characteristic animal of Vanuatuan karstic environment. It has never been observed outside caves, neither by day nor by night (pers. obs.), which would indicate that Cophonemobius is truly troglobitic, i.e. caves may constitute its natural habitat, even though it does not present the morphological syndrome most often associated with cave life (Desutter-Grandcolas 1997c).

The specimens studied here form quite a homogeneous stock, which supports the description of a new species, Cophonemobius faustini n. sp. Observed variation in male genitalia and colouration is however suffi ciently stable and coherent to allow the definitions of at least two subspecies, C. faustini faustini and C. faustini funafus . Additional juvenile specimens have been collected in different caves during SANTO 2006, including Amarirua on Malo island, which could not be identified at species level (material in alcohol, MNHN-ENSIF2151).

Figures

FIG. 14. — Cophonemobius faustini n. sp., male genitalia in dorsal (A, C) and lateral (B) views: A, B, C. faustini faustini n. subsp.; C, C. faustini funafus n. subsp. Abbreviations: see text. Scale bar: 0.1 mm.