Melanoplus oaxacae Fontana, Buzzetti & Mariño-Pérez, 2011, n. sp.
Creators: name: Fontana, Paolo
name: Buzzetti, Filippo Maria
name: Mariño-Pérez, Ricardo
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Baissogryllidae
Melanoplus
Melanoplus oaxacae

description: Melanoplus oaxacae n. sp.
Diagnosis. M. oaxacae n. sp. belongs to the “ Melanoplus reflexus group” as defined in Fontana & Buzzetti (2007) in being small sized, having short wide ovate tegmina posteriorly emarginated and hind tibiae bluish. It differs from other congeneric species for the male terminalia and internal genitalia.
Male description. Body colour dark brown (Figs. 8–9, 17). Dorsal surface of head, pronotal disc and abdominal dorsal surface brown. Black stripes behind the eyes (Fig. 24). Lateral lobes of pronotum black in the upper half, white in the lower half. White oblique stripe on metathoracic episternum. Tegmina dark brown, darker in the basal lower portion. Sides of abdomen black. Limbs brown, ventral surfaces of hind femora reddish brown, hind genicular lobes black and hind tibiae bluish with basal tip black.
Pronotum with fore margin straight, hind margin convex. Metazona rugulose. Median longitudinal carina from fore margin of pronotal disc to the end of abdomen, cut by one sulcus. Tegmina ovate with hind margin emarginated, extending beyond the hind margin of abdominal segment I and covering the tympana. Furculae very small, rounded (Fig. 38). Supragenital plate triangular, with median longitudinal groove on basal half (Fig. 38). Cerci spatulated, tapering toward the rounded spoon-shaped apex and curved inward (Figs. 31, 38, 45). Subgenital plate produced in tubercle on distal margin (Figs. 17, 31). Phallic complex: epiphallus, extremely peculiar, small, well sclerotized, bridge convex, thin, anterior process in a very short, downwards directed tooth, lophi almost longitudinal, thick, sinuate (Fig. 52); dorsal valvae well sclerotized, smooth, blackish, extremely short, strongly frontward curved, with rounded apex; ventral valvae bigger and longer than dorsal, longitudinally flattened, semicircular in a lateral view, frontward curved with acute blackish apex (Figs. 63–64).
Female description (Fig. 9). Similar to male. Supragenital plate triangular, basally impressed in the middle. Cerci small, conical. Ovipositor valvae very short and stout with blunt apex.
Male measurements (5). Body length 14.4–15.2 (14.82; 0.28); pronotum length 2.6–2.8 (2.70; 0.10); prozona length 1.6–1.7 (1.62; 0.04); metazona length 1.0–1.2 (1.08; 0.08) and hind femur length 7.7–8.1 (7.78; 0.28).
Female measurements (5). Body length 18.7–20.7 (19.56; 0.77); pronotum length 3.6–3.9 (3.72; 0.13); prozona length 2.0–2.2 (2.10; 0.07); metazona length 1.5–1.7 (1.62; 0.08) and hind femur length 10.4–11.2 (10.7; 0.31).
Type material. Male Holotype: Mexico, Oaxaca, Carr. # 175 Oaxaca-Puerto Ángel, km 53, 1496 m (16°37’07,7’’ N; 96°44’18,6’’W), 28.X.2007, Legit P. Fontana, F.M. Buzzetti and R. Mariño-Pérez; same data, female Allotyope and 6 paratypes (4 males and 2 females);. Mexico, Oaxaca, Carr. # 190 Huajuapan de León-Oaxaca, km 117, Santa Rosa, 2072 m (17°18’50,8’’ N; 97°06’32,4’’W), 24.X.2007, legit P. Fontana, F.M. Buzzetti and R. Mariño-Pérez. 1 male and 2 female paratypes; Mexico, Oaxaca, Monte Albán, 1848 m (17°03’03,7’’ N; 96°45’49,8’’W), 20.XI.2008, 1 male and 1 female paratypes; same locality, 25.X.2007, 1 male and 6 female paratypes.
Type depository. male Holotype, female Allotype and 2 paratypes (1 male and 1 female), CNIN; 3 male and 5 female paratypes, CPF; 3 male and 5 female paratypes, CFMB.
Etymology. the specific name oaxacae derives from the state of Oaxaca, southern Mexico where the species was discovered.
description: Published as part of Fontana, Paolo, Buzzetti, Filippo Maria & Mariño-Pérez, Ricardo, 2011, New Acrididae from Oaxaca State in Mexico (Orthoptera: Caelifera: Acrididae Ommatolampinae, Melanoplinae), pp. 39-55 in Zootaxa 2862 on pages 46-47, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.206593