Salomona richardsi Naskrecki & Rentz, 2010, sp. n.
Creators: name: Naskrecki, Piotr
name: Rentz, David C. F.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2010
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Tettigoniidae
Salomona
Salomona richardsi

description: Salomona richardsi sp. n.
(Figs.1 A–H)
Type locality. PAPUA NEW GUINEA: East New Britain, Nakanai Mts., Lamas (5°36'50.7''S, 151°24'28.9''E), 200 m, 3–9.iv.2009, coll. P. Naskrecki—male holotype (ANSP)
Differential diagnosis. Easily distinguished from other species of the genus by the unique shape of the male cercus (Figs. 1 B–C) and fastigium of vertex (Fig. 1 F). The lateral carinae of frons are similar to those of S. hierogyphica Willemse, but the surface of the frons in S. richardsi is more rugose, and the male cercus is of a different shape.
General. Body large, robust; macropterous (Fig. 1 A) (female unknown).
Head. Frons flat, oblique, strongly rugose (punctate); lateral carinae well developed, starting below eye and distinctly bifurcated in lower half (Fig. 1 E). Fastigium of frons fused with fastigium of vertex; fastigium of vertex weakly hook-like (Fig. 1 F), as wide as 1/2 of antennal scapus, reaching apex of scapus. Eyes globular, moderately protruding; antennal scapus unarmed.
Thorax. Pronotum surface weakly rugose; anterior margin of pronotum straight; metazona slightly raised, posterior edge of metazona narrowly rounded. Prosternum armed with two long spines.
Legs. Front femur laterally compressed, armed with 7 spines on both ventral margins; genicular lobes of front femur armed with spines on anterior (inner) side only, front tibia with 6 strong spines on each ventral margin, ventral spines on front tibia almost as long as tibia diameter. Mid femur armed with 1–2 spines on posterior and 6 spines on anterior ventral margin, genicular lobes of mid femur armed on posterior side only. Hind femur armed on anterior margin only, genicular lobes of hind femur armed with single spine on both sides.
Wings. Tegmen distinctly surpassing apex of abdomen; anterior margin rounded; apex narrowly rounded. Veins Sc and R close together, parallel along their entire length; veins Rs, M, and Cu straight, running parallel to each other along entire length of tegmen; vein Rs branching off in apical third of tegmen; vein Rs with 1 very short apical branch. Mirror roughly rectangular; stridulatory file weakly bent, 3.3 mm long, 0.3 mm wide, with 68 teeth (Fig. 1 G).
Abdomen. Cercus cylindrical, slightly bent inwards when seen from above (Fig. 1 B); sinuate when seen from behind (Fig. 1 C), with large, inner tooth apically. Epiproct unmodified; small and rounded. Phallus with well developed, strongly sclerotized titillators (Fig. 1 H). Subgenital plate broadly trapezoidal, with deep, triangular incision (Fig. 1 D); styli cylindrical, about 4 times as long as wide, parallel.
Coloration. Coloration pale brown; face same color as rest of head; tegmen veins light, membrane between veins brown.
Measurements (1 male). body w/wings: 56.5; body w/o wings: 46; pronotum: 15; tegmen: 38; hind femur: 26.5 mm.
Material examined. The holotype is unique.
Note. The holotype individual was recorded stridulating at 21:30 from a horizontal branch of an unidentified tree along a trail within a lowland forest. The sound was recorded from a distance of about 2 m, and it consisted of a series of long syllables produced with the frequency of 0.96/s at 26°C; each syllable lasted 0.783 s (±0.1841, n=20) (Fig. 2 C–D).
Etymology. Named in honor of Dr. Stephen Richards, an Australian herpetologist.
description: Published as part of Naskrecki, Piotr & Rentz, David C. F., 2010, Studies in the orthopteran fauna of Melanesia: New katydids of the tribe Agraeciini from Papua New Guinea (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Conocephalinae), pp. 1-35 in Zootaxa 2664 on page 5, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.276316