Grasshoppers (Orthoptera, Acrididae & Pyrgomorphidae) of Ghyalchok, Gorkha, Nepal and four new species records

We present a list of grasshoppers of two families from Ghyalchok, Gorkha district with four new species records for Nepal. The checklist of species is given to provide basic information on the grasshopper diversity of that region. With detailed information of all species recorded and plates with photos from different angles of each species, the present work shall contribute towards a better understanding of grasshoppers of Nepal's Ghyalchok, Gorkha region. This study contributes to future revisionary works on grasshopper diversity and distribution in Nepal. We surveyed 13 different localities of Ghyalchok for three years from 2019–2022, following visual count, while the specimens were collected by using a sweep net or by handpicking where feasible. We recorded 29 species of grasshoppers, of which 26 species belong to Acrididae and 3 species to Pyrgomorphidae. Four grasshopper species, Phlaeoba antennata antennata Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1893; Bibracte burmana burmana Ramme, 1941; Caryanda cachara (Kirby, 1914) and Gonista bicolor (Haan, 1942) are recorded for the first time from Nepal

Mopla guttata (Acrididae: Catantopinae) rediscovered in the Western Ghats, Kerala, India

The endemic Catantopinae genus Mopla was described by Henry in 1940 from the Malabar region of South India. Henry described two species under this genus, M. guttata and M. rubra. The female type specimens of Mopla are deposited in the Natural History Museum, London, UK. There have been no further records of these two species since their description. Seventy-six years later, the first male specimen of the genus Mopla was discovered in the Western Ghats, Kerala, India, in 2016. This paper describes the specimen, thought to be of Mopla guttata, and reconsiders its systematic placement

Mopla guttata (Acrididae: Catantopinae) rediscovered in the Western Ghats, Kerala, India

The endemic Catantopinae genus Mopla was described by Henry in 1940 from the Malabar region of South India. Henry described two species under this genus, M. guttata and M. rubra. The female type specimens of Mopla are deposited in the Natural History Museum, London, UK. There have been no further records of these two species since their description. Seventy-six years later, the first male specimen of the genus Mopla was discovered in the Western Ghats, Kerala, India, in 2016. This paper describes the specimen, thought to be of Mopla guttata, and reconsiders its systematic placement

Xerophyllini Gunther 1979

2. Xerophyllini Günther, 1979 <p>Xerophyllini Günther, 1979: 17, Devriese 1999: 28, Storozhenko & Paik 2011: 48, Skejo et al. 2019: 546.</p> <p>Acmophyllini Günther, 1979: 24, Otte 1997: 12, Devriese 1999: 28 (synonym of Xerophyllini), Storozhenko & Paik 2011: 48 (accepted synonymy with Xerophyllini).</p> <p> <b>Type genus.</b> <i>Xerophyllum</i> Fairmaire, 1846, endemic to tropical Africa.</p> <p> <b>Representatives in India and Sri Lanka</b>. India and Sri Lanka are inhabited by representatives of two gen-era—one species of <i>Potua</i> (?) and three species of <i>Tettilobus</i>, two of which are endemic to the rainforests of the Western Ghats of India, and one to the rainforests of central Sri Lanka.</p> <p> <b>Notes</b>. Following Storozhenko & Paik’s (2011) division of the subfamily into two tribes, Xerophyllini are characterized by a straight or concave, depressed vertex, whose middle part is usually the lowest part of the vertex in frontal view, and on each side, there are high fastigial horns.</p>Published as part of <i>Bhaskar, Dhaneesh, Stermšek, Sara, Easa, P. S., Franjević, Damjan & Skejo, Josip, 2020, Wide-nosed pygmy grasshoppers (Cladonotinae: Cladonotini, Xerophyllini) of India and Sri Lanka: catalogue with an identification key and description of a new species of the genus Tettilobus, pp. 474-500 in Zootaxa 4894 (3)</i> on page 489, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4894.3.12, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/4315827">http://zenodo.org/record/4315827</a&gt

Hancockella Uvarov 1940

1.4. <i>Hancockella</i> Uvarov, 1940 <p> <i>Broukus</i> Blackith, 1992: LI, Otte 1997: 21 (as unnecessary replacement name for <i>Hancockia</i>),</p> <p> <i>Hancockia</i> Kirby, 1914: 46, Günther, 1938: 345,</p> <p> <i>Hancockella</i> Uvarov, 1940: 174 [new name for <i>Hancockia</i> Kirby, 1914, preoccupied by molluscan <i>Hancockia</i> Gosse, 1877, type species <i>Hancockia portentosa</i>, by original monotypy]), Yin et al. 1996: 873, Otte 1997: 21, Shishodia et al. 2010: 142, Skejo & Bertner 2017: 665, Li et al. 2018: 314.</p> <p> <b>Type species:</b> <i>Hancockia portentosa</i> Kirby, 1914 (= <i>Hancockella portentosa</i>), inherited from replacement name.</p> <p> <b>Distribution and composition.</b> Monotypic genus (including only <i>H. portentosa</i>) inhabiting the Western Ghats of Kerala (recorded hitherto only from Travancore).</p> <p> <b>Notes.</b> The genus and its only species are known only from the series of syntypes and have never been recorded since the description. This is one of the least studied Tetrigidae genera of India and the world. It is here assigned to Cladonotini on the basis of head morphology, which is similar to <i>Cladonotus</i> and <i>Misythus</i>, two typical Cladonotini members.</p>Published as part of <i>Bhaskar, Dhaneesh, Stermšek, Sara, Easa, P. S., Franjević, Damjan & Skejo, Josip, 2020, Wide-nosed pygmy grasshoppers (Cladonotinae: Cladonotini, Xerophyllini) of India and Sri Lanka: catalogue with an identification key and description of a new species of the genus Tettilobus, pp. 474-500 in Zootaxa 4894 (3)</i> on page 488, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4894.3.12, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/4315827">http://zenodo.org/record/4315827</a&gt

Tettilobus trishula Skejo, Bhaskar et Stermsek 2020, sp. n.

<i>Tettilobus trishula</i> Skejo, Bhaskar et Stermšek sp. n. (morphology Figures 1, 2, habitat Figure 3) <p> <i>Tettilobus</i> sp.: Bhaskar et al. 2019: 3226, 3228 (reported from Eravikulam NP).</p> <p> <b>Type material.</b> 1♀ (Figures 1, 3) HOLOTYPE INDIA: Western Ghats—labels: 1 st (printed): Ind. Or. P. Castets, 2 nd (handwritten by Bolívar): <i>Potua</i> Bol. <i>suspecta</i> Bol., 3 rd (printed, published by París 1994): “especie” no publicada, 4 th (printed, red): Holotipo, 5 th (handwritten): <i>Tettilobus trishula</i> Skejo et Bhaskar, 6 th ‘ MNCN _Ent 195791’ (MNCN); 1♁ PARATYPE INDIA: Kerala: Eravikulam NP 2200 m a.s.l. (above sea level) N10 13’43.05” E077 05’09.39 ’ leg. Dhaneesh Bhaskar I.2018. (KFRI).</p> <p> <b>Type material depository</b>. The HOLOTYPE is deposited in MNCN, Madrid, Spain, the PARATYPE in KFRI, Kerala, India.</p> <p> <b>Type locality</b>. <b>Terra typica:</b> INDIA: Kerala: Western Ghats. <b>Locus</b> typicus restrictus: Eravikulam NP, mountainous rainforest at 2200 m a.s.l., N10 13’43.05” E077 05’09.39.</p> <p> <b>Habitat (Figure 3)</b>. From the original collection label (Ind. Or. P. Castets), the only thing we are sure of is that the place of the collection lies towards South India. According to the distribution of other species, Castets documented during the expeditions (Desutter-Grandcolas & Jaiswara 2012, Online catalogue of MNHN Paris type specimens) it has to be from the peninsular region (forested hills of Kerala and Tamil Nadu). The Narrower type locality is Eravikulam NP, where the paratype male was collected (Figure 3, Figure 11). The species inhabits dense rainforests of the Western Ghats. It can be found on tree trunks where it probably feeds on mosses and detritus. It is thus a bark dwelling, corticolous species, not a leaf-litter species like <i>Deltonotus subcucullatus</i> and <i>D. gibbiceps</i></p> <p> <b>Derivatio nominis</b>: In Hindu mythology and epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana, <i>trishula,</i> with a trident known as <i>trishulank</i>, originally from Sanskrit, is a three-pronged spear that Lord Shiva used as his sacred weapon to fight off evil. Each tooth of the trishula is called a <i>guna</i> in Samkhya philosophy. Three <i>gunas</i> are in this new species made of the highly compressed median carina and elevated curved external (large trishula) and internal (small trishula) lateral carinae of the pronotal apex.</p> <p> <b>Specific diagnosis.</b> Nanopronotal, small and wingless species (body length from the apex of fastigium to the top of the ovipositor 7.5 mm); vertex, in frontal view, depressed; antennal grooves situated below the lower margin of the compound eyes; scutellum as wide as a single antennal groove; frontal costa bifurcation located on the level of the lower margins of the compound eyes; frontal costa above bifurcation long; median carina of the vertex, lateral carinae of the vertex and transverse carinae projected as equally high horns; FM small, PM+MM1 compressed and highly elevated, MML1 and MML2 strong; VL projected downwards-outwards with rounded apex; strongly incurved external lateral carinae; internal lateral carinae forming with median carina acute upwards directed structure reminding of <i>trishula</i>; all femora armed with sharp teeth; pronotum not covering the whole abdomen; visible part of the abdomen armed. The species can easily be distinguished from <i>T. prashadi</i> and <i>T. pelops</i> by the lack of ventrolateral spines, but also by the morphology of the head and pronotal discus.</p>Published as part of <i>Bhaskar, Dhaneesh, Stermšek, Sara, Easa, P. S., Franjević, Damjan & Skejo, Josip, 2020, Wide-nosed pygmy grasshoppers (Cladonotinae: Cladonotini, Xerophyllini) of India and Sri Lanka: catalogue with an identification key and description of a new species of the genus Tettilobus, pp. 474-500 in Zootaxa 4894 (3)</i> on page 476, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4894.3.12, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/4315827">http://zenodo.org/record/4315827</a&gt

Wide-nosed pygmy grasshoppers (Cladonotinae: Cladonotini, Xerophyllini) of India and Sri Lanka: catalogue with an identification key and description of a new species of the genus Tettilobus

Bhaskar, Dhaneesh, Stermšek, Sara, Easa, P.S., Franjević, Damjan, Skejo, Josip (2020): Wide-nosed pygmy grasshoppers (Cladonotinae: Cladonotini, Xerophyllini) of India and Sri Lanka: catalogue with an identification key and description of a new species of the genus Tettilobus. Zootaxa 4894 (3): 474-500, DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4894.3.1

Cladonotinae Bolivar 1887

Subfamily Cladonotinae Bolívar, 1887 <p> <b>Representatives in India and Sri Lanka</b>. India and Sri Lanka are inhabited by representatives of 7 genera belonging to two tribes (Xerophyllini and Cladonotini), altogether 13 species.</p> <p> <b>Notes</b>. Following Storozhenko & Paik’s (2011) division of the subfamily into two tribes, Cladonotini and Xerophyllini, species and genera of India and Sri Lanka are attributed to those two tribes. Cladonotini members have a convex vertex, with its middle part being the highest, with no fastigial horns, while Xerophyllini members have a concave, depressed vertex with high fastigial horns.</p>Published as part of <i>Bhaskar, Dhaneesh, Stermšek, Sara, Easa, P. S., Franjević, Damjan & Skejo, Josip, 2020, Wide-nosed pygmy grasshoppers (Cladonotinae: Cladonotini, Xerophyllini) of India and Sri Lanka: catalogue with an identification key and description of a new species of the genus Tettilobus, pp. 474-500 in Zootaxa 4894 (3)</i> on page 481, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4894.3.12, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/4315827">http://zenodo.org/record/4315827</a&gt

Gignotettix Hancock 1909

1.3. Gignotettix Hancock, 1909 Gignotettix Hancock, 1909: 397, 1915: 62, Sandrasagara 1950: 136, Liang 1990: 213, Blackith 1992: 81, Yin et al. 1996: 872, Otte 1997: 21. Type species. Gignotettix burri Hancock, 1909, by original monotypy. Distribution and composition. Monotypic genus (including only G. burri) inhabiting the Central province of Sri Lanka (Pundaluoya and Ohiya). Notes. The genus Gignotettix is one of the least studied Tetrigidae genera. Only a few specimens of its only species are known and its taxonomic position is thus not assessable. Tumbrinck doubts that this genus represents a synonym of Cladonotella Hancock, 1909 (Cigliano et al. 2020: scrutiny Tumbrinck 2016 under Gignotettix burri). We would not say that G. burri should be assigned to Cladonotella, but its position definitely requires attention in future.Published as part of Bhaskar, Dhaneesh, Stermšek, Sara, Easa, P. S., Franjević, Damjan & Skejo, Josip, 2020, Wide-nosed pygmy grasshoppers (Cladonotinae: Cladonotini, Xerophyllini) of India and Sri Lanka: catalogue with an identification key and description of a new species of the genus Tettilobus, pp. 474-500 in Zootaxa 4894 (3) on page 487, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4894.3.12, http://zenodo.org/record/431582

Scelimena india : Hancock 1907, comb. nov.

<i>Scelimena india</i> Hancock, 1907 <p> <b>Note</b>. Transferred to the genus <i>Indoscelimena</i>. See under <i>Indoscelimena india</i> <b>comb. nov.</b></p>Published as part of <i>Muhammad, Amira Aqilah, Tan, Ming Kai, Abdullah, Nurul Ashikin, Azirun, Mohammad Sofian, Bhaskar, Dhaneesh & Skejo, Josip, 2018, An annotated catalogue of the pygmy grasshoppers of the tribe Scelimenini Bolívar, 1887 (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) with two new Scelimena species from the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, pp. 1-70 in Zootaxa 4485 (1)</i> on page 54, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4485.1.1, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/1437959">http://zenodo.org/record/1437959</a&gt