Mecopoda angusta Gorochov, 2020

Heller, Klaus-Gerhard, Baker, Ed, Ingrisch, Sigfrid, Korsunovskaya, Olga, Liu, Chun-Xiang, Riede, Klaus & Warchałowska-Šliwa, Elżbieta, 2021, Bioacoustics and systematics of Mecopoda (and related forms) from South East Asia and adjacent areas (Orthoptera, Tettigonioidea, Mecopodinae) including some chromosome data, Zootaxa 5005 (2), pp. 101-144 : 129-130

Mecopoda angusta Gorochov, 2020

Recordings: MALAYSIA: CH3697, Negeri Sembilan , Pasoh Forest Reserve (near Simbang Pertang north of Kuala Pilah) (2°57’N, 102°15’E), 29–31 iii 1992, leg. K.-G. Heller & M. Volleth (song and stridulatory organs), in ethanol, IZCAS . CH 3674, Selangor , Templer Park near Kuala Lumpur (3°17’N, 101°39’E), 19 iii 1984, leg. K.-G. Heller (song and stridulatory organs), in ethanol. Male CH 3758+CHX071, Selangor , Ulu Gombak Field Study Centre (20 km nno Kuala Lumpur) (3°20’N, 101°45’E), 200 m, 28 ii–24 iv 1984, leg. K.-G. Heller & M. Volleth (stridulatory organs). Song CHX071, same data, animal not collected .

Other material: Females. MALAYSIA: CH3744, Selangor , Ulu Gombak Field Study Centre (20 km nno Kuala Lumpur) (3°20’N, 101°45’E), 260 m, 8–28 iii 1981, leg. K.-G. Heller & M. Volleth. CH 3790, same locality, 4 iii–5 iv 1992, leg. K.-G. Heller & M. Volleth.

Material used for comparison. Mecopoda dilatata Redtenbacher, 1892 . Type series with three males under M. dilatata Redtb. , 13846, Borneo, all NMW. Holotype male, labels: (1) type, (2) Mecopoda dilatata Redt , det. Redtenbacher, (3) Coll. Br. v. W. Borneo Grabovsky, (4) 13846, (5) II 13846. Second male from type series without labels. Third male with label Borneo. Male, labels (1) Mecopoda dilatata Redtenbacher, 1892 det. S. Ingrisch 1994, (2) SABAH Poring 15 IV 1991, leg K. Riede, (3) DORSA ORTmecdilS01 (4) Museum Koenig ORT 2005/413.

Mecopoda divergens Redtenbacher, 1892 . Holotype female, NMW, labels: (1) Mecopoda divergens det. Redtenbacher, (2) Coll. Br. v. W. Indien Türk, (3) 2635, (4) 12 2635. Male, NMW, labels: (1) Mecopoda divergens det. Redtenbacher, (2) Coll. Br. v. W., (3) Java occident. Pengalengan, 4000’ 1893 H. Fruhstorfer, (4) 20 286.

Within Mecopoda , M. angusta does not belong to the elongata group s.l. because the apex of the vertex is not rounded as in the elongata -related forms, but transversely and bluntly carinate. The fastigium verticis is met from below by a broad fastigium frontis, leaving a distinct gap in between ( Fig. 16 ). These characteristics are shown by M. dilatata , M. divergens and M. platyphoea Walker, 1870 and probably also by M. kerinci (no information given in Gorochov 2020). From M. dilatata , M. angusta can be easily discriminated by its special subgenital plate. M. divergens , however, was known only by the female holotype with unknown origin. Fortunately it turned out that Redtenbacher obtained and identified also a male collected one year (1893) after his description of the female. It has the typical mecopodine fork-like subgenital plate ( Fig. 17 ). Finally, E. platyphoea (see under Eumecopoda ) from Sri Lanka, known only from the brown female type and, after Kirby (1891), a green male, has broader tegmina and a shorter, thicker ovipositor than M. angusta ( Fig. 18 ). It also has spines on the fore femora („Fore femora with three spines in one row towards the tips“ Walker 1870) missing in M. angusta . The females from Pakistan, described under M. platyphoea by Panhwar et al. (2016), differ widely in the species-specific characteristics (see their figures 1a,c,e) and do not belong to this species. For other morphological details see Fig. 20 .

Stridulatory vein with 59–73 teeth ( Fig. 11 M ; inter-tooth distances see Fig. 12 ).

Song. The calling song of M. angusta consists of series of 7–18 echemes (trill segments), each series (trill) lasting about 10 –15 s. The echemes had durations of 0.7– 1.3 s with SRRs between 30 and 40 Hz ( Fig. 10 ; Tab. 7 ). In the echeme structure the song is similar to that of Eumecopoda c. cyrtoscelis ( Helfert & Sänger 2007; see below), but not to any known in Mecopoda .

M. angusta was known from two localities in peninsular Malaysia and from one locality in Sumatra, but is obviously more widespread.

Figures

FIGURE 10. Oscillograms of the calling songs of Mecopoda angusta and Eumecopoda cyrtoscelis. Overview (12 s sections) and details (1 s sections). Figures of Eumecopoda c. cyrtoscelis based on figures in Helfert & Sänger (2007), all sound recordings the figures are made from seem to be lost (Römer, email 2019/10/23).

FIGURE 11. Stridulatory files in Mecopoda and Eumecopoda. A M. niponensis niponensis, lectotype, B M. niponensis vietnamica subsp. nov., holotype, C M. himalaya, CH3737 (Malaysia), D M. himalaya (=M. ampla malayensis, holotype), E M. himalaya (=M. ampla javaensis, holotype), F M. himalaya (=M. fallax aequatorialis, holotype), G M. macassariensis, holotype, H M. fallax, Thailand, I M. stridulata stridulata, CRTmeceloM02 (Borneo), J M. stridulata stridulata, holotype, K M. paucidens sp. nov., (Java), L M. sismondoi sp. nov., holotype, M M. javana, neotype, N M. javana, Sri Lanka, O M. mahindai sp. nov., holotype, P M. angusta, CH3697, Q M. dilatata, ORT 2005/413 (Borneo), R E. cyrtoscelis zhantievi subsp. nov., holotype, S M. prominens, holotype, T M. ampla ampla, holotype. Scale 1 mm.

FIGURE 12. Inter-tooth spacing in stridulatory files of Mecopoda species. Thick lines and filled symbols indicate specimens with known song. A–D: M. elongata group: A M. niponensis subgroup and M. marmorata, B M. himalaya and macassariensis, C M. fallax and species with similar files, D M. confracta subgroup, E other Mecopoda and Eumecopoda species.

FIGURE 16. Frontal view of the head in Mecopoda and Eumecopoda species. A M. angusta, male, B M. angusta, female, C M. dilatata, male, syntype, D M. divergens, male, NMW, E M. divergens, female, holotype, F E. cyrtoscelis zhantievi subsp. nov., male, holotype.

FIGURE 17. Male subgenital plate, ventral view, in Mecopoda species. A M angusta (CH3697), B M. dilatata, type, C M. divergens, NHW.

FIGURE 18. Ovipositor of A Mecopoda angusta (CH3744) and B Eumecopoda platyphoea stat. nov., holotype. Scale 10 mm.

FIGURE 20. Morphological details of male Mecopoda angusta (CH3697). A pronotum dorsal view, B pronotum, lateral view, C cercus. Scale 1 mm.