Conocephalus (Megalotheca) vaginalis (Karny, 1907)

Nagar, Rajendra & Swaminathan, R., 2016, Notes on the genus Conocephalus (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae; Conocephalinae; Conocephalini) from India and description of two new species, Zootaxa 4126 (1), pp. 1-43 : 37-41

Conocephalus (Megalotheca) vaginalis (Karny, 1907)

( Figs. 8 , 16, 24, 32, 75 & 83; Plate XVI & XVII)

http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: Orthoptera .speciesfile.org:TaxonName:16645

Subgenus Megalotheca Karny, 1907 , stat. n.

Materials examined. (01 ♀ specimen) Paratype: 09.ix.2006, Coll. D.P. Choudhary, RCA, Udaipur

Type species. M. vaginalis Karny, 1907 ( South Africa: Cape of Good Hope).

Discussion.This subgenus is similar to Conocephalus s. str. (the genus Conocephalus has been divided into several subgenera by previous authors, but many of them are possibly only groups of the same subgenus, as they are very similar to each other in: the shape of the head, rostrum in profile with dorsal and ventral prosternal tubercles closely contacting each other; the disposition of spines on the legs; and the structure of the stridulatory apparatus in the male and the abdominal apex in both sexes; but its representatives differ from the majority of species of Conocephalus s. str. in the characters connected with their specialized stick-like appearance, a strong adaptation to life on thin stems and very narrow leaves of grasses); body thin; head very long and with very narrow rostrum; proximal antennal segments thickened, pronotum low and without distinct humeral notches (in typical species of Conocephalus , it is high and with distinct humeral notches); fore and middle legs short; hind femora thin. In some species of Megalotheca the male cerci are very different in shape to those of Conocephalus s. str. However, in the other species of this subgenus the male cerci are similar to those of Conocephalus s. str. or are intermediate. Also, some species of Conocephalus have the head similar to that of Conocephalus s. str. (their head is shorter and with wider rostrum than in Megalotheca ) and the structure of some other body parts more or less similar to that of Megalotheca

Species included (names in original binomen): Type species [= Xiphidion restiorum Peringuey, 1916 , synonymized by Uvarov (1928)]; M. xiphidioides Karny, 1907 ; X. parvulum Peringuey, 1916 ; X. longiceps Peringuey, 1916 ; M. montana Uvarov, 1928 ; C. phasma Gorochov & Llorente, 2004 ; C. marcelloi Gorochov & Llorente, 2004 ; C. (M.) namibius sp. n.; C. (M.) zlobini sp. n. Eades and Otte (2009) continue to include M. nigrifrons Chopard, 1952 in the genus Megalotheca , but Gorochov and Llorente (2004) have shown that this species probably belongs to another tribe of the Conocephalinae .

Description. Female — Body small, thin elongate. Fastigium, head very long and with very narrow verticis. Pronotum long, transverse sulcus indistinct, anterior margin slightly concave, posterior margin obtusely rounded; lateral lobe longer than high, the hind margin slant, humeral sinus absent; brachypterous, tegmina and wing transparent. Apical segment of maxillary palpi slightly longer than subapical one, apex slightly inflated. Ventral surface of femora of all legs thickly smooth, without spines. Prosternum with short tubercle-like projection, meso- and meta- sternal apices obtusely rounded. Procoxae with a spine; genicular lobes of all femora with one spine on inner and outer side; Tympanum on fore tibiae conchate on internal and external sides; six pairs of spines on the ventral side, dorsum smooth, mesotibia without apical spurs; hind femur without spines on dorsum and with 6–9 externo-ventral spines and no internal spines. Hind tibiae with 23–25 dorso-internal, 25–27 external spines; 5–6 ventro-internal, 3–4 external spines, with one pair of apical spurs. Tenth abdominal tergite with circa semicircular median concavity on posterior margin, apical margin subtruncate. Cerci conical, apices pointed. Ovipositor straight, dorsal and ventral margins smooth, apices acute as given in literature, but the ovipositor in the observed specimen was damaged. Subgenital plate long, basal area slightly broad, narrowing, posterior margin obtusely rounded in middle.

Coloration: Body yellowish green. Disc of pronotum with one longitudinal brown stripe, outer margins with yellowish stripes. Post tibial spines and spurs with apices brown. Apices of male cerci yellowish.

Distribution. India: Rajasthan.

PLATE XVI. C. vaginalis female 1–9: 1. Dorsal view of head; 2. Dorsal view of pronotum; 3. Lateral view of pronotum; 4. Frontal view of head; 5. Fastigium verticis; 6. Lateral view of head; 7. Hind femur; 8. Fore knee spine; 9. Mid knee spine.

PLATE XVII. C. vaginalis female 10–15: 10. Lateral view of fore leg; 11. Lateral view of mid leg; 12. Ventral view of subgenital plate; 13. Dorsal view of tenth abdominal tergite with cerci; 14. Sternum parts; 15. Hind femur with tibia.

PLATE XVIII. Male titillator in different species of Conocephalus , 1–8: 1–2. C. decaspinosus sp. nov.; 3. C. kwasiphaiensis sp. nov.; 4 C. maculatus ; 5. C. concolor peneri ; 6. C. longipennis ; 7. C. melaenus ; 8. C. bambusanus .

Measurement (mm) ♂ ♀

Pronotum 3.20 4.30 Tegmina 4.20 4.40 I Femur 3.17 3.40 II Femur 4.06 4.33 III Femur 15.45 16.06 I Leg 8.90 9.25 II Leg 10.30 10.90 III leg 32.55 35.00 Body length (apex head to genitalia) 16.31 33.58 Ovipositor - 19.00 Measurement (mm) ♂ ♀

Pronotum 0 3.0 0 4.00 Tegmina 12.70 15.85 I Femur 0 4.10 0 4.20 II Femur 0 4.30 0 5.95 III Femur 15.60 19.15 I Leg 8.55 12.45 II Leg 10.60 14.10 III leg 32.05 42.25 Body genital(L) 16.00 34.85 Body wing(L) 18.35 22.00 Ovipositor (L) - 16.70

Figures

FIGURE 8. Ventral view of male subgenital plate in Conocephalus species, 54 – 60: 54. C. decaspinosus sp. nov.; 55. C. kwasiphaiensis sp. nov.; 56. C. maculatus; 57. C. concolor peneri; 58. C. longipennis; 59. C. melaenus; 60. C. bambusanus.