Velarifictorus Randell, 1964

Meena, Ashok Kumar, Swaminathan, Rajamani & Swaminathan, Tatiana, 2022, First report of the female Acanthogryllus asiaticus Gorochov, 1990 (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Gryllinae) from India and updated description of two crickets of Gryllini, Zootaxa 5125 (2), pp. 144-156 : 145

Genus Velarifictorus Randell, 1964

Velarifictorus Randell, 1964: 1586 ; Chopard, 1967. In Beier [Ed.]. Orthopterorum Catalogus 10:129; Chopard, 1969 [Ed.]. Fauna of India, Grylloidea, Ortho. 2: 133; Otte, and Alexander, 1983. Monographs Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad. 22; Vasanth, 1993. Rec. Zool. Surv. India, Misc. Pub., Occas. Paper 132(1-6):46; Ingrisch, 1998. Ent. Scand. Vol. 29:3; Gorochov, 2001. Zoosystematica Rossica 9(2):318; Storozhenko, Kim and Jeon. 2015. Monog. Korean Ortho. 123.

Type species: Scapsipedus micado Saussure, 1877

Diagnosis: This genus was described for the crickets with swollen frons and long, narrowed mandibles, previously placed in Scapsipedus Saussure. The name is derived from the habit of constructing an awning or hood over the entrance to their burrows as reported by Alexander (1961) in the type species. Head dorso-ventrally elongate in most species due to lengthened mouth parts. Forewings are with two harp veins. Tympanum is on outer face only. Pronotum is usually wider at anterior end than at posterior ending. All species of Velarifictorus are clearly characterized by similar male genitalia: the epiphallus is rather short, with a pair of hind lateral processes and unpaired median projection between them; the ectoparameres are simple, elongate and more or less curved, with the small mesal lobe connected with the ectoparamere by one rather narrow sclerotized ribbon. The endoparameres are not very long and with a large proximal apodeme; the spermatophore sac is more or less small and with almost straight proximal half of virga.

Composition: Velarifictorus belongs to the tribe Gryllini Laicharting, 1781 and subtribe Gryllina Laicharting, 1781 . The genus comprises 108 species worldwide and they are classified within three subgenera, Buangina , Pseudocoiblemmus , and Velarifictorus ( Cigliano et al., 2022) .