Morocera Gorochov, 2016

Ingrisch, Sigfrid, 2023, New and little-known genera and species of Agraeciini (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Conocephalinae) from New Guinea, Zootaxa 5249 (2), pp. 190-212 : 191

Morocera Gorochov, 2016 stat. nov.

Scytocera (Morocera) Gorochov, 2016

Scytocera Griffini, 1908 partim

Type species: Scytocera loriae Griffini, 1908 .

The genus was so far based on two females described by Griffini (1908) as Scytocera loriae from “S.E. New Guinea, Moroka, 1300m, VII.-XI.1893, Loria”, re-studied by me several years ago ( Ingrisch 1998). Gorochov (2016) split the genus Scytocera ( Redtenbacher, 1891) based on Scytocera longicornis Redtenbacher, 1891 from the Philippines as type species into five subgenera, two of them from New Guinea. Both New Guinean genera had so far been monotypic. Morocera differs from Scytocera by the short, more strongly curved and in about basal half widened female ovipositor, by narrower lateral lobes of pronotum and by the basic shape of the male titillators. From all other of the former subgenera of Scytocera it differs also by the narrow appearance instead of being rather large and robust ( Gorochov 2016). Species of Morocera differ from Scytocera by the short and strongly curved ovipositor being dorso-ventrally widened around mid-length, the lateral lobes of pronotum being narrower (less deep) with anterior angle broadly rounded, and the face appears in frontal view elongate and narrow instead of robust and widening downwards. The formerly unknown males of Morocera have in common the possession of long hairs in the apical area of the titillators that are arranged along the rim of the titillator or they replace the apical area of the titillators completely and are then covered laterally by membranous sheaths. The males of the three species studied differ from each other by the shapes of the male cerci and by the titillators. A male from “Mafulu” [Mafulu is the name for a language spoken by people living in the Goilala District (Open Street Map 2022 Nov 01)] found in NHM London is regarded as belonging to S. loriae since it is very similar to it in general characters, and it had been collected not too far from the type locality of that species: about 50–70 km bee line although on a different mountain. This male is used for comparison with the males of the other two species studied.