Homoeoxipha oscillantenna He, 2021

Li, Shi-Yu, Peng, Hui-Ling, Shen, Chu-Ze & He, Zhu-Qing, 2021, A new species of genus Homoeoxipha Saussure, 1874 from China (Orthoptera Trigonidiidae: Trigonidiinae), Zootaxa 4942 (3), pp. 428-438 : 432-435

2.1 Homoeoxipha oscillantenna He sp. nov.

Figs. 1 , 3 , 4

Holotype: male, CHINA, Fujian Prov., Wuyishan , E 117.96, N 27.67, 7-ix-2018, coll. He Zhu-Qing.

Paratype: 2 males & 2 females, other data same as holotype ; 1 female, CHINA, Guangdong Prov., Yingde , E 113.42, N 24.21, 15-iii-2019, coll. He Zhu-Qing ; 2 males & 6 females, CHINA, Guangxi Prov., Mao’er Mt., Gaozhai , E 110.48, N 25.84, 26-vii-2015, coll. He Zhu-Qing & Lu Hui.

The type specimens are deposited in the Museum of Biology, East China Normal University (ECNU).

Male: Body small and legs short for this genus. Head: head little wider than anterior margin of pronotum ( Fig. 1B,C ; Fig. 3A,B ), vertex flattened, frontal rostrum as wide as 1st antennal joint, 3rd–4th segments of maxillary palpi elongated, and 5th segment triangular ( Fig. 3C ). Pronotum: pronotum pubescent, no lateral carina, anterior margin slightly convex and posterior margin almost straight, legs short for this genus, fore tibia with oval tympanum on outer side ( Fig. 3D ), absent on inner side ( Fig. 3E ; but tympanum present on inner side in macropterous individuals, equal size as outer ones), hind tibia with three airs of dorsal spurs and five apical spurs (three outer spurs very small, two inner spurs as long as dorsal spurs), tegmen long and narrow, almost extending to apex of abdomen, mirror large and oval.

Genitalia: Epiphallus slender, but widened at the proximal, armed with arc-shaped and curved lateral margins. Its apical lobes long, with sharp apical margins, ectoparamere sharp at apex, nearly half long as epiphallus apical lobes ( Fig. 3F,G ).

Female: Similar to male, tegmen curved, ovipositor short and little curved ( Fig. 3H ), finely denticulate on dorsal side (2/5 of total length) and ventral side (1/5 of total length).

Coloration: Overall black. Pronotum red, base several joints of antenna black, but yellow in rest. Dorsal band brown with dark brown and yellow margin. Femora reddish yellow, tibiae black, first tarsi white, other two and claws black. Basal part of tegmen red, other parts pale with large black spots, wings (out of tegmen) black in macropterous individuals. Cerci and ovipositor yellow. Nymph (ultimate instar): nearly reddish brown, tegmen pad white with black stripes.

Comparison: This species is similar to H. eurylobus , but differs in the color of fore femur. In the new species, fore femur is total yellow, but it is ornamented with black lines in H. eurylobus . They also have differences in the structure of male genitalia. The ectoparamere is sharp at apical part in the new species, but it is armed with truncate apex in H. eurylobus .

Measurements (in mm): Male: SZ 4.75–5.35, PR 0.82–1.05, HF 2.79–3.27; Female: SZ 4.36–4.79, PR 0.82– 1.02, HF 2.80–2.86, OV 1.48–1.57.

Distribution: China (Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi).

Etymology: The name oscillantenna is combined by two words “oscillate” + “antenna”. It refers to the special behavior of its antenna oscillation.

Habitat: This species lives in and on grass. Macropterous individuals are strongly attracted to light at night from Mao'er Mt., Guangxi. The antennae always oscillate nervously.

Song: The song was nearly stereotyped with 40 cycles/minute. Each cycle contained 6–8 chirps in 1.062±0.148 s. Each chirp contained 4–5 pulses, but only 3 pulses in the first chirp ( Fig. 4 ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Homoeoxipha spp. in live. A, nymph of H. oscillantenna, B, male of H. oscillantenna; C, female of H. oscillantenna; D, male of H. nigripes; E, male of H. eurylobus; F, male of H. obliterata. (photos by He. Z.-Q.)

FIGURE 3. Morphological features of Homoeoxipha oscillantenna. A, male; B, female; C, male head in front view; D, tympanum on outer side; E, inner side of fore tibia; F, male genitalia in dorsal view; G, male genitalia in ventral view; H, ovipositor in lateral view.

FIGURE 4. Calling song of Homoeoxipha oscillantenna. Scale bar=1 and 0.1 seconds respectively.