Tumbrinckitettigini Cadena-Castañeda, 2025

Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J., Quintana-Arias, Ronald Fernando, Infante, Ivette Coque, Silva, Daniela Santos Martins & Tavares, Gustavo Costa, 2025, Studies on pygmy grasshoppers: On the current Metrodorinae sensu lato classification (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) with emphasis on American and Malagasy taxa, Zootaxa 5597 (1), pp. 1-265 : 203-204

Tribe Tumbrinckitettigini Cadena-Castañeda , trib. nov.

Type genus: Tumbrinckitettix Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares , gen. nov.

Description. Body slender and elongated; small to medium size (11–23 mm.). Head little exserted. In frontal view, face ovoid, a little taller than wide; upper margin of the vertex almost at the same level of the lateral carinae, the last one slightly elevated; fastigium moderately concave; medial and lateral carinae not elevated; vertex wide, as wide as 1.5 to 2 times of the width of an eye. Scutellum very narrow and short, reaching only a third (or less) of the height of the face; frontal costa short, with bifurcation usually a little above the middle of the eyes. Eyes rounded, slightly straight at the lower margin, medium in size, protruding slightly above the vertex and towards the sides, occupying a quarter of the cephalic capsule. Lateral ocelli placed between the middle part or close to the upper margin of the eyes, near the base from where each branch of the fascial carinae diverges; medial ocellus close to the lower margin of the scutellum. Antennal groves located at level of the lower margin of the eyes; antennae usually mid-sized, as long as or longer the mid femur, with 12–14 segments. Palpi with last three segments flattened, first two segments short and nearly cylindrical ( Figs. 140B , 141D , 144C , 147C , 148C ). In lateral view, face almost straight; medial carinae not protruding beyond the eyes, slightly tapering; anterior margin of the vertex truncated, dorsum without fossulae ( Figs. 142A , 144A ). In dorsal view, vertex wide, with medial carina present, slightly protruding, not projecting forward ( Figs. 141C , 142B , 144B , 147B ). Thorax. Pronotum slender, moderately granulated, mostly surpassing the tip of the abdomen and apex of the hind femur; pronotal disc with a straight anterior margin and a pointed or truncated posterior margin, dorsally flat in most species. Lateral lobes of the pronotum quadrangular in lateral view ( Figs. 141A , 144A ), lower margin well projected to the sides; in dorsal view, they project as sharps and straight spines (in few taxa, the spines curve towards the front) ( Figs. 141C , 147B , 148B ), and few taxa do not have developed spines, but triangular and with acute apex ( Figs. 143C , 144B ); tegminal sinus absent or poorly developed; infrascapular area moderately thickened and projecting between the second or fourth abdominal segment; lateral area slightly narrower than the infrascapular area, arising above the dorsal undulation of the infrascapular area, projecting to the apex of the pronotum in lateral view ( Figs. 141B , 143A ). Wings. Developed or absent. In winged species, tegmina short and ovoid, mainly covered by the pronotum ( Figs. 141B , 143A , 144A ); hind wings reaching the apex of the abdomen. Legs. Fore and mid femur elongated and thin, with the dorsal and ventral margins almost straight and carinated. Hind femur with antegenicular and genicular teeth developed, external surface without tubercles or lappets. Hind tibia scarcely ampliated near the apex; first segment of the hind tarsi longer than the third one. Pulvilli of posterior tarsi rounded. Abdomen. Male: last segments, between the eighth and ninth, moderately constricted. Subgenital plate cupuliform, as long as or slightly longer than the last abdominal sternite, with angled and pointed apex. Cerci conical. Female. Epiproct ovoid or subtriangular, with a dorsal midline. Subgenital plate mainly triangular, with the posterior edge rounded or angled. Ovipositor valves narrow; inferior valves, without being conspicuously covered by the lateral edges of the subgenital plate ( Figs. 141A , 148A ).

Genera included. Tumbrinckitettix Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares , gen. nov., Charagotettix Brancsik, 1893 , Hovacris Rehn, 1929 , Oxytettix Rehn, 1929 , and Cryptotettix Hancock, 1900 .

Distribution. Madagascar (Maps 12 and 14).

MAP 12. Distribution of Oxytettix , Hovacris and Cryptotettix species.

Remarks. This tribe includes five genera with 18 species. Günther (1959) differentiated them from the other “ Metrodorinae of Madagascar ”, mentioning that they have a scelimeloid shape due to their slender shape and the spines on the lower margin of the lateral lobes of the pronotum. The other genera from Madagascar (here placed in the tribe Guntheritettigini trib. nov.) were amorphopoid or metrodoroid shaped. The genera included here were well described or redescribed by Rehn (1929) and Günther (1959, 1974). So, it is not necessary to redescribe any of them. A key to the genera is provided below.

Figures

FIGURE 140. Oxytettix hastatus (Hancock, 1900). Male paratype. A. Habitus in lateral view. B. Frons. C. Habitus in dorsal view. Photos: J. Tumbrinck.

FIGURE 141. Oxytettix arius (Rehn, 1929). Female. A–B. Habitus in lateral views. C. Habitus in dorsal view. D. Frons. E. Labels. Photos: J. Tumbrinck.

FIGURE 142. Cryptotettix spinilobus Hancock, 1900. Female holotype. A. Habitus in lateral view. B. Habitus in dorsal view. C. Frons. D. Labels. Photos: J. Tumbrinck.

FIGURE 143. Cryptotettix imerina Rehn, 1929. Female holotype. A. Habitus in lateral view. B. Habitus in dorsal view. C. Frons. D. Labels. Photos: J. Tumbrinck.

FIGURE 144. Hovacris undulata Rehn, 1929. Female holotype.A. Habitus in lateral view. B. Habitus in dorsal view. C. Frons. D. Labels. Photos: J. Tumbrinck.

FIGURE 147. Tumbrinckitettix impennis (Günther, 1939) comb. nov. Male Lectotype. A. Habitus in lateral view. B. Habitus in dorsal view. C. Frons. D. Labels. Photos: J. Tumbrinck.

FIGURE 148. Tumbrinckitettix impennis (Günther, 1939) comb. nov. Female Paralectotype. A. Habitus in lateral view. B. Habitus in dorsal view. C. Frons. D. Labels. Photos: J. Tumbrinck.