Mecopoda Serville 1831
Creators: name: Heller, Klaus-Gerhard
name: Baker, Ed
name: Ingrisch, Sigfrid
name: Korsunovskaya, Olga
name: Liu, Chun-Xiang
name: Riede, Klaus
name: Warchałowska-Šliwa, Elżbieta
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Tettigoniidae
Mecopoda

description: Mecopoda Serville, 1831
Taxonomic remarks. Gorochov (2020) included the genus Eumecopoda and his new Paramecopoda as subgenera in Mecopoda based on their morphological similarity and because „the subgeneric position of some species is somewhat problematic“. However, the latter problem cannot be solved by downgrading, and all Eumecopoda species (including Paramecopoda) are characterized by falcate tegmina (see also below under Eumecopoda). Until genetic data are available we consider the two groups as separate genera.
Eumecopoda genus stat. rev.
Generic characters (after Liu et al. 2020).
Diagnostic characters. Large-sized species (habitus see e.g., fig. 4 in Liu et al. 2020). Fastigium verticis widened anteriorly. Head sulcate, with or without transverse lateral apices. Disc of pronotum flat, with truncate anterior and obtusely angular posterior margins, and distinct lateral carina. Tegmina surpassing apices of posterior femur. Prosternum bispinose. Male cerci with incurved apices, at tip with two minute acute teeth (Fig. 3–4) as in many other mecopodine genera. Male subgenital plate elongate, with styli and distinct apical notch. Ovipositor robust, elongate, sword-like.
Redescription. Head. Fastigium verticis widely truncated and 1.5–3 times wider than scapus. Thorax. Pronotum elongated and broadened backward. Male pronotum narrowest in the beginning of prozona, broadened backward after the first transverse sulcus. Disc of pronotum flat with the exception of distinct depression around the sulcus. Legs robust and long. Anterior coxa armed with a spine. Anterior femur longer than pronotum. Anterior and median femora with indistinct tiny spines on ventro-anterior margin; posterior femora with a few small spines near apex on ventro-posterior margin. Each tibia with fine spines on each margin. Tympana on the fore tibiae fully open on both sides, tibia widened at and abruptly constricted below tympana. Female pronotum similar to that of male in general, but less broadened backward especially in the ending of metazona. Wings. Male tegmina well developed, extending beyond abdominal apex and surpassing apex of hind femur. Large and often complicated mirror cells near base of the right tegmen (Fig. 13). Number of stridulatory teeth between 44 and 139 (see Fig. 11), the lowest number observed in M. paucidens sp. nov. and the highest in M. prominens Gorochov, 2020. Female tegmina also well developed extending beyond apex of abdomen, but distinguished from male tegmina by length and shape.
Key to species (partly after Redtenbacher 1892)
1 fastigium verticis rounded, no transverse keel; gap between fastigium frontis and fastigium verticis closed or separated by a fine suture; mirror on right male tegmen pretzel-shaped (Fig. 1, Fig. 13 A–P)..................... Mecopoda elongata group
1’ fastigium verticis blunt, with transverse keel; gap between fastigium frontis and fastigium verticis distinct; Fig.14); mirror on right male tegmen in shape roundish (Fig. 13 O–N).......................................................... 2
2 male subgenital plate broad with a small caudal incision (Fig. 17 A).............................. Mecopoda angusta.
2’ male subgenital plate long and fork-like (Fig. 17 B, C)........................................................ 3
3 body small, tegmina short (see Tab. 5; only one male known; Sumatra)................ Mecopoda kerinci Gorochov, 2020
3’ larger............................................................................................... 4
4 gap between fastigium frontis and fastigium verticis wide, deep................................. Mecopoda dilatata
4’ gap between fastigium frontis and fastigium verticis subtle.................................... Mecopoda divergens
description: Published as part of Heller, Klaus-Gerhard, Baker, Ed, Ingrisch, Sigfrid, Korsunovskaya, Olga, Liu, Chun-Xiang, Riede, Klaus & Warchałowska-Šliwa, Elżbieta, 2021, Bioacoustics and systematics of Mecopoda (and related forms) from South East Asia and adjacent areas (Orthoptera, Tettigonioidea, Mecopodinae) including some chromosome data, pp. 101-144 in Zootaxa 5005 (2) on pages 110-113, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5005.2.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5141281