Mutonemobius marmoratus, Hegg, 2024

Hegg, Danilo, 2024, Small crickets of New Zealand (Orthoptera: Grylloidea: Trigonidiidae and Mogoplistidae), with the description of two new genera and species, European Journal of Taxonomy 955 (1), pp. 1-87 : 41-45

Mutonemobius marmoratus gen. et sp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:6F5B2451-C29A-4EFB-8CCC-6718DB8571F9

Figs 20–21 , 22C–D , 38G

Diagnosis

Refer to the above diagnosis for the genus.

Etymology

‘ Marmŏrātus ’ (adj.) is Latin for ‘marbled’, because of the colour pattern on the cricket’s dorsal parts.

Material examined (see also Supp. file 1: Table S5 )

Holotype

NEW ZEALAND • ♂, adult; Waikato (WO), Manganui Road, Awakino ; 38.61659° S, 174.67720° E; 50 m a.s.l.; 29 Mar. 2022; D. Hegg leg.; in tall grass on road verge; trowel and jar; NZAC 03036039 .

Paratypes

NEW ZEALAND • 1 ♀, adult; Taranaki (TK), Araheke Stream, New Plymouth ; 39.10385° S, 174.11622° E; 80 m a.s.l.; 4 Apr. 2023; D. Hegg leg.; on footpath; jar; NZAC 03036040 • 4 ♂♂, 9 ♀♀; same data as for holotype; NZAC 03036041 to NZAC 03036053 .

Other material

NEW ZEALAND – Taranaki (TK) • 1 ♀; Dawson Falls, Taranaki Mounga ; 39.31854° S, 174.09918° E; 960 m a.s.l.; 18 Feb. 2023; E. Roberts leg.; on forest floor; photograph only; iNaturalist 149086855 • 1 ♀; Pukeiti, Taranaki Mounga ; 39.19956° S, 173.97880° E; 380 m a.s.l.; 28 Apr. 2023; E. Roberts leg.; on forest floor; photograph only; iNaturalist 157080123 • 1 ♀; Pukeiti, Taranaki Mounga ; 39.20146° S, 173.98211° E; 400 m a.s.l.; 29 Jan. 2023; A. Gray leg.; on forest floor; photograph only; iNaturalist 147681550 • 1 ♀; Araheke Stream, New Plymouth ; 39.10385° S, 174.11622° E; 80 m a.s.l.; 29 Mar. 2023; D. Hegg leg.; in tall grass; trowel and jar; MPN OR0259 • 2 ♂♂, 5 ♀♀; same data as for preceding; 4 Apr. 2023; MPN OR0260 to OR0266 • 4 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀; same data as for preceding; 19 Mar. 2024; MPN OR0318 to OR0323 . – Waikato (WO) • 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀; Mangatoa Saddle ; 38.41638° S, 174.72193° E; 300 m a.s.l.; 22 Mar. 2024; D. Hegg leg.; dry dirt in car park; trowel and jar; MPN OR0337 to OR0339 . – Rangitikei (RI) • 1 ♀; Matemateaonga ; 39.42344° S, 174.65279° E; 450 m a.s.l.; 9 Sep. 2023; A. Gray leg.; on forest floor; photograph only; iNaturalist 182907207 . – Taupō (TO) • 1 ♀; Pukawa Bay, Lake Taupō ; 38.92056° S, 175.74662° E; 460 m a.s.l.; 15 Aug. 2023; S. Mae leg.; on forest floor; photograph only; iNaturalist 180997201 . – Bay of Plenty (BP) • 1 ♂; Lake Rotokawa, Rotorua ; 38.11320° S, 176.32150° E; 280 m a.s.l.; 11 May 2022; D. Holland leg.; grassland; photograph only; iNaturalist 116515690 .

Description

MEASUREMENTS. See Table 4 . Females are larger than males.

HEAD ( Fig. 20A–B ). Rounded, bulbous, approximately 10% taller than wide in frontal view. Compound eyes measuring one third of head height in their longest dimension, black. Ocelli present, white. Head colour a very dark brown/ black throughout, except for very conspicuous pale stripes arching over compound eyes from anterior margin of pronotum to scapes of antennae, and for faint pale patches either side of rostrum and along edges of labrum and clypeus. Head mostly glabrous, smooth and shiny, except for few stout bristles on vertex and on frons on sides of rostrum. Antennae: scapes with longitudinal brown and yellow stripes; flagelli pale brown. Labial and maxillari palps uniform dark brown and sparsely hairy; terminal segment of maxillary palps covered in short, dense hairs.

THORAX ( Fig. 20C ). Pronotum 25% wider than long, widest at centre, narrowest at anterior and posterior edges. Colour marbled yellow and dark brown. Cuticle smooth, with sparse, short hairs, barely noticeable. Strong bristles on lateral lobes and on anterior and posterior edges.

WINGS ( Fig. 20C ). Forewings present, vestigial only, almost twice as wide as long; identical in males and females, lacking stridulatory apparatus in males. With longitudinal veins only; colour alternating yellow and dark brown longitudinal stripes. Hindwings always absent.

LEGS. Fore and middle legs banded yellow and brown; with sparse strong bristles on all sides. Posterior legs variegated pale and brown. Tibia I with two ventral spurs at apex, subequal in length. Auditory tympana absent. Tarsomere I-1 bearing two rows of short spinules ventrally. Tibia II armed with three long spurs at apex, subequal in length; two ventral and one dorsal on posterior side. Tarsomere II-1 bearing two rows of short spinules ventrally. Femur III glabrous and of variegated colour inside; covered in hair outside, especially on dorsal surface. Femur III outer surface marked by a longitudinal line along its whole length, parallel to lower edge, about ⅓ from femur lower edge and ⅔ from upper edge. Area above longitudinal line marked with alternating yellow and brown diagonal stripes; area below longitudinal line with diagonal stripes only in proximal half, variegated pale and brown in distal half. Tibia III armed with four subapical dorsal spurs on inner edge, three subapical dorsal spurs on outer edge, although one out of seven individuals have four subapical spurs on outer edge also, in both sexes. All apical and subapical spurs pale at base and at apex, brown in between; covered with short hairs. Length of outer ventral apical spur on Tibia III 80% to 85% that of inner ventral apical spur. Length of outer apical spur on Tarsomere III-1 70% that of inner apical spur.

ABDOMEN ( Fig. 22C–D ). Marbled yellow and brown. Dorsum covered in relatively dense, thin tomentum throughout.

MALE TERMINALIA. Subgenital plate trapezoidal, with sparse hairs, curled upwards and wrapped around genitalia. Suranal plate with a petal-shaped lobe projecting backwards from posterior margin and covering genitalia from above ( Fig. 20D ). Internal genitalia internal as in Fig. 21.

FEMALE TERMINALIA ( Fig. 20F–H ). Subgenital plate small, trapezoidal. Ovipositor 60% of body length; straight and slender; smooth throughout. Lateral valves divaricating at apex.

EGGS ( Fig. 20E ). Brown; approx. 1.5 mm long and 600 µm wide.

Distribution

The species is only known from native forests in the central western North Island of New Zealand ( Fig. 38G ), from sea level to near tree-line.

Figures

Fig. 20. Mutonemobius marmoratus gen. et sp. nov. A–B. Lateral and frontal views of head, adult ♀. Araheke Stream, New Plymouth (NZAC03036040). C. Dorsal view of pronotum and forewings, adult ♀. Manganui Road, Awakino (NZAC03036051). D. Male genitalia, dorsal view, exterior (NZAC03036039). E. Egg. Araheke Stream, New Plymouth (MPN OR0322). F–G. Apex of ovipositor. Araheke Stream, New Plymouth. F. Lateral view (NZAC03036040). G. Dorsal view (MPN OR0265). H. Ovipositor, lateral view. Araheke Stream, New Plymouth (NZAC03036040). Scale bars = 500 μm.

Fig. 21. Mutonemobius marmoratus gen. et sp. nov., ♂ genitalia. Araheke Stream, New Plymouth. A–B. Microscope images of pseudepiphallic sclerite sclerite (MPN OR0266). A. Dorsal view. B. Ventral view. C–E. Micro CT scans (MPN OR0318). C–D. Cross-section, dorsal view, Volume Blending. E. Lateral view, Maximum Intensity Projection (MIP). Scale bars = 250 μm.

Fig. 22. Live silent Nemobiinae Saussure, 1877. A–B. Austronemobius chelatus gen. et sp. nov., photographed in its natural environment. A. Adult ♂, Heaphy River, Kahurangi National Park. B. Adult ♀, Lake Christabel. C–D. Mutonemobius marmoratus gen. et sp. nov., Awakino, Waikato. Photographed in captivity on unnatural background. C. Adult ♂. D. Adult ♀.

Fig. 38. Map of New Zealand, showing the known distribution of taxa included in this study. Thin black lines indicate the boundaries of Crosby’s entomological regions (Crosby et al. 1998; Fig. 2). Coloured circles indicate the collection localities for the material examined.