Neortus Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1888

Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J. & Quintana-Arias, Ronald Fernando, 2024, Studies of Raspy Crickets: The Status of the Wingless American gryllacridines (Orthoptera: Gryllacrididae), Zootaxa 5419 (4), pp. 563-583 : 567-570

Neortus Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1888 stat. resurr.

Redescription. Medium size (body length 17–20 mm). Coloration. The only known species is yellowish brown, dorsally brown, with some ochre lines in the middle of the pronotal disc and on the anterior margin of the tergites; the legs are yellowish brown, and the face and sternites are ochre ( Figs. 2A, B , 3A, B ). Head round and large compared to other known wingless genera. Space between antennal sockets 2.5 times wider than the antennal scape; ocelli ovoid, and diffuse ( Fig. 2C ). Maxillary palps elongated, third and fourth segments similar in size, fifth segment a little longer than the previous ones and poorly dilated at the apex; labial palpi slender, the last segment slightly dilated and with rounded apex. Thorax. Pronotal disc quadrangular, almost as long as wide ( Fig. 2B ); lateral lobes rectangular, wider than high ( Fig. 2A ); anterior margin rounded, posterior margin slightly undulated; auditory spiracle without fold surrounding it. Sternum lobes are round and narrow, without prolongations; mesosternum quadrangular with the anterior margin 1.5 wider than the posterior one; metasternum pentagonal, wider than long. Legs. Fore coxa armed with a small tubercle dorsally. Fore and mid femora unarmed; fore and middle tibiae with three small-size spurs on each ventral margin and one spur on each side of the ventral-apex; hind femur slender, ventrally armed with a spine on outer margin; hind tibia armed with small spines dorsally only, apex with three spurs on each side, being the upper and mid one the longer and similar in length ( Fig. 2A ). Wings. Absent, but with a tiny cuticular fold on lateral margins of meso- and metanotum ( Figs. 2A, B ). Abdomen. Stridulatory apparatus reduced as few pegs on second tergite. The last tergite was moderately produced, with lateral margins denticulated. Cerci almost cylindrical, short, and paraprocts unmodified ( Fig. 2D ). Subgenital plate quadrangular, stylli conical and short, posterior margin rounded but not produced ( Fig. 2E ).

Female. Tenth tergite without modification ( Fig. 3A, B ). Cerci cylindrical and thin; ovipositor almost as a half long of the hind femur, slightly curving upward, margins smooth and undulated, apex sharp ( Fig. 3A ). Subgenital plate subtriangular, without modifications, and with posterior margin truncate. Hind femur armed ventrally with four spines on outer margin, more spines compared to the lectotype male specimen ( Fig. 3A ).

Taxa included. Neortus jamaicensis Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1888 stat. resurr., type species.

Comments. This genus was proposed by Brunner von Wattenwyl (1888) to include Neortus jamaicensis Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1888 and N. carolinensis (= C. carolinensis , and later identified as C. affinis ). Apparently, Brunner von Wattenwyl (1888) was unaware of the original description of Camptonotus . However, Neortus stat. resurr. is differentiated from Camptonotus by the characters mentioned in its redescription and the key provided here. No additional data are known for N. jamaicensis since its original description.

Two syntype specimens deposited in NMW are the only known records for this species, so the male with code 11719, from Jamaica, is designated as a lectotype (Coll. Br. v. W. ex Coll. Edw. Brown) ( Fig. 2 ). The female with the same data as the male but without a code, is designated as a paralelectotype ( Fig. 3 ).

Possibly, the location of N. jamaicensis may be wrong since, according to iNaturalist records, a female that is very similar to this species was photographed from Dolores, Nicaragua, close to Managua, capital of that country: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/139049321

Figures

FIGURE 2. Neortus jamaicensis (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1888) male lectotype. A. Habitus in lateral and, B. dorsal views. C. Frons. D–E. terminalia in lateral and dorsal views. (© H. Braun).

FIGURE 3. Neortus jamaicensis (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1888) female paralectotype. A. Habitus in lateral and, B. dorsal views. (© H. Braun).