Conocephalus (Megalotheca), Karny, 1907

Gorochov, Andrej V., 2009, Katydids of the genus Ewanella and of the subgenus Megalotheca (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae), African Invertebrates 50 (2), pp. 435-435 : 439-440

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.5733/afin.050.0211

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7671750

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03FC4F66-FFA8-FFD5-FE9D-90613D40FC19

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Conocephalus (Megalotheca)
status

 

Subgenus Megalotheca Karny, 1907 View in CoL , stat. n.

Type species: M. vaginalis Karny, 1907 View in CoL ( South Africa: Cape of Good Hope ) .

Remarks: This subgenus is similar to Conocephalus s. str. (the genus Conocephalus is divided into several subgenera by some previous authors, but many of them are possibly only groups of the same subgenus, as they are very similar to each other) in: the shape of the head rostrum in profile (with dorsal and ventral rostral tubercles closely contacting with each other; Figs 11, 15 View Figs 11–28 ); the disposition of spines on the legs; and the structure of the stridulatory apparatus in the male ( Figs 12, 13, 16–18, 20, 21, 23, 27 View Figs 11–28 ) and the abdominal apex in both sexes (including the same type of male genital sclerites; Figs 32, 35, 37, 42, 55 View Figs 30–56 ). But its representatives differ from the majority of species of Conocephalus s. str. in the characters connected with their specialized stick-like appearance (strong adaptation to life on thin stems and very narrow leaves of grasses): body thin; head very long and with very narrow rostrum; proximal antennal segments thickened ( Fig. 12 View Figs 11–28 ), pronotum low and without distinct humeral notches (in typical species of Conocephalus , it is high and with distinct humeral notches; for comparison see Figs 11, 14, 15, 19, 22 and 26, 28 View Figs 11–28 ); fore and middle legs short; hind femora thin. In some species of Megalotheca the male cerci are very different in shape to those of Conocephalus s. str. (for comparison see Figs 43, 46, 50 and 53, 54, 56 View Figs 30–56 ). However, in the other species of this subgenus the male cerci are similar to those of Conocephalus s. str. ( Figs 30, 33, 36, 38 View Figs 30–56 ) or are intermediate ( Fig. 39 View Figs 30–56 ). Also, some species of Conocephalus have the head similar to that of Conocephalus s. str. (their head is shorter and with wider rostrum than in Megalotheca ) and the structure of some other body parts more or less similar to that of Megalotheca (their subgeneric position is unclear; Figs 24, 25 View Figs 11–28 ).

Species included (names in original binomen): Type species [= Xiphidion restiorum Peringuey, 1916 View in CoL , synonymized by Uvarov (1928)]; M. xiphidioides Karny, 1907 View in CoL ; X. parvulum Peringuey, 1916 View in CoL ; X. longiceps Peringuey, 1916 View in CoL ; M. montana Uvarov, 1928 View in CoL ; C. phasma Gorochov & Llorente, 2004 View in CoL ; C. marcelloi Gorochov & Llorente, 2004 View in CoL ; C. (M.) namibius View in CoL sp. n.; C. (M.) zlobini View in CoL sp. n. Eades and Otte (2009) continue to include M. nigrifrons Chopard, 1952 View in CoL in the genus Megalotheca View in CoL , but Gorochov and Llorente (2004) have shown that this species probably belongs to another tribe of the Conocephalinae View in CoL .

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Orthoptera

Family

Tettigoniidae

Genus

Conocephalus

Loc

Conocephalus (Megalotheca)

Gorochov, Andrej V. 2009
2009
Loc

C. (M.) namibius

Gorochov 2009
2009
Loc

C. (M.) zlobini

Gorochov 2009
2009
Loc

C. phasma

Gorochov & Llorente 2004
2004
Loc

C. marcelloi

Gorochov & Llorente 2004
2004
Loc

M. nigrifrons

Chopard 1952
1952
Loc

M. montana

Uvarov 1928
1928
Loc

Xiphidion restiorum

Peringuey 1916
1916
Loc

X. parvulum

Peringuey 1916
1916
Loc

X. longiceps

Peringuey 1916
1916
Loc

M. xiphidioides

Karny 1907
1907
Loc

Megalotheca

Karny 1907
1907
Loc

Conocephalinae

Kirby et Spence 1826
1826
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