Mellomima Desutter-Grandcolas, 2020

Desutter-Grandcolas, Laure & Faberon, Léo, 2020, Phalangopsidae crickets (Orthoptera, Grylloidea) from the Mitaraka biological survey, French Guiana, Zoosystema 42 (32), pp. 739-797 : 766

Genus Mellomima Desutter-Grandcolas , n. gen.

( Figs 16-17 )

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:872E35D5-8D0F-4A60-9859-ACEF999D7361

TYPE SPECIES. — Mellomima guyanensis Desutter-Grandcolas , n. sp. by present designation.

DISTRIBUTION. — French Guiana and Brazil (P. Souza Dias, pers. comm.).

ETYMOLOGY. — Taxon named after the genera Mellopsis Mews & Sperber, 2010 and Guabamima De Mello, 2010 .

DIAGNOSIS. — Genus close to Pizacris Souza-Dias & Desutter-Grandcolas, 2015, Mellopsis Mews & Sperber, 2010 and Guabamima De Mello, 2010 (see Souza-Dias et al. 2015) by its male genitalia (pseudepiphallic sclerite and arms well reduced, pseudepiphallic parameres contrastingly very large and apical, endophallic apodeme well-developed and V shaped) and general morphological traits (tympana, head shape, tibial apical and subapical spurs, and serrulation). Mellomima Desutter-Grandcolas , n. gen. differs from all three genera by its coloration (uniform, except for a longitudinal yellow band from labrum tip to pronotum DD), its shiny appearance (body not at all setose), its pronotum shape (longer than wide, not transverse), its thin and elongate body shape, resembling Amusodes Hebard, 1928 , with FIII filiform on half their length, and the presence of two bunches of thick setae on distal margin of male supra anal plate.

Mellomima Desutter-Grandcolas , n. gen. also differs from Guabamima by its reduced and rounded FWs and its very small pseudepiphallic arms in males; from Mellopsis by the wide lateral field of its FWs and the stocky shape of pseudepiphallic parameres; and from Pizacris by the coloration of the maxillary palpi (brown with only the upper and lower sides white), its partly overlapping FWs and the stocky shape of pseudepiphallic parameres.

Female unknown.

DESCRIPTION

General morphology

Medium size crickets with elongate and thin shape; body shiny and not setose ( Fig. 16A ). Fastigium wider than scape at base, thinner at apex, not separated from vertex by a transverse furrow or a shallow depression ( Fig. 16B ). Eyes ( Fig. 16C, D ) small, not protruding. Ocelli not reduced, set as a triangle; distance between lateral ocelli equal to distance between median and one lateral ocelli; median ocellus vertical, almost apical on vertex. Maxillary palpi ( Fig. 16C ) very elongate and extremely thin; article 3 slightly shorter than article 4; article 5 a little longer than article 4, regularly widened toward apex, truncate obliquely at apex. Pronotum longer than wide, not at all transverse ( Fig. 16B ). Legs elongate and very thin. TI with a small inner and a small outer tympanum; two apical, ventral spurs, small compared to basitarsomere I. TII with two ventral, apical spurs. TIII with 4/4 subapical spurs, very short and alternate, in TIII distal half; with 3/3 apical spurs ( Fig. 16E, F ): inner spurs longer than outer spurs; median and dorsal inner spurs subequal and very long, dorsal apical spur as long as half basitarsomere III; ventral and dorsal outer spur subequal, median outer spur twice as long as ventral and dorsal outer spurs.TIII serrulation strong between and above subapical spurs. FIII with a long filiform apical part, about half its total length ( Fig. 16A ). Basitarsomeres all very long and thin ( Fig. 16A ). Basitarsomeres III with small inner and outer dorsal spines, in addition to apical ones. Cerci shorter than abdomen.

Coloration

Uniform, except for a yellow longitudinal band running from labrum through the face, occiput, pronotum DD and perhaps tergite I. Legs almost completely uniformly colored.

Male

FWs ( Fig. 16B, C ) very short, not reaching tergite I distal margin; not completely overlapping dorsally; without glandular structures; left FW apparently not membranous. Venation: no stridulatory structures; lateral field with four longitudinal parallel veins. HWs lacking. Tergites without glandular structures. Supra anal plate quadrangular; a pair of strong setae bunches on distal margin, the setae regularly arranged according to their size ( Fig. 16G ). Subgenital plate short, high, deeply furrowed on apical third.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 17 )

Pseudepiphallic sclerite rounded and vertical, without extended rami; inner side of pseudepiphallic sclerite with a pair of projections that come against ectophallic apodemes; pseudepiphallic arms very short, A-sclerite well developed, having the shape of concave lamellas; pseudepiphallic parameres very small, located on inner margin of A-sclerites. Ectophallic fold very short; ectophallic apodemes short and wide, thinner toward apex. Endophallic sclerite short, with well developed endophallic apodemes (both a high longitudinal crest and a distal lamella). No phallic glands.

Female

Unknown.

Figures

FIG. 16. — Mellomima guyanensis Desutter-Grandcolas,n.gen.,n. sp.:male holotype MNHN-EO-ENSIF9754: A, habitus;B, C, head,pronotum and FWs,dorsal (B) and side (C) views; D, face; E, F, inner (E) and outer (F) apical spurs of hind tibia; G, supra anal plate, with two distal bunches of setae (arrow). Scale bars: 1 mm.

FIG. 17. — Mellomima guyanensis Desutter-Grandcolas,n. gen., n. sp.: male holotype MNHN-EO-ENSIF9754, male genitalia in dorsal (A), ventral (B), side (C) and apical (D) views. Abbreviations: see Material and methods.