Xenogryllus mozambicus Jaiswara & Dong & Ma & Yin & Robillard 2019, n. sp.
Creators: name: Jaiswara, Ranjana
name: Dong, Jiajia
name: Ma, Libin
name: Yin, Haisheng
name: Robillard, Tony
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Gryllidae
Xenogryllus
Xenogryllus mozambicus

description: Xenogryllus mozambicus Robillard n. sp.
(Figs 2 A–D, 3K–L, 4H, 5F, 7J–K, 8F, 9D, 11H–J, 12C, 15, 16)
Xenogryllus eniopteroides (wrong spelling of X. eneopteroides)—Toms 1984: 309.
Type material. Holotype, ♂, Mozambique: Cabo Delgado, Pantanos de Nhica, zone herbacée à l’Est du camp [herbaceous area E of camp], 10°45’19,1"S 40°13’00"E, 122 m, 29.xi.2009, T. Robillard, nuit, enregistrement appel [call recording MNHN-SO-2018-140] (TR475) (MNHN-EO-ENSIF1517). Allotype, ♀, Mozambique: Cabo Delgado, mare SE de Nhica, bras mort de la Rovuma [pond SE Nhica, dead arm of Rovuma river], 10°45’41,9"S 40°13’31,7"E, 124 m, 27.xi.2009, T. Robillard, mort en élevage [dead in captivity] (MNHN-EO- ENSIF1539). Paratypes (8♂, 4♀): Mozambique: Cabo Delgado, same information as holotype: 1♂, 1♀, morts en élevage [dead in captivity] (MNHN-EO-ENSIF1576-ENSIF1556). Same information as allotype: 2♂, mort en élevage [dead in captivity] (MNHN-EO- ENSIF1557, ENSIF1508). Mare SE de Nhica, bras mort de la Rovuma [pond SE Nhica, dead arm of Rovuma river], 10°45’41,9"S 40°13’31,7"E, 124 m, nuit, zone herbacée en bord de piste [herbaceous area near track] T. Robillard: 22.xi.2009, 1♂ (MNHN-EO-ENSIF1554), 3♀ (MNHN-EO- ENSIF1502, ENSIF1503, ENSIF1505); 23.xi.2009, 1♂ (TR208), enregistrement appel Take 224 [call recording MNHN-SO-2018-133] (MNHN-EO-ENSIF3079); 1♂ (TR206), enregistrement appel Take 222 [call recording MNHN-SO-2018-134], molecular sample X7 - XenMoz (MNHN-EO-ENSIF1515). Mare SW de Nhica, bras mort de la Rovuma [pond SW Nhica, dead arm of Rovuma river], 10°52’09,5"S 40°06’47,1"E, 122 m, 24.xi.2009, nuit, zone herbacée en bord de piste [herbaceous area near track] T. Robillard: 1♂ (TR224), hautes herbes (h=1.3 m) [on high grass], enregistrement appel Take 228 [call recording MNHN-SO-2018-135], molecular sample X23 (MNHN-EO-ENSIF1559); 1♂, mort en élevage (MNHN-EO-ENSIF1581).
Additional material examined. Mozambique: Delagoa [Maputo Bay], xii.1898, 1 ♂, identified Phormincter species nova by A. Finot (MNHN). South Africa: Zululand, Mtunzini, 8.i.1952, R. Toms, 1♂, R146, identified Xenogryllus eneopteroides by B. C. Townsend, 1984, B.M.1983-166 (NHMUK 010926568). Malawi: Fish Eagle Bay Lodge, herbaceous area near lake Malawi (Mal 7), S13°02'21.1" E34°19'34.8", 503 m, 6.x.2018, night, 2♂, call recording, 1♀, T. Robillard, K. Salazar & R. Murphy (MNHN).
Type locality. Mozambique, Cabo Delgado, Pantanos of Nhica, 10°45’19,1"S 40°13’00"E.
Distribution. Mozambique, South Africa, Malawi.
Etymology. Species named after the type locality.
Diagnosis. Species of average to large size, close to X. eneopteroides and X. maniema n. sp. From X. eneopteroides, the new species differs by rather larger size, face more rounded, almost globular in lateral view, absence of T-shaped median band on pronotum (also absent in X. maniema), larger mirror, and slight differences in male genitalia. From X. maniema n. sp., X. mozambicus mostly differs by male genitalia with larger lophi (Fig. 8F) and presence of transverse carina on ventral face of lophi (also present in X. eneopteroides). As X. maniema and X. eneopteroides, X. mozambicus differs from X. lamottei n. sp. and Asian species by strongly carinated lateral angles of pronotum.
Description. Species of average size (Fig. 2 A–D), coloration light brown little contrasted. Eyes little prominent laterally (Fig. 3K), higher than long, occupying almost half of head height in lateral view. Face globular in lateral view (Fig. 3L), with typical whitish mask underlined by a black line below eyes and on mandibles. Pronotum dorsal disc strongly carinated laterally, coloration light brown, with a median dark brown band, not extended laterally near anterior margin; lateral lobes almost homogeneously dark brown. First article of antennae dark brown.
Male. FWs very wide, longer than abdomen; dark coloration anterior to 1A including angle of 1A (Fig. 5F). Stridulatory file with 505 teeth (n=1) on transverse part of 1A. FW venation as in X. eneopteroides, mirror wider and apical field longer, forming a long triangle including 5–6 (n=8) cell alignments.
Male genitalia (Fig. 7 J–K): Similar to X. eneopteroides, except longer pseudepiphallic lophi (Fig 8F); transverse carina on ventral face of lophi present but weak.
Female (Fig. 2 C–D) FW dorsal field elongate, with 8–9 longitudinal veins (m = 9, n = 6). Subgenital plate with a shallow apical indentation (Fig. 9D). Ovipositor short, about 0.6 times FIII length.
Female genitalia: Copulatory papilla (Fig. 11 H–J) as in X. eneopteroides, conical and narrow, well-sclerotized except base and apex.
Life history traits. X. mozambicus lives in areas of wet savannah (Fig. 15) or on the edge ponds and lakes. Individuals of both sexes are found only at night in herbaceous vegetation, and males sing at night from the vegetation (ca. 30–80 cm high). Toms (1984) demonstrated that this species has directional calls and turs while calling, giving rise to changes in sound intensity.
Calling song (Figs 12C, 16). At 21.5 °C, males of X. mozambicus emit almost continuously long bouts of highly musical calling songs. After a warming phase, call bouts are made of successions of echemes of 23 ± 2 syllables, barely separated from each other (echeme duration = 3.13 ± 0.29 s; echeme period 3.21 ± 0.30 s, echeme duty cycle = 97.6 %), with a regular amplitude profile, except for the last syllable, which is more intense. Within echemes, syllables are initially organized in 4 ± 1 doublets, which are followed by a series of similar syllables. Syllables are very long (syllable duration = 126 ± 5 ms), with a relatively short syllable period of 137 ± 8 ms (syllable duty cycle = 92%). All syllables are characterized by a large amplitude modulation: in initial doublets within echemes, the first syllables are less intense than the second ones and they start with a lower amplitude than their end (initial amplitude <ending amplitude), contrary to the second syllables of the doublets (initial amplitude> ending amplitude); the rest of the syllables have a higher starting amplitude, except for the last syllable of each echeme, which has a higher ending amplitude. The frequency spectrum shows a pure-tone dominant frequency at 3.3 ± 0.01 kHz, followed by a rich harmonic content including three powerful harmonics at ca. 6.6, 9.9, 13.2 kHz, especially visible in ending syllables.
Measurements. See Table 7.
Taxonomic discussion. The specimens observed by Toms (1984) and identified Xenogryllus eniopteroides (wrong spelling for X. eneopteroides) from Zululand (Mtunzini and Eastern Transvaal (Clanor)), South Africa, belong to X. mozambicus n. sp. according to one male specimen observed from the series of Toms (NHMUK 010926568).
description: Published as part of Jaiswara, Ranjana, Dong, Jiajia, Ma, Libin, Yin, Haisheng & Robillard, Tony, 2019, Taxonomic revision of the genus Xenogryllus Bolívar, 1890 (Orthoptera, Gryllidae, Eneopterinae, Xenogryllini), pp. 301-338 in Zootaxa 4545 (3) on pages 328-331, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4545.3.1, http://zenodo.org/record/2618876