Malawitrella, Gorochov, 2021

Gorochov, A. V., 2021, Taxonomy of Podoscirtinae (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). Part 13: new taxa of the subtribe Podoscirtina from Africa, Zoosystematica Rossica (Zoosyst. Rossica) 30 (1), pp. 64-77 : 66-69

Genus Malawitrella gen. nov.

Type species: Malawitrella sotshivkoi sp. nov.

Diagnosis. Body medium-sized for this subtribe, slightly dorsoventrally depressed and poorly pubescent. Head ( Figs 1, 2 and 10 ) with moderately long rostrum being roundly angular in profile; scape approximately 1.2 times as wide as rostrum between antennal cavities; apical segment of maxillary palpus clearly longer than other segments of this palpus and almost as long as eye. Pronotum ( Figs 2 and 10 ) insignificantly wider than long, barely narrowing to head, with slightly concave anterior and posterior margins of disc, with lateral lobes moderately high and having somewhat oblique ventral margins, and with rounded longitudinal bends between disc and these lobes; metanotal gland in male developed, small ( Fig. 11 ). Male tegmina significantly shortened; however, their dorsal fields widely overlapping and having traces of stridulatory apparatus (including stridulatory vein almost normal in shape but with partly reduced stridulatory teeth), and their lateral fields only with three or four longitudinal veins ( Fig. 3 ). Legs rather short, without tympana, and with spines and denticles (but not apical spurs) located only on dorsal edges of hind tibia and of hind basitarsus; hind femur widened for jumping.

Abdominal tergites simple; anal plate short, distinctly transverse, narrowing to widely rounded apex and without any specialised structures on dorsal surface ( Fig. 12 ); genital plate much longer than anal plate, rather high in proximal half and somewhat lower in distal one, gradually narrowing to rather narrow apex having a pair of lamellar lateral lobules (each lobule narrowly rounded apically and arranged in vertical plane) and almost straight posterior margin between them ( Fig. 13 ). Male genitalia very characteristic ( Figs 14–16 ): epiphallus elongate, thinner and partly membranous in distal part, strongly curved upwards in proximal portion, with deep dorsomedian (longitudinal) concavity in distal half, with three small apical lobules (median one located almost under lateral lobules), and with a short anteromedian notch; ectoparameres not developed (lost); rachis long and thin, with a pair of very narrow sclerotised ribbons running along entire rachis and proximally connected with thin and moderately short endoparameral apodemes; bases of these apodemes also with very thin and moderately long sclerotised ribbons running backwards around rachial base; formula very narrow (ribbon-like), moderately short, connected with bases of rachial ribbons in anterior part; rami long, rather high in distal half, with additional thin ramus-like sclerotised structures located above them.

Included species. Only type species.

Comparison. Malawitrella gen. nov. strongly differs from all the other genera of Podoscirtini in the characteristic shape of the epiphallus, the absence of ectoparameres, a unique structure of the rachis connected with the endoparameres and strongly reduced formula, and the presence of additional ramus-like sclerites near the true rami. Most of these characters are not in complete accordance with the diagnosis of the subtribe Podoscirtina . However, all of them are associated with loss or reduction of some structures (loss of epiphallic denticles and ectoparameres, reduction of formula). For this reason, here I tentatively include Malawitrella gen. nov. in the subtribe Podoscirtina .

Etymology. The new genus is named after the Republic of Malawi, where its type species was discovered, combined with the second part of the generic name Brevitrella . Gender is feminine.

Figures

Figs 1–9. Malawitrella gen. nov. and Kilimagryllus, male: 1–3, M. sotshivkoi sp. nov.; 4–6, K. bilobulatus sp. nov. (holotype); 7–9, K. bilobulatus limpopo subsp.nov. Head in front (1, 4, 7); body from above with tegmina directed upwards and aside (2) and with tegmina in rest position (5, 8); right tegmen (3); abdominal apex from above and slightly from behind (6, 9).

Figs 10–17. Malawitrella sotshivkoi sp. nov., male: 10, body from side with tegmina directed upwards and aside; 11, metanotal gland; 12, 13, abdominal apex from above and slightly from behind (12), and from below (13); 14–16, genitalia from side (14), from above (15) and from below (16); 17, spermatophore from side.