Mecopoda mahindai Heller sp. nov.

Holotype male CH7843, SRI LANKA: Mihintale (8°21’N, 80°31’E), 100 m, 4 iii 2014, leg. K.-G. Heller. MfN. Song, stridulatory organs and chromosomes studied.

Diagnosis. The calling song of the species does not consist of a homogenous sequence of echemes as in all other known species of the group, but the very short echemes are grouped in small series of three echemes separated from the next series by a larger interval (Fig. 8, 9).

Description. Morphologically no difference to other species of the M. confracta subgroup (Liu et al. 2020).

Measurements (in mm): pronotum length 8; tegmen length 56; tegmen width 13.5; hind femora length 43.

Chromosomes: 2n = 29, FN = 52; pairs 1, 4 and 6–14 metacentric, 2, 3 and 5 acrocentric, X chromosome metacentric (Fig. 15).

Derivatio nominis. Name remembering to the Indian monk Mahinda who arrived in Mihintale, the type locality, according to religious myths traveling through the air, founding Buddhism in Sri Lanka. The insect was found on the stupa which was built to celebrate this event. Substantive in genitive.