Abstract
A new genus of oecanthid cricket from the Neometrypini tribe is described here: Aphonodiacanthus Tonon & Campos gen. nov., comprising three new species: A. melanocephalus Tonon, Campos & Souza-Dias sp. nov., A. maculatus Tonon & Campos sp. nov., and A. chlorops Tonon & Campos sp. nov., from the Brazilian states of Paraná, Bahia, and São Paulo respectively. The combination of male genitalia characters, mainly the pointed shape of the pseudepiphallic lateral lobes, and other morphological features such as the short forewings and supra anal plate, supports the proposal of this new genus. A geographical distribution map and identification key to species are provided, along with an updated identification key to genera of Neometrypini. A brief discussion is also presented for traits such as the subgenual organ, the absence of acoustic communication, the metanotal glands, and highlight the presence of A. chlorops Tonon & Campos sp. nov. in a densely populated area within the São Paulo metropolitan region, inhabiting an urban fragment of Atlantic Forest.
References
- Antonelli, A., Zizka, A., Antunes, F., Scharn, R., Bacon, C.D., Silvestro, D. & Condamine, F.L. (2018) Amazonia is the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115 (23), 6034–6039. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1713819115
- Campos, L.D. & Desutter-Grandcolas, L. (2020) The Paroecanthini crickets (Orthoptera: Grylloidea: Gryllidae: Oecanthinae) from French Guiana. Zoosystema, 42, 355–398. https://doi.org/10.5252/zoosystema2020v42a20
- Campos, L.D., Souza-Dias, P.G.B. & Nihei, S.S. (2020) New Brazilian Tafaliscina increase the diversity of this Neotropical cricket clade (Orthoptera: Grylloidea: Gryllidae: Oecanthinae: Paroecanthini). Zoosystema, 42 (19), 331–353. https://doi.org/10.5252/zoosystema2020v42a19
- Campos, L.D. & Souza-Dias, P.G.B. (2021) Hidden in the bushes: uncovering the diversity of the genus Neometrypus Desutter, 1988 n. status (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Paroecanthini: Tafaliscina) in Neotropical forests. Zootaxa, 5060 (4), 451–488. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5060.4.1
- Campos, L.D., Souza-Dias, P.G.B., Audino, J.A., Desutter-Grandcolas, L. & Nihei, S.S. (2022) The fifth family of the true crickets (Insecta: Orthoptera: Ensifera: Grylloidea), Oecanthidae defin. nov.: phylogenetic relationships and divergence times. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 197 (4), 1034–1077. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac066
- Campos, L.D. & Tonon, V.A. (2025) A New Cricket Genus and First Record of Neometrypini (Orthoptera: Oecanthidae) in the Caatinga. Austral Entomology. [in press]
- Cigliano, M.M., Braun, H., Eades, D.C. & Otte, D. (2025) Orthoptera Species File. Available from: http://orthoptera.species/file.org/ (accessed 9 October 2025)
- de Mello, F.A.G. (1990) Picinguaba pitanga: a new genus and species of cricket from the strand vegetation of southeastern Brazil (Orthoptera: Grylloidea: Eneopteridae). Revista de Agricultura, Piracicaba, 65 (3), 281–284. https://doi.org/10.37856/bja.v65i3.884
- de Mello, F.A.G. (2015) Short note on the taxonomic position of the genus Nessa Walker, 1869 with description of a new species (Orthoptera, Grylloidea, Eneopteridae). Revista de Agricultura, 65 (1), 91–95. https://doi.org/10.37856/bja.v65i1.872
- Desutter, L. (1987) Structure et évolution du complexe phallique des Gryllidea (Orthoptères) et classification des genres néotropicaux de Grylloidea. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 24 (3), 343–373. https://doi.org/10.1080/21686351.1988.12277541
- Desutter-Grandcolas, L. (2003) Phylogeny and the evolution of acoustic communication in extant Ensifera (Insecta, Orthoptera). Zoologica Scripta, 32 (6), 525–561. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1463-6409.2003.00142.x
- Ferreira, J., Josse, H., Campos, L.D., Nel, A. & Desutter-Grandcolas, L. (2024) First 3D reconstruction of a forewing of a fossil Orthoptera: Interpreting the venation pattern in the smallest known cricket with a stridulatory apparatus,† Picogryllus carentonensis (Orthoptera, Grylloidea, Oecanthidae). Fossil Record, 27 (1), 101–110. https://doi.org/10.3897/fr.27.e113100
- Gorochov, A.V. (2011) Taxonomy of Podoscirtinae (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). Part 9: the American tribe Paroecanthini. Zoosystematica rossica, 20 (2), 216–270. https://doi.org/10.31610/zsr/2011.20.2.216
- Gorochov, A.V. (2017) Taxonomy of Podoscirtinae (Orthoptera: Gryllidae). Part 11: the tribe Hapithini and other American taxa. Zoosystematica rossica, 26 (1), 11–106. https://doi.org/10.31610/zsr/2017.26.1.11
- Hemp, C., Massa, B. & Heller, K.G. (2025) Description and bioacoustics of three new Eurycorypha (Orthoptera, Tettigonioidea) species from Tanzania and Ghana, with notes on their biology. Journal of Orthoptera Research, 34 (2), 187–200. https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.34.137613
- Huber, F., Moore, T. & Loher, W. (1990) Cricket Behavior and Neurobiology. Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501745904
- Römer, H. (1998) The sensory ecology of acoustic communication in insects. In: Comparative hearing: insects. Springer, pp. 63–96. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-0585-2_3
- Saussure, H. (1878) Mélanges orthoptérologiques. VI. fascicule Gryllides. Mémoires de la Société de Physique et d’Histoire Naturelle de Genève, 25 (2), 369–704. [http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/122148#page/525/mode/1up]
- Seto, K.C., Güneralp, B. & Hutyra, L.R. (2012) Global forecasts of urban expansion to 2030 and direct impacts on biodiversity and carbon pools. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109 (40), 16083–16088. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1211658109
- Shaw, S.R. (1994) Detection of airborne sound by a cockroach ‘vibration detector’: a possible missing link in insect auditory evolution. Journal of Experimental Biology, 193, 13–47. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.193.1.13
- Simeu-Noutchom, A., Kekeunou, S., Wandji, A.C., Nzike, M.M., Nyobe, P.C.A.U., Nkwala, A.L.D. & Simo, L.G.G. (2021) Description of two new species of the africana-group of the Genus Gryllotalpa, with a redescription of Gryllotalpa africana Beauvois (Orthoptera: Gryllotalpidae). African Zoology, 56 (1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1080/15627020.2020.1858343
- Souza-Dias, P.G.B., Borille, M.V. & Campos, L.D. (2022) A new species of Bambuina de Mello, Horta & Bolfarini, 2013 (Orthoptera: Grylloidea: Phalangopsidae: Luzarinae) from the Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, Brazil. Zootaxa, 5214 (1), 130–140. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5214.1.6
- Su, Y.N. (2016) A simple and quick method of displaying liquid-preserved morphological structures for microphotography. Zootaxa, 4208 (6), 592–593. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4208.6.6
- Strauß, J., Stritih, N. & Lakes-Harlan, R. (2013) The subgenual organ complex in the cave cricket Troglophilus neglectus (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae): comparative innervation and sensory evolution. Royal Society open science, 1 (2), 140240. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.140240
- Tan, M.K., Gorochov, A., Japir, R., Chung, A.Y. & Robillard, T. (2024) New species of little-known crickets from the subfamily Pteroplistinae (Orthoptera, Grylloidea) from Sabah and contribution to their bioacoustics. Zootaxa, 5506 (2), 205–226. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5506.2.3
- Tan, M.K., Damit, D.F.B.A., Japir, R., Chung, A.Y., Robillard, T. & Ingrisch, S. (2025) New species and taxonomic notes of Lipotactes (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae, Lipotactinae) from Sabah. Zootaxa, 5632 (2), 309–324. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5632.2.5
- Tonon, V.A., Nihei, S.S., Souza-Dias, P.G.B. & Campos, L.D. (in press) Discovering the diversity of the genus Apterotrypa Gorochov, 2017 (Orthoptera: Oecanthidae: Neometrypini). Journal of Orthoptera Research. [in press]
- Walker, F. (1869) Catalogue of the Specimens of Dermaptera Saltatoria in the Collection of the British Museum. Vol. 1. Printed for the Trustees of the British Museum, London, 224 pp. [http://www.archive.org/details/catalogueofspeci01britrich]
- Wessel, A., Ehlers, S., McCravy, K.W. & Thomas, J.A. (2025) Insect Bioacoustics and Biotremology. In: Erbe, C. & Thomas, J.A. (Eds.), Exploring Animal Behavior Through Sound. Vol. 2. Applications. Springer, Cham, pp. 53–130. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-83460-8_2
- Zefa, E., Acosta, R.C., Timm, V.F. & Costa, M.K.M. (2022) New species of tree cricket Oecanthus Serville, 1831 (Orthoptera: Grylloidea) from Southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest, with bioacoustics. Zootaxa, 5155 (3), 439–448. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5155.3.8
