Gryllotalpa fraser Tan & Nizam, new species
Creators: name: Tan, Ming Kai
name: Kamaruddin, Khairul Nizam
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2013
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Lathiceridae
Gryllotalpa
Gryllotalpa fraser

description: Gryllotalpa fraser Tan & Nizam, new species
(Figs. 1–4)
Material examined. Holotype (male): Malay Peninsula, Pahang, Bukit Fraser, along Mager Road, near Singapore House, N03.70806, E101.73912, 1263 ± 6 m, calling from underground burrow on slope with short grasses, coll. M. K. Tan & S. T. Toh, 27 December 2012, 1951 hours (ZRC).
Paratypes: 2 males, same locality as holotype, along Mager Road, near Singapore House, calling from underground burrow on slope with short grasses, coll. M. K. Tan & S. T. Toh, 19 May 2013: N03.70804, E101.73917, 1273 ± 4.3 m, 1943 hours; N03.70820, E101.73927, 1268 ± 6.5 m, 1947 hours (all ZRC).
Acoustic recordings. Malay Peninsula: 2 males, same locality as for holotype, along Mager Road, coll. M. K. Tan & S. T. Toh, 27 December 2012: N03.70833, E101.73994, 1278 ± 6 m, calling from underground burrow among fern, 1938 hours; N03.70824, E101.73986, 1271 ± 5 m, calling from underground burrow among short grasses, 1942 hours.
Diagnosis. See Table 1. This species was compared with photographs and type specimens of Gryllotalpa hirsuta Burmeister, 1838 and Gryllotalpa nymphicus Tan, 2012.
Description. Habitus typical of this genus; very large, with BL greater than 40 mm (Fig. 1 A). Head, in particular the face and frons, covered with numerous fine setae. Ocellus convex and medium. Pronotum pilose, oval, about 1.4–1.5 times longer than wide (m = 1.4, n = 3); with distinct longitudinal medial furrow, bordered with irregular depressions, most distinct near medial region; anterior margin concave; posterior margin roundly smooth (Fig. 1 B). Hind wing reduced, completely covered by tegmen (Fig. 1 C). Forelegs and middle legs setose. Anterior trochanter with process long, 1.8 times longer than wide (n = 1); with convex ventral and substraight dorsal margins; apex acute (Fig. 1 D). Dactyls of anterior tibiae moderately long, decreasing in size from dorsal to ventral dactyls; ventral dactyl substraight, others slightly curved; apices fairly acute (Fig. 1 D). Anterior tibia with internal tympanum slit-shaped (Fig. 1 D). Hind tibia each armed with 2 internal subapical spines (Fig. 1 E).
Male. Tegmen about 1.2–1.3 times longer than wide (m =1.3, n = 3), reaching the 5th abdominal tergite. Right tegmen over left tegmen (except for paratype 1). Venation on left and right tegmina not different. Venations of right tegmen in dorsal and ventral views as shown in Figs. 2 A & 2B respectively; harp (enclosed by CuA+CuPa, CuPb, c and CuPaβ; = discoidal cell) very transverse at base, tapering in the medial area (c and CuA+CuPa subparallel), with distal margin obtuse and broadly rounded, with diving vein closer to CuA+CuPa than c, veinlet between diving vein and CuA+CuPa extends to near distal end; cell 2 (enclosed by CuPaβ and CuPaα2) elongated with CuPaβ angulated and CuPaα2 sinuous; area between c’ and CuPb and CuPaβ with dividing veins between CuPb and CuPaβ, not between CuPb and c’; radius vein not diverged into RA and RP (denoted as RA+ RP). Stridulatory file gently sinuate, anterior end slightly arched, posterior end substraight; with about17–23 distinct teeth plus about 11–14 indistinct teeth anterior end (m = 19 + 13, n = 3); teeth densely distributed at the anterior end, very sparsely distributed at the posterior end.
Genitalia as shown in Figs. 3 A – 3C. Transverse sclerite of epiphallus wide and broadly U-shaped centrally; with a pair of median branches pointing dorsally, with rounded apices; with a pair of fairly narrow and long lateral branches, strongly and roundly curved ventrally, apically hooked internally with very acute apices; length between apices of lateral branches about 3.2 mm (n =1). Median prolongation of epiphallus of median width; apically flattened and distinctly isos-triangular on dorsal surface, emarginated posteriorly. Paramere of ectophallus broad and irregularly shaped in ventral view; with subacute lobe on latero-posterior margin pointing ventrad, and with smaller conical lobe on latero-anterior margin pointing dorsad; internal process of ectophallus paramere barely visible, apex broadly rounded.
Female. Unknown.
Colouration. Overall brown. Ocellus pale yellow. Abdominal sternites and thorax yellow brown. Dactyls in the anterior tibia black apically. Femur generally lighter brown than tibia.
Measurements. See Table 2.
Etymology. This species is named after the type locality, Bukit Fraser; noun in apposition.
Calling song. Along Mager Road, callings of numerous specimens were first heard at around 1930 hours and last heard at around 2000 hours (both in December and May). Calling song is a loud resonant hum emitting from within a shallow burrow. Pitch is low (frequency = about 1.5 kHz) and pulse rate consistent of 140 s -1 (Fig. 4).
Remarks. In Bukit Fraser, this species appears to be found in greater abundance among short grasses along Mager Road near the Singapore House. Variations in the distribution and abundance between the wet (December) and dry (May) seasons are however not distinct.
description: Published as part of Tan, Ming Kai & Kamaruddin, Khairul Nizam, 2013, A new species of mole cricket (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae: Gryllotalpinae) from Bukit Fraser, Malay Peninsula, with taxa notes on another similar mole cricket, pp. 324-332 in Zootaxa 3691 (3) on pages 325-330, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3691.3.2, http://zenodo.org/record/220550