Camptonotus Uhler, 1864

Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J. & Quintana-Arias, Ronald Fernando, 2024, Studies of Raspy Crickets: The Status of the Wingless American gryllacridines (Orthoptera: Gryllacrididae), Zootaxa 5419 (4), pp. 563-583 : 564-567

Camptonotus Uhler, 1864

Redescription. Small to medium size (body length 11–15 mm). Coloration. Yellowish or ocher with brown tones, and generally with the posterior margin of tergites outlined in black or dark brown; last tergites usually brown dorsally ( Fig. 1 ). Head. Space between antennal sockets 1.5 times wider than the antennal scape; ocelli rounded, small, and diffuse; maxillary palps elongated, fourth and fifth segments similar in size, third segment a little smaller than the next one, fifth segment slightly dilated at the apex; labial palpi robust, the last segment noticeably dilated and with truncated apex ( Fig. 1A ). Thorax. Pronotum narrow and smooth, with quadrangular disc ( Fig. 1B ); lateral lobes almost as wide as high, with v-sulcation decided, anterior and posterior margins rounded ( Fig. 1A ). Auditory spiracle below the lower margin of the lateral lobe of the pronotum armed with a small conical fold, attached on the mesothorax. Sternum lobes are rounded and narrow, without prolongations; mesosternum quadrangular with the anterior margin 1.5 wider than the posterior one; metasternum triangular and narrow. Legs. Fore coxa armed with a tubercle dorsally. Fore and mid femora unarmed; fore and middle tibiae with three medium-size spurs on each ventral margin and one spur on each side of the ventral-apex; hind femur robust, ventrally armed; hind tibia armed with small spines dorsally and few sinules ventrally, apex with three spurs on each side, being the upper and mid one the longer and similar in length ( Fig. 1A ). Wings. Absent, completely apterous, without cuticular folds or projections ( Fig. 1B ). Abdomen. Stridulatory apparatus present on the sides of the first and second tergites. Last tergite little produced, and posterior margin rounded. Cerci short, almost cylindrical; paraprocts unmodified. Subgenital plate almost as long as wide, posterior margin with a central v-shaped notch, stylli cylindrical and mid-sized.

Female. Similar coloration as the males, but with the last two or three tergites black dorsally. Last tergite without modifications; subgenital plate subtriangular; ovipositor as long as the hind femur, curving moderately upwards.

Taxa included. Camptonotus carolinensis (Gerstaecker, 1860) (type species) and C. affinis Rehn, 1903 .

Comments. So far, five species are included in Camptonotus . Still, only two species will be grouped here, and the others are relocated to other taxa that are also studied in this contribution.

This genus was originally described compared with Ceuthophilus Scudder, 1862 ( Rhaphidophoridae ), suggesting that it could be a link between Rhaphidophorids and green “ Locustina ” (currently Tettigoniidae ) ( Uhler 1864). The description of the genus included the description of a single species, Camptonotus scuddderi Uhler, 1864 . The type specimen was not officially designated, and is presumed to be a female, as no description of males is included. The measurements provided by the author have ranges, so Uhler (1864) must had observed several females to describe the species. However, he does not record any specimen and only mentions that he saw a specimen from Delaware and another from Baltimore ( United States). Thus, the species should be invalidated.

Later, Caudell (1904) observed the biology of C. carolinensis (Gerstaecker, 1860) , mentioning that it coincided with C. scudderi , without official synonymization of both names. However, the following authors who studied or recorded the species kept the name C. carolinensis , which is correct due to the principle of priority. Mc Atee (1908) complements and describes in detail how C. carolinensis rolled leaves and joined them with silk from its mouth, the records of Caudell (1904) and Mc Atee (1908) being the first and only records of this behavior of gryllacrids in the new world. C. carolinensis is distributed in the eastern United States and Canada (only recorded for Ontario) ( Paiero & Marshall 2014, Cigliano et al. 2024). Official descriptions of males have not been published, so it is important to review specimens in their distributional range and verify if this is a single species, or if additional species might exist.

The second species included in this genus is Camptonotus affinis Rehn, 1903 ( Fig. 1 ), originally described from Jalapa, Veracruz, Mexico ( Rehn 1903). A male of this species was mistakenly identified as Neortus carolinensis by Bruner von Wattenwyl (1888) ( Fig. 1 ). The same male was also studied by Karny (1929), identifying it as C. carolinenesis , although the same author corrects his identification in his contribution to Genera Insectorum ( Karny 1937). However, Hebard (1932) clarified this confusion by differentiating the two species in a taxonomic key. Little is known about C. affinis , and only one additional record has been provided by Barrientos et al. (2013) from Gómez Farías, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Other distributional data from iNaturalist is provided here for the states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Puebla, and Hidalgo ( Table 1 and Map 1 ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Camptonotus affinis Rehn, 1903. A. Male in lateral and, B dorsal views (© H. Braun). C. Male alive (© R. González).

MAP 1. Camptonotus affinis and Neoeremus oaxacae distribution.