Gerarus Scudder, 1885

Béthoux, Olivier & Nel, André, 2002, Venation pattern and revision of Orthoptera sensu nov. and sister groups. Phylogeny of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic Orthoptera sensu nov., Zootaxa 96, pp. 1-88 : 34-35

Genus Gerarus Scudder, 1885 .

Type species. Gerarus vetus Scudder, 1885 .

Composition. We restrict the genus to the species Gerarus vetus Scudder, 1885 , Gerarus bruesi Meunier, 1909 , Gerarus fisheri ( Brongniart, 1885) Burnham, 1983 , G erarus collaris Handlirsch, 1906, and Gerarus danielsi Handlirsch, 1906 (see above).

Diagnosis. Burnham (1983) compared Gerarus to Nacekomia, Progenentomum, Genentomum and Gerarulus. Kukalová­Peck & Brauckmann (1992) did not give a new diagnosis of the genus. Thus we propose a new diagnosis, based on forewings characters: ScP long, straight, anteriorly pectinate; branches of ScP simple or shortly ramified; RP with few distal branches; MA differentiated into MA1 and MA2; MA1 generally connected to RP by a short cross­vein or shortly fused; MP ramified very proximally; CuPa present, more or less weak; CuPb ramified with an anterior branch long or reduced, and either connected or not to CuPa.

Note. The very long, spiny pronotum of numerous Gerarus spp. is a strong synapomorphy ( Burnham 1983; Kukalová­Peck & Brauckmann 1992) but is unknown in Gerarus bruesi , thus it is not possible to determine if it is at the family or genus level.

Discussion. Gerarus vetus as figured by Kukalová­Peck & Brauckmann (1992: figs. 4,10,13) has a simple MP, suggesting closer relationships with Orthoptera than with G. bruesi and G. danielsi , which have an MP which is clearly and very proximally ramified. In his composite reconstruction of the holotype of G. vetus, Burnham (1983: fig. 4) did not figure a simple but a forked MP vein. It is not certain if the holotype of G. vetus and the specimens studied by Kukalová­Peck & Brauckmann (1992) belong to the same species or even genus. Thus, the monophyly of this genus remains unclear.