Mistshenkoana melanocephala He & Wei 2024, n. sp.
Creators: name: Wei, Shu-Fei
name: Hu, Tian-Hao
name: Ɨȏ, Dan Wang
name: He, Zhu-Qing
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Gryllidae
Mistshenkoana
Mistshenkoana melanocephala

description: Mistshenkoana melanocephala He & Wei n. sp.
(Figs 2C, D; 3C, D; 4B; 6B; 8; 9)
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: D35D08E8-88C0-4AC5-9C3C-99E42E634410
TYPE MATERIAL. — Holotype. China • ♂ (4276); Yunnan Prov., Wenshan Prefecture, Malipo County; 23°13’N, 104°71’E; 10.VII.2021; Zhu-Qing He leg.; ECNU; GenBank: OR033156.
Paratypes. China • 1 ♀ nymph (4353); Guangxi Prov., Baise City, Napo County, Pingmeng Town; 22°95’N, 106°00’E; 8.VII.2021; Zhu-Qing He leg.; ECNU; GenBank: OR033157; OR033158 • 1 ♂ (4354); Guangxi Prov., Baise City, Napo County, Pingmeng Town; 22°95’N, 106°00’E; 8.VII.2021; Zhu-Qing He leg.; ECNU; GenBank: OR033158 • 1 ♀ (1422); Guangdong Prov., Chebaling National Nature Reserve; 24°73’N, 114°27’E; 3.VIII.2018; Zhu-Qing He leg.; ECNU; GenBank: OR033154.
ETYMOLOGY. — Species name melanocephala refers to its black head. Chinese name: 黑头ũ须蟋.
DIAGNOSIS. — Almost uniform dark brown. Head of the new species dark brown (lower half of head lighter in other species). Hind wings obviously longer than forewings (Fig. 8A), comb of tegminal Sc with 6-7 branches. Darkened bases of spines of hind tibiae (Fig. 4B). This species resembling M. tianya He & Wei n. sp. based on genitalia, but pseudepiphallic lophi without projections apically.
DISTRIBUTION. — China (Guangdong, Guangxi, Yunnan).
DESCRIPTION
Male
Head. Vertex broad and flattened. Head wider than the anterior margin of pronotum; frontal rostrum convex, densely pubescent (Fig. 2C, D). Median ocellus smallest of the three ocelli, ovoid (Fig. 6B); lateral ocelli larger and flatter than middle one, transversely ovoid. Eyes strongly prominent and large, about half head length.
Thorax. Pronotum broad, finely pubescent; posterior margin longer than anterior; anterior margin straight and posterior slightly convex; two eyelike spots of pronotum disc distinct and smooth (Fig. 8A). Longitudinal veins of forewings parallel, costal area of tegmina with only a few crossveins irregularly situated between branches of Sc. Forewings obviously shorter than hindwings, uncovered portion shorter than hind femur, comb of tegminal Sc with 6-7 branches. Distal half of forewings usually with small darkish spots around crossveins.
Legs. Only inner side of fore tibia with elongate-ovoid tympanum, pitted (Fig. 3C, D). Hind tibiae serrulated, with short and thin spines among subapical spurs, sparser as closer to the apex (os5-os4:3, os4-os3:3, os3-os2:1, os2-os1:0; is6-is5:3, is5-is4:1, is4-is3:1, is3-is2:0, is2-is1:0); with six inner and five outer subapical spurs; three inner and three outer apical spurs, outer spurs short (the middle one longer; the other two equal in length) and the inner spurs long (superior one longest, inferior one shortest) (Fig. 4B).
Male genitalia. Pseudepiphallic sclerite broadly triangular, slightly concave, without arms; lophi big and membranous, separated by a roughly triangular, small indentation and covered with setae apically. Pseudepiphallic plate inconspicuous between lophi; posterior margin convex. Pseudepiphallic parameres spindly, more or less concave on inner side. Rami connected to pseudepiphallic sclerite. Ectophallic fold unobtrusive, visible just below the lophi, regularly narrowed toward apex, reaching posterior margin of pseudepiphallic parameres; ectophallic apodemes thick. Ventral valves united as one membranous lobe. Endophallic sclerite evident, more or less V-shaped. No dorsal cavity (Fig. 8 B-D).
Female
Similar to male (Fig. 9A). Ovipositor. Dorsal valvulae apically blunt, armed with projections on the apical margin and an irregularly elevated surface. Ventral valvulae blunt at the end, apical margin depressed inwards (Fig. 9B, C).
Female genitalia. Copulatory papilla longer than wide, funnel-shaped, with ventral aperture; posterior margin rounded in dorsal and ventral views, acuminated in lateral view (Fig. 9 D-F).
Coloration. Body dark brown. Head dark brown; clypeus and labrum dark brown. Pronotum brown. Legs yellowish brown. Slight darkening around crossveins in distal half of forewings. Darkened bases of spines of hind tibiae. Small darkish spots near spines (Fig. 2C, D).
Measurements (mm). Holotype: SZ: 16.3; BL: 10.6; PL: 1.9; FWL: 10.3; HFL: 7.6;
Paratypes: ♂: SZ: 16.5; BL: 11.2; PL:1.5; FWL:9.6; HFL: 7.0. ♀: SZ: 19.7; BL: 11.8; PL: 1.9; FWL: 12.1; HFL: 8.9; OL: 9.0.
description: Published as part of Wei, Shu-Fei, Hu, Tian-Hao, Ɨȏ, Dan Wang & He, Zhu-Qing, 2024, Taxonomy of the genus Mistshenkoana Gorochov, 1990 from China: combined molecular and morphological studies (Orthoptera, Grylloidea, Oecanthidae, Podoscirtinae), pp. 847-862 in Zoosystema 46 (33) on pages 854-857, DOI: 10.5252/zoosystema2024v46a33, http://zenodo.org/record/14551117