Metacaputus brenesi, Piotr Naskrecki, 2000

Piotr Naskrecki, 2000, Katydids of Costa Rica / Vol. 1, Systematics and bioacoustics of the cone-head katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Conocephalinae sensu lato)., Philadelphia, PA: The Orthopterists Society at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, : 72-74

METACAPUTUS Naskrecki , gen. n.

Type species: Metacaputus brenesi sp. n., here designated

Diagnosis

Body slender; both sexes macropterous ( Fig. 17 A); tegumen moderately rugose. Fastigium of vertex 3 times as broad as scapus, long, triangular; genal carinae weakly indicated; frons weakly concave; eyes small. All legs very long and slender. Male cercus armed apically with 2 strongly incurved spines; ovipositor short, distinctly bent upwards at base; rounded apically.

Description (male except where specified)

Head.— Fastigium of vertex 3 times as wide as scapus, triangular, strongly projecting in front of eyes, 3 times as long as eye diameter; fastigium of vertex separated from fastigium of frons by small gap ( Fig. 17 A). Eyes small relative to size of head, weakly protruding. Frons weakly concave; tegumen of head weakly rugose, with traces of genal carinae; face narrowly triangular; mandibles and clypeus weakly asymmetrical (right mandible smaller) ( Fig. 17 B).

Thorax and wings.— Dorsal surface of pronotum weakly rugose, flat; both anterior and posterior dorsal margins straight ( Fig. 17 C); lateral lobes with posterior angle broadly rounded; humeral sinus well developed. Thoracic auditory spiracle large, elliptical, completely hidden under lateral lobe of pronotum. Prosternum armed with two thin, widely separated spines (modified basisternum); meso- and metasternum with lateral lobes of basisterna triangular, their inner margins touching.

Wings in both sexes fully developed, well surpassing apices of hind femora . Stridulatory apparatus of male well developed; stridulatory area of left wing thickened, with dense network of secondary veinlets; stridulatory file (vein AA 1) very short, consisting of only 17 (n=1) wide, thick teeth ( Fig. 43 F); mirror of right wing nearly circular. Posterior margin of tegmen weakly concave; apex of tegmen obliquely truncated.

Legs.— All legs exceptionally thin and long, fore coxa with elongate, forward projecting spine dorsally. Fore and mid femora completely unarmed; hind femora armed with minute spines on both ventral margins in apical half; all genicular lobes of femora armed with short spines. Fore and mid tibiae unarmed dorsally, both ventral margins with immovable spines as long as 1/4 diameter of tibia; hind tibia armed on all four dorsal and ventral margins; apex of tibia with two pairs of ventral and one pair of dorsal movable spurs. Tympanum on fore tibia bilaterally closed, tympanal slits facing forward, tympanal area only weakly swollen, with pair of small, elongated pits below tympanal slits.

Abdomen.— Dorsal surface of abdominal terga smooth, unmodified. Male 10th tergite with shallow apical emargination; supraanal plate small, triangular; female 10th tergite with narrow, triangular apical incision; female supraanal plate narrowly triangular. Male cercus with 2 apical spines, both strongly bent inwards under acute angle; upper spine 1/4 as long as lower spine; lower spine indented apically; female cercus, simple, slender, straight ( Fig. 17 D). Subgenital plate of male with pair of styli and shallow, triangular apical emargination; female subgenital plate longer than wide, with shallow apical emargination ( Fig. 17 E).

Male concealed genitalia with part of phallic membrane partially sclerotized and covered by large chitinous callosities. Ovipositor distinctly bent upwards at base, about as long as 1/2 of hind femur, gradually narrowing towards apex; apex rounded.

Coloration.— Coloration probably green, the only available specimens have yellowish-brown coloration, typical of specimens that had been stored in alcohol before being dried.Apex of fastigium of vertex with dark edges.

Remarks.— Metacaputus seems to be closely related to the genera Neoconocephalus Karny and Paroxyprora Karny , sharing similar general body form, shape of male cerci, and weakly asymmetrical mouthparts. From Neoconocephalus it differs in having the ovipositor relatively very short and distinctly bent (long and straight or weakly downcurved in Neoconocephalus ), male cerci with apical teeth bent under acute angle (right angle in Neoconocephalus ), and very thin, unarmed fore and mid femora . From Paroxyprora this new genus differs in the shape of the ovipositor (weakly curved, dilated midlength in Paroxyprora and characteristics of the male stridulatory file (short, reduced in Metacaputus , long, multidentate in Paroxyprora ).

Etymology.— The generic epithet is derived from Latin words “Meta- = pyramidal” and “caput = head,” indicating the strongly triangular shape of the head of the only species of the genus.

Figures

FIG. 17. Metacaputus brenesi. A. female - habitus, B. female face, C. female head and pronotum, dorsal view, D. female subgenital plate, ventral view, E. male cerci, dorsal view.

FIG. 43. Stridulatory files of Costa Rican species of Conocephalinae s. l. A. Copiphora cochleata, B. Copiphora rhinoceros, C. ditto, enlarged fragment, D. Acantheremus colwelli, enlarged fragment, E. ditto, entire file, F. Metacaputus brenesi.