Phalangopsidae
Creators: name: Desutter-Grandcolas, Laure
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2015
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Phalangopsidae

description: Key to African genera of Phalangopsidae
Remarks. Larandeicus has three apical spurs on TI, set in a close triangle. It is consequently clear that this taxon does not belong to the family Phalangopsidae sensu Desutter-Grandcolas et al. (submit.), defined after the clade E of Chintauan-Marquier et al. (2013, 2015) phylogeny. It should be transferred to the temporary family Gryllidae, grouping the clades F and G of the above mentioned topology.
Hirpinus (one species, Southern Africa) has been synonymized with Homoeogryllus by Saussure (1878), and later reconsidered as a valid taxon in the catalogues of Kirby (1906) and Chopard (1968). Both genera are actually very similar morphologically. As the type of Hirpinus afer Stål, 1855 could not be observed to confirm the status of the genus, both genera are considered in the key below.
Zaora (one species, Southern Africa) has been positioned in the key according to the diagnosic characters given by Walker (1869) throughout his whole paper and according to the pictures of the type specimen of Zaora morbillosa Walker, 1869 made by S. Hugel (pers. comm.). The two other species described by Walker (op. cit.) have been transferred either to Amphiacusta Saussure, 1874, or to Endacusta Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1873. Saussure (1878) transferred Zaora morbillosa to Gryllomorpha: according to its morphology, Zaora morbillosa actually looks close to this last genus. If confirmed, this relationship would enhanced the distribution of the Gryllomorphini to Southern Africa, while is is presently known from the Mediterranean region only.
Gryllomorpha, Petaloptila and Hymenoptila are included in the key below, even if the last genus could not be used for molecular studies.
1. TIII with less than 4 subapical spurs on one or both sides of TIII................................................ 2
- TIII with 4 pairs of subapical spurs........................................................................ 4
2. FWs short in both males and females, not covering the whole abdomen, and close to the body (Fig. 15 A, B). Wings lacking. Male venation: harp with several concentric veins, mirror reticulated (Figs 15 E, 16B). Female venation: Dorsal field with strong longitudinal veins (Figs 15 F)............................................... Paragryllodes Karny, 1909 p.p.
- FWs much longer than the body in both males and females, and very wide in males (except in Homoeogryllus cavicola Chopard, 1950). Wings most often well-developed and longer than the FWs. Male venation: Mirror distinct and well-developed....................................................................................................... 3
3. Species flattened (subcorticolous). Pronotum transverse. Maxillary palpi very short. TIII subapical spurs very short and close to TIII apex. Male stridulatory apparatus: mirror crossed by more than 5 circular, parallel veins. Male TIII: dorsal apical spur swollen, glandular. Male genitalia: pseudepiphallus elongate....................... Paragryllus Guérin-Méneville, 1844
- Species not flattened (cavicolous). Pronotum saddle-like. Maxillary palpi elongate. TIII subapical spurs long and more widely distributed over TIII length. Male stridulatory apparatus: mirror crossed by 2 transverse veins. Male TIII: dorsal apical spur not swollen. Male genitalia: pseudepiphallus short and transverse (unknown in Hirpinus)..................................................................................... Homoeogryllus Guérin-Méneville, 1847, Hirpinus Stål, 1855
4. Fastigium below the level of the vertex, from which it is separated by a transverse furrow (Fig. 15 B)................................................................................................ Paragryllodes Karny, 1909 p.p.
- Fastigium at the same level as the vertex; no transverse furrow.................................................. 5
5. Clypeus bulging....................................................................................... 6
- Clypeus straight....................................................................................... 8
6. Both male and female apterous...................................................... Gryllomorpha Fieber, 1853
- Female apterous, but male with narrow FWs, not reaching abdomen midlength and almost without a lateral field; venation made of few, strong longitudinal veins.................................................................... 7
7. Male: subgenital plate long, high and split apically; supra-anal plate glandular (characters also found in Gryllomorpha).................................................................................... Hymenoptila Chopard, 1943
- Male: subgenital plate high, but short and truncate apically; metanotum and supra anal plate glandular.................................................................................................... Petaloptila Pantel, 1890
8. Males and females apterous (female unknown in Zaora Walker, 1869). TI without a tympanum on both inner and outer sides..................................................................................................... 9
- Males and females variously winged, FWs always present at least in males (even if very reduced as in Upupagryllus subapterus Desutter-Grandcolas, n. sp.). Tympanal condition variable.............................................. 10
9. Fastigium very wide, much wider than the scape (Fig. 18B). Head rounded. Eyes small and flat, regressed. FIII with an apical filiform part (Fig. 18C).................................................................. Zaora Walker, 1869
- Fastigium distinctly more narrow (Fig. 1 B), about as wide as the scape. Head vertical, not rounded dorsally. Eyes small, but not regressed. FIII without an apical filiform part (Fig. 1 G)................... Afrophaloria Desutter-Grandcolas, n. gen.
10. Fastigium very narrow, much longer than wide.............................................................. 11
- Fastigium wider, not very narrow even when longer than wide, rounded......................................... 12
11. Male FWs rounded, with an acute "spine" on outer margin.......................... Stalacris Desutter-Grandcolas, 2012
- Male FWs long and narrow, without acute spines...................................... Phaeophilacris Walker, 1870
12. Species with long FWs and HWs, the HWs longer than the FWs, both covering or going beyong the abdomen........... 14
- Species with shorter wings, the FWs not covering the whole abdomen (very reduced in Upupagryllus subapterus Desutter- Grandcolas, n. sp.).................................................................................... 13
13. Species stout, with short and thick legs (Fig. 12 A, B). Maxillary palpi short, last joint truncated amost apically (Fig. 13 A, J). Male FWs very reduced, flap-like (Upupagryllus subapterus Desutter-Grandcolas, n. sp.), or well developed and wide over the body (Upupagryllus alatus Desutter-Grandcolas, n. sp.); in this last case, stridulum complete with a mirror distinctly wide and flat (Fig. 13 K). Male genitalia symmetrical, with two thick and elongate pseudepiphallic distal lobes (Fig. 14). Female apterous (Fig. 12 B). Female copulatory papilla sclerotized, short and cylindrical, with or without a pair of membranous distal lobes (Fig. 13)........................................................... Upupagryllus Desutter-Grandcolas, n. gen.
- Small, but elongate species, with very thin legs (Figs 8 A, 11A). Last joint of maxillary palpi elongate and deeply curved dorsally (Fig. 9 A). Male FWs narrow; stridulum complete with a mirror almost as long as wide (Figs 8 E, 9B). Male genitalia asymmetrical, with a long pseudepiphallic lobe extending far beyond subgenital plate distal margin (Figs 8 I, 10). Females with narrow FWs (Fig. 10). Female copulatory papilla very long, membranous and plicated (Fig. 9 J)......................................................................................... Phasmagryllus Desutter-Grandcolas, n. gen.
14. TIII serrulation strong and distributed along the whole TIII length, above and between the subapical spurs. Distal margin of pronotum DD strongly sinuated. Species brown to dark brown, with uniformly dark brown legs. Species known from Madagascar only................................................................... Prosecogryllus Brancsik, 1892
- TIII serrulation very sparse, present above subapical spurs, but lacking or very few between the subapical spurs. Distal margin of pronotum DD slightly sinuate. Species coloration variegated brown and yellowish, with ringed legs. Species distributed in
continental Africa (one species from the Seychelles)......................................................... 15 15. TIII: inner subapical spurs longer and longer toward tibia apex, the lower spur more than twice as long as the spur 4, and nearly as long as inner dorsal apical spur. Tympana present, and TI widely and asymetrically swelled at tympanum level. Male supra anal plate with thick spines (Subtiloria Gorochov, 1999, some Schizotrypus Chopard, 1954: see Gorochov, 2003)........ 16 - TIII: inner subapical spurs more equal in length; lower subapical spur much shorter than inner dorsal apical spur. Tympana not as developed. Male supra anal plate without thick spines................................ Kameruloria Gorochov, 2003
16. Posterior margin of male subgenital plate rounded (see Gorochov 2003)..................... Heterotrypus Saussure, 1878
- Posterior margin of male subgenital plate more or less deeply indented........................................... 17
17. Male subgenital plate wide apically (see Gorochov 2003)................................. Subtiloria Gorochov, 1999
- Male subgenital plate narrower and deeply notched apically (see Gorochov 2003)............. Schizotrypus Chopard, 1954
description: Published as part of Desutter-Grandcolas, Laure, 2015, Phalangopsidae crickets from Tropical Africa (Orthoptera, Grylloidea), with descriptions of new taxa and an identification key for African genera, pp. 451-496 in Zootaxa 3948 (3) on pages 493-495, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3948.3.5, http://zenodo.org/record/241857