Nisitrus hyalinus Saussure, 1878

Tan, Ming Kai, Wahab, Rodzay bin Haji Abdul, Japir, Razy, Chung, Authur Y. C. & Robillard, Tony, 2021, Revision of the cricket genus Nisitrus Saussure (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Eneopterinae) and descriptions of five new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 761 (1), pp. 1-75 : 37-38

Nisitrus hyalinus Saussure, 1878

Fig. 21 ; Table 2

Nisitrus hyalinus Saussure, 1878: 516 .

Nisitrus hyalinus – Chopard 1968: 353. — Hollier et al. 2013: 487 (no types in MHNG). — Cigliano et al. 2020 ( Orthoptera Species File online).

Nisitra hyalina – Kirby 1906: 87. — Chopard 1969: 313.

non Nisitrus hyalinus – Chopard 1929: 110 (record in Siberut may be N. insignis ). — Robillard & Desutter-Grandcolas 2004a: 276 (morphological phylogeny).

Type locality

Borneo: Kalimantan, “Benjermassing” [Banjarmasin].

Type details

Syntypes, RMNH (missing).

Remarks

The syntypes in RMNH are missing. L. Chopardʼs records ( Chopard 1929) of this species in Mentawai, North Pagi, Siberut and Padang (all part of or related to Sumatra, Indonesia) correspond to specimens of N. insignis , while N. hyalinus is known only from Borneo. We cannot revise this species owing to the absence of type material and of other specimens from the region of the type locality in the south of Borneo. Nonetheless, we have found images of specimens from Sungai Utik, Embaloh Hulu, Kapuas Hulu Regency, West Kalimantan, albeit not exactly near the type locality in Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, which could possibly correspond to N. hyalinus . These photographs ( Fig. 21 ) match the description by Saussure (1878): “ Les élytres latéralement hyalins dans leur partie marginale, dʼun noir opaque luisant dans leur partie médiastino-humérale; le champ dorsal brunâtre, réticulé en jaune par mailles plus grandes que chez le N. vittatus . Ailes assez courtes, hyalines, nébuleuses, surtout le long du limbe. Fémurs postérieurs très longs; leur moitié apicale linéaire, comme chez le N. insignis ”. [The elytra laterally hyaline in their marginal part, a shiny opaque black in their medial-humeral part; the dorsal field brownish, reticulated in yellow with larger meshes than in N. vittatus . Wings rather short, hyaline, nebulous, especially along the limbus. Very long FIII; their apical half linear, as in N. insignis .]

We can also confirm that none of the Bornean specimens examined in this study match the description of N. hyalinus . Saussure (1878) repeatedly compared N. hyalinus with N. vittatus , but not with other Bornean species which differ distinctly from N. vittatus (i.e., N. brunnerianus ). Nisitrus danum sp. nov. differs from N. hyalinus by dorsal field clearly not brownish; lateral field humeral stripe whitish, not shining black; lateral field is not hyaline either. Furthermore, the type locality of N. hyalinus from Banjarmasin in southern Kalimantan is quite far from Danum Valley and of a different forest type (Danum Valley is lowland forest, whereas Banjarmasin would have been peat swamp forest). Nisitrus rindu sp. nov. also differs by medial-humeral part not shining black opaque. Given the fact that very few specimens of Nisitrus are known from Southern Borneo, it is likely that N. hyalinus is a valid species but rarely collected.

Figures

Fig. 21. Nisitrus hyalinus?, adult ♀♀ in their natural environment. Photograph source and credits: Marcel Silvius.