Morocera nigrifrons Ingrisch, 2023

Morris, Glenn K, Ingrisch, Sigfrid, Willemse, Fer, Willemse, Luc, De Luca, Paul A. & Klimas, Dita, 2025, Stridulation songs of some Tettigoniidae (Ensifera, Orthoptera) from Papua New Guinea, Zootaxa 5600 (1), pp. 1-81 : 66-68

Morocera nigrifrons Ingrisch, 2023

( Figs 70–72)

Specimens studied. Holotype male: Papua New Guinea, Morobe, Bulolo Gorge , wall outside station house, 28 viii 1981, coll. G.K. Morris (Depository NBC Leiden).

Other specimens studied: Papua New Guinea, Morobe: Wau, Mt. Missim , elev. 1120 m (7°10’S, 146°54’E), 13.ii.1963, coll. J. Sedlacek 1 ♀ ( BPBM) ; same locality 28 viii 1981, coll. G.K. Morris (Depository NBC Leiden) . PNG. nr Wau, W.E.I., 25 viii 1981, G.K. Morris (1 ♂) ; PNG, Mt. Missim , 18 viii 1981, G.K. Morris (1 ♀) (Depository NBC Leiden) .

Comments. Ingrisch (2023) elevated Gorochov’s (2016) subgenus Morocera to generic status. The type species of the genus is Morocera (Scytocera) loriae Griffini, 1908 ; a third species is M. peniculosa . The titillators of male Morocera nigrifrons have a very distinctive form (ibid, see his Fig. 2D): “…so far unique among Agraeciini (I [S.I.] have not seen a similar structure in any other species)”. Over their apical half the titillators curl longitudinally, their lateral edges overlapping into submembranous stilletto-like sheaths covered in fine spicules, enclosing tufts of long hairs.

Measurements. (1 male, 2 females in mm). body: male 21, female 21.0–21.5; pronotum: male 5.5, female 5.0–5.25; tegmen: male 11.5, female 11.5–12.5; hind femur: male 10.25, female 10.7; ovipositor: female 8.0–8.5.

Stridulation. This insect produces transient pulses ( Fig. 72D) grouped tightly together into trains ( Fig. 72A,B) with a pulse-train period of 66.5 ms at low 20° temperatures. “Stridulatory file on underside of left tegmen 1.70 mm long, with 78 teeth or 45.88 teeth per mm; about the last 20 teeth very small” ( Ingrisch 2023, his Fig. 2A). The number of file teeth agree reasonably with the number of pulses in the train): mean number of pulses for 10 calls of one male 65.2. Average duration of train 19.1 ms. The spectrum is a broad band ( Fig. 72C) between 20 and 38 kHz with an average carrier of 28.4 kHz.