Garciaitettigini Cadena-Castaneda 2025, trib. nov.
Creators: name: Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J.
name: Quintana-Arias, Ronald Fernando
name: Infante, Ivette Coque
name: Silva, Daniela Santos Martins
name: Tavares, Gustavo Costa
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Tetrigidae

description: Tribe Garciaitettigini Cadena-Castañeda, trib. nov.
Type genus: Garciaitettix n. gen., here designated.
Description. Body small to medium size and slender (6–12 mm.) (Figs. 86A, 93). Head exserted above pronotum; the upper margin of the vertex lower than the level of the upper margin of the compound eyes (Figs. 88A, 89A, 91A, 92A, 93A). In frontal view, face rectangular, noticeably taller than wide; fastigium concave; medial carinae of the vertex slightly elevated or not; lateral carinae surrounding the inner margin of the eyes and extending into a horn on each side, which exceeds the elevation of the medial carina; vertex approximately 1 to 1.5 times wider than the eye (Figs. 87C, 89C, 90C, 92D, 94B). In lateral view, medial carina not protruding beyond the eyes (Figs. 89A, 90A, 91A, 92B) (only moderately in Stalitettix gen. nov. (Fig. 93A)). Anterior margin of the vertex concave, fastigium of the vertex not forming a longhorn, and dorsum without fossulae. Antennae groves located lower than the lower margin of the eyes, about half the height of the rostrum and scutellum; antennae mid-sized with 10–15 segments. Scutellum narrow or moderately widened, not exceeding the width of the scape; frontal costa mid-sized, and bifurcation generally at the level of the lower margin of the eyes (Figs. 87C, 89C, 91C, 92D). Eyes rounded in frontal and lateral views, medium to small in size, protruding from the upper section of the head, occupying a quarter or a fifth of the cephalic capsule (Figs. 86A, 89A, 91A, 92A). Lateral ocelli placed between the middle part or between the inferior part of the eyes, near the base from where each branch of the fascial carinae diverges; medial ocellus located close to the lower margin of the scutellum; palpi with last three segments flattened, first two segments short and nearly cylindrical (Figs. 87C, 89C, 91C, 92D). Thorax. Pronotum generally slender, reaching or exceeding the tip of the abdomen (Figs. 87A, 92B, 93) (except Garciaitettix gen. nov. (Fig. 96)). Pronotal disc with a straight anterior margin and a pointed posterior margin, dorsally almost flat (Figs. 85C, 88B, 92C, 94A); median carina with moderate or conspicuous undulations, distributed mainly in the anterior half of the pronotum (Figs. 85A, 86A, 91A). Lateral lobes of pronotum rectangular in lateral view, lower margin well projected to the sides, directed slightly sidewards, with rounded or acute apex (Figs. 85C, 87B, 88B, 92C, 94A); humeral angle wide, obliquely concave; infrascapular area thin, and projecting over half the length of the abdomen, over the third or fourth segment (Figs. 86A, 92B, 93A, 95A) (widened only in Garciaitettix gen. nov. (Fig. 96A)); lateral area narrow or poorly developed, arising over the dorsal undulation of the infrascapular area. Wings. Most species winged, with lanceolate tegmina and hind wings reaching the apex of the pronotum or surpassing it (Figs. 85A, 87A, 92A). Legs. Fore and mid-femora compressed, elongated, and thin, with undulations on the dorsal and ventral margins, forming small extensions or not. Mid femur carinated above. Hind femur variying in some taxa, usually with smooth dorsal and ventral margins, but tubercles and lappets on the external face of the femur may occur; genicular and antegenicular teeth moderately or well-developed (noticeably developed in Trigonofemora (Figs. 90B, 91A)). Hind tibia scarcely ampliated near the apex; the first and third segments of the hind tarsi equal in length. Abdomen. Male: eighth and ninth segments moderately constricted, compared to other Neotropical tribes of the subfamily. Subgenital plate cupuliform, as long as or longer than the last abdominal sternite; apex of the subgenital plate rounded (rarely with a small incision). Cerci conical and reduced. Female: Epiproct triangular or oblong, with or without medial groove. Subgenital plate mainly rectangular, with a small extension or notch at the apex. Ovipositor valves narrow, both the lower and upper ones with similar thickness; inferior valve not conspicuously covered by the lateral edges of the subgenital plate; valves armed with teeth of medium or small size.
MAP 6. Distribution of Garciaitettigini trib. nov. species.
Genera included. Chiriquia Morse, 1900, Trigonofemora Hancock, 1906, Devrieseium gen. nov., Stalitettix gen. nov., and Garciaitettix gen. nov.
Distribution. Mainly in South America, with Chiriquia serrata Morse, 1900, found between Panama and Nicaragua (Maps 4 and 6).
Remarks. This new tribe is proposed once it does not fit the diagnostic characters of Metrodorini and Otumbini trib. nov. The known genera are monotypic, except Chiriquia.According to observations in iNaturalist, most species of this new tribe are camouflaged among bryophytes.
description: Published as part of Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J., Quintana-Arias, Ronald Fernando, Infante, Ivette Coque, Silva, Daniela Santos Martins & Tavares, Gustavo Costa, 2025, Studies on pygmy grasshoppers: On the current Metrodorinae sensu lato classification (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) with emphasis on American and Malagasy taxa, pp. 1-265 in Zootaxa 5597 (1) on pages 124-127, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5597.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/14966503