Malawitrella sotshivkoi Gorochov 2021, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Gorochov, A. V.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Gryllidae
Malawitrella
Malawitrella sotshivkoi

description: Malawitrella sotshivkoi sp. nov.
(Figs 1–3, 10–17)
Holotype. Male; Malawi, northern part, ca. 100 km N of Mzuzu, Uzumara Mt., 10°52 ′ 18 ″ S, 34°07 ′ 45 ″ E, ca. 1900 m, 20–22.XII.2010, A. Sotshivko (ZIN).
Description. Male (holotype). Coloration of body: upper half of epicranium dark brown with greyish eyes as well as light brown ocelli, apex of rostrum and a pair of narrow longitudinal stripes (these stripes running from rostral apex along lateral edges of rostrum and dorsomedial margins of eyes to posterodorsal parts of eyes); lower half of epicranium light brown with a pair of slightly darker spots near each other under rostral apex, a pair of brown vertical bands under eyes and brown horizontal stripe running along clypeal suture; antenna light brown with numerous small and barely darker spots on flagellum; mouthparts light greyish brown with yellowish labrum (Figs 1 and 2); pronotum with greyish brown disc and dark brown lateral lobes (Figs 2 and 10); tegmina light grey with brown area at base of each dorsal field and brown costal (lower) half of each lateral field (Fig. 3); legs light brown with several darkened dots and dark brown apical area on each femur, with three greyish brown transverse bands on tibiae (but hind tibia with distal bands much longer, partly fused with each other dorsally and widely interrupted ventrally), more or less spotted tarsi and all spines and spurs light brown (Figs 2 and 10); meso- and metanotum as well as two first abdominal tergites light brown (Figs 2 and 11) with dark brown lateral parts (except for mesonotum); remaining abdominal tergites brown with darker lateral parts; anal plate light brown anteriorly and greyish brown posteriorly (Fig. 12); cerci greysh brown with barely lighter bases; sternites brown to dark brown; genital plate dark brown (Figs 12 and 13).
Height of eye greater than its length and width; ocelli small, round, located in corners of slightly transverse triangle. Metanotal gland consisting of flat triangular convexity with lateral edges straight and almost keel-like, posterior edge barely separated from posteromedian part of metanotum, and anterior corner with rather short dense hairs (Fig. 11). Tegmina reaching fourth abdominal tergite, with distal part widely rounded (almost truncate), and venation as in Fig. 3. Hind wings absent. Hind tibia with four pairs of moderately short dorsal spines, numerous denticles located on outer dorsal edge from subbasal tibial part to distal spine and on inner dorsal edge from this subbasal part to subdistal spine, and six apical spurs (inner middle spur longest, reaching middle of basitarsus; inner dorsal spur barely shorter; outer middle spur shorter than both previous spurs; two outer spurs shortest, almost equal to inner ventral spur in length; in one leg, outer dorsal spur shorter than all others); hind basitarsus with 3–5 outer and 2 inner dorsal denticles as well as with a pair of apical spurs (inner spur almost 1.5 times as long as outer one). Male genitalia and spermatophore: median apical epiphallic lobule somewhat longer than lateral ones, divided into a pair of small membranous hooks (Figs 14–16); lateral apical epiphallic lobules rounded and undivided (Figs 14 and 15); apical part of rachis almost acute and hooked (arcuately curved upwards; Fig. 14); spermatophore with almost pear-shaped ampulla and long strongly S-shaped tube (Fig. 17).
Female unknown.
Length (in mm). Body 16; pronotum 2.6; tegmina 4.5; hind femora 9.2.
Etymology. The new species is named in honour of its collector, A. Sotshivko.
description: Published as part of Gorochov, A. V., 2021, Taxonomy of Podoscirtinae (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). Part 13: new taxa of the subtribe Podoscirtina from Africa, pp. 64-77 in Zoosystematica Rossica (Zoosyst. Rossica) (Zoosyst. Rossica) 30 (1) on pages 69-70, DOI: 10.31610/zsr/2021.30.1.64, http://zenodo.org/record/10124243