Saxetania Mistshenko, 1951

Ünal, Mustafa, 2016, Pamphagidae (Orthoptera: Acridoidea) from the Palaearctic Region: taxonomy, classification, keys to genera and a review of the tribe Nocarodeini I. Bolívar, Zootaxa 4206 (1), pp. 1-223 : 85

Genus: Saxetania Mistshenko, 1951 s.l.

Mistshenko, 1951b: 738. Type species: Saxetania decumana Mistshenko, 1951 .

Remarks. This genus was established by Mistshenko (1951b: 738) by the shape of frontal ridge, the vertex and hind femur. Dirsh (1952: 95, 97) explaining in detail synonymized it with Tropidauchen , but Bey-Bienko & Mistshenko (1951: 332), Mirzayans (1959: 15), Shumakov (1963: 47), Bey-Bienko (1963: 268), Bey-Bienko (1967: 427), Descamps (1967: 28), Cejchan (1969: 233), Presa & Garcia (1983: 29), Otte (1994: 187) and Hodjat (2012: 262, 264, 266) gave Saxetania as a valid genus. Only Mirzayans (1998) listed some species of Saxetania under Tropidauchen . Bey-Bienko & Richter (1960: 9) reported it as a subgenus of Tropidauchen for the first time, but Bey-Bienko (1963, 1967) gave it as an independent genus again. Hodjat (2012) compared both genera and considered them valid. It is not always easy to distinguish both genera using the external structures. As given by Dirsh (1952) some species have interstage characters. On the other hand the male genitalia allow to easily distinguish both genera, mainly the structure of apical valves of penis, which is very distinctive, very large and not covered by the sheath of penis in Saxetania ( Figs. 39 a–41a) (small, thin and covered by the sheath of penis in Tropidauchen ) ( Fig. 38 a). The male genitalia of all known species and subspecies of both genera should be checked to determine the correct genus.

Figures

FIGURES 32 – 43. Male phallic complex. a phallus lateral, b phallus dorsal, c epiphallus, d phallus posterior view. 32 Prionosthenus gueleni; 33 Ocnerosthenus brunnerianus; 34 Ocneropsis bethlehemita; 35 Orchamus yersini yersini; 36 Orchamus massai; 37 Paracinipe zebrata; 38 Tropidauchen escalerai; 39 Saxetania (s. str.) cultricolle cultricolle; 40 Saxetania (Cryptonothrotes) pseudoaptera; 41 Saxetania (Mistshenkoella) gorochovi; 42 Paranocarodes straubei; 43 Paranocarodes fieberi. Scales 1 mm (short scale for a, b, c; long scale for d).