Old lineage on an old island : Pixibinthus, a new cricket genus endemic to New Caledonia shed light on gryllid diversification in a hotspot of biodiversity

Few studies have focused on the early colonization of New Caledonia by insects, after the re-emergence of the main island, 37 Myr ago. Here we investigate the mode and tempo of evolution of a new endemic cricket genus, Pixibinthus, recently discovered in southern New Caledonia. First we formally describe this new monotypic genus found exclusively in the open shrubby vegetation on metalliferous soils, named 'maquis minier', unique to New Caledonia. We then reconstruct a dated molecular phylogeny based on five mitochondrial and four nuclear loci in order to establish relationships of Pixibinthus within Eneopterinae crickets. Pixibinthus is recovered as thesister clade of the endemic genus Agnotecous, mostly rainforest-dwellers. Dating results show that the island colonization by their common ancestor occurred around 34.7 Myr, shortly after New Caledonia re-emergence. Pixibinthus and Agnotecous are then one of the oldest insect lineages documented so far for New Caledonia. This discovery highlights for the first time two clear-cut ecological specializations between sister clades, as Agnotecous is mainly found in rainforests with 19 species, whereas Pixibinthus is found in open habitats with a single documented species. The preference of Pixibinthus for open habitats and of Agnotecous for forest habitats nicely fits an acoustic specialization, either explained by differences in body size or in acoustic properties of their respective habitats. We hypothesize that landscape dynamics, linked to major past climatic events and recent change in fire regimes are possible causes for both present-day low diversity and rarity in genus Pixibinthus. The unique evolutionary history of this old New Caledonian lineage stresses the importance to increase our knowledge on the faunal biodiversity of 'maquis minier', in order to better understand the origin and past dynamics of New Caledonian biota

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Mating and aggregative behaviors among basal hexapods in the Early Cretaceous

Among the many challenges in paleobiology is the inference and reconstruction of behaviors that rarely, if ever, leave a physical trace on the environment that is suitable for fossilization. Of particular significance are those behaviors tied to mating and courtship, individual interactions critical for species integrity and continuance, as well as those for dispersal, permitting the taxon to expand its distribution as well as access new habitats in the face of local or long-term environmental change. In this context, two recently discovered fossils from the Early Cretaceous amber of Spain (ca. 105 mya) give a detailed view of otherwise fleeting ethologies in Collembola. These occurrences are phylogenetically spaced across the class, and from species representing the two major clades of springtailsÐSymphypleona and Entomobryomorpha. Specifically, we report unique evidence from a symphypleonan male (Pseudosminthurides stoechus SaÂnchez-GarcõÂa & Engel, 2016) with modified antennae that may have functioned as a clasping organ for securing females during mating on water's surface, and from an aggregation of entomobryomorphan individuals (Proisotoma communis Sánchez-García & Engel, 2016) purportedly representing a swarming episode on the forest floor. We demonstrate that the mating behavioral repertoire in P. stoechus, which is associated with considerable morphological adaptations, likely implied elaborate courtship and maneuvering for guarantee sperm transfer in an epineustic species. These discoveries reveal significant behaviors consistent with modern counterparts and a generalized stasis for some ancient hexapod ethologies associated with complex mating and courtship and social or pre-social aggregations, so critical to specific constancy and dispersal

Lebinthus truncatipennis Chopard 1929

<i>Lebinthus truncatipennis</i> Chopard, 1929 <p>(Figs. 1 F, 3F, 4F, 6C, 7C, 8G–I, 10A–C)</p> <p> Chopard, 1929: 111; 1968: 354. Robillard & Desutter-Grandcolas 2004a, (morphological phylogeny), 2006 (molecular and morphological phylogeny); Eades <i>et al.</i> 2008. Orthoptera Species File Online.</p> <p> <b>Type material.</b> Female holotype: [Indonesia: West Sumatra Province]: Sipora [Is.], 9-X-1924 (H. H. K.), not found in the Raffles Museum (ZRC). Male allotype: [Indonesia]: West Sumatra [Province]: Sipora Is., X-1924 (C. B. K. & N. S.) (MNHN-ENSIF1446).</p> <p> <b>Type locality.</b> Indonesia, Sipora Is.</p> <p> <b>Other material examined.</b> [Indonesia: West Sumatra Province], Wai Lima, Lampongs, XI-XII-1921, 23, 1Ƥ (N°120, 218) (Karny), identified <i>L. truncatipennis</i> by T. Robillard, 2004 (Robillard and Desutter- Grandcolas 2004a) (MNHN-ENSIF1447, 2548, 2549). Indonesia: West Java [Province]: [Java Is.], Pangandaran forest, 125m, 15/ 15-VI-1925 (T. C. Forest Entomology) 33 (MZB Orth 9480-9482).</p> <p> <b>Distribution.</b> Indonesia: Sipora Island, West Java, Sumatra.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis.</b> Species of small size, brownish, larger than <i>Lebinthus villemantae</i> sp. n.; with a distinctive rounded area on the harp as in <i>L. villemantae</i> <b>n. sp.</b> and <i>L. makilingus</i> Otte, 2007 from which it differs by male genitalia, shorter female FWs and details of colouration.</p> <p> <b>Redescription.</b> In addition to the characters mentioned by Chopard (1929): Colouration brown with more or less contrasted coloured patterns. Head dorsum yellowish with 4 wide brown longitudinal bands more or less distinct, and with a yellow band posterior to eye prolonging eye colouration and underlined ventrally by a black band. Eyes well protruding, black with a red brown dorsal longitudinal band. Fastigium wider than long, setose, brown with a dark spot behind yellowish median ocellus; apex yellow and slightly carenated posteriorly to median ocellus, at margin between front head and dorsum. Scapes yellowish brown with brown patterns on face; antennae light brown. Face yellowish brown with paired spots between scapes; 2 dark brown horizontal bands, one below scapes; 2 yellow spots dorsal to epistomal suture, and one on mandible bases and labrum; clypeus yellowish brown except ventral margin; cheeks yellowish brown except for a dark brown pattern posterior to eyes (Fig. 3 F). Palpi yellowish brown, with one dark brown ring per segment. Pronotum: Dorsal disk slightly trapezoidal, slightly sinuate posteriorly; yellowish brown with few dark spots, slightly lighter on lateral margins. Lateral lobes black dorsally, ventral margin yellow with a faint curved brown pattern (Fig. 3 F). Legs: Fore and median legs light brown, femora with dark brown spots, tibiae with dark rings. Hind femora orange brown, with striated dark patterns on outer faces, 3–5 black spots on each ventral edge, knees dark brown; hind tibiae with dark brown rings, distal half of tarsomeres III-1 and III-3 dark brown. Hind tibiae with 5–8 inner (m = 6.4, n = 7) and 8–12 outer (m = 9.7, n = 7) spines above spurs and 3– 5 inner (m = 4.8, n = 7) and 5–6 outer (m = 5.7, n = 7) spines between spurs. Tarsomeres III-1 with 2–3 spines on dorso-outer edges (m = 2.6, n = 7) and 0–1 (m = 0.7, n = 7) on outer faces. Abdomen homogeneously dark brown, with sometimes a median dark brown band ventrally. Cerci brown basally, yellowish brown with dark brown rings toward apex.</p> <p> <b>Male:</b> FW not reaching abdomen midlength. FW colouration: Cells and veins brown, not translucent; base of CuA and angle of 1A with a yellowish brown sclerotization; intermedian area yellowish brown; lateral field brown, its dorsal margin (MA/R area) dark brown. FW venation (Fig. 1 F): 1A angle wide (>100°); stridulatory file with 223 teeth (n = 1), located on transverse part of 1A only. CuP visible at FW basis only. Harp wide, including a false mirror, i.e. a distinctive rounded area delimited by the strong harp vein, polyfurcated anteriorly, and fused with both diagonal vein and CuA posteriorly. Distal part of CuA weak and curved inwards, surrounding the median fold. Distal part of diagonal vein very weak. Longitudinal veins very strong at apex, transverse veins very weak. Mirror (d1) not differentiated. Apical field absent, with no bifurcation of CuA posterior to diagonal vein. Lateral field with 5 longitudinal veins including MA, R and 3 more ventral veins; latero-dorsal angle made by MP; R without strong bifurcating veins. Subgenital plate clog-shaped (Fig. 4 F), less elongate than in <i>L. villemantae</i> (Fig. 4 G).</p> <p>Male genitalia (Fig. 10 A–C): Pseudepiphallic sclerite elongate, widened anteriorly, straight dorsally; posterior apex with short triangular lophi curved dorsally, setose, separated by a V-shaped indentation; anterior apex straight, its lateral margins slightly curved dorsally. Pseudepiphallic parameres trilobate, the posterior lobe dorsal, the two other lobes ventral. Ectophallic arc complete and narrow, well separate from basis of pseudepiphallic parameres. Ectophallic fold wide, with paired preapical sclerotization. Ectophallic apodemes wide, parallel and exceeding anterior margin of pseudepiphallus. Endophallic sclerite long, exceeding anterior margin of pseudepiphallus, its posterior apex with a median triangular expansion and with short lateral arms; endophallic apodeme made of a narrow median crest.</p> <p> <b>Female:</b> FW very short (Fig. 6 C), not reaching posterior margin of second tergite, not overlapping; dorsal field with 6 strong brown longitudinal veins; yellowish brown sclerotization between brown transverse veins. Lateral field darker than dorsal field, with 4 strong dark brown longitudinal veins. Ovipositor shorter than hind femora; apex lanceolate, slightly denticulate on dorsal edge (Fig. 7 C).</p> <p>Female genitalia: Copulatory papilla (Fig. 8 G–I) very small, almost completely membranous.</p> <p> <b>Juvenile:</b> unknown.</p> <p> <b>Measurements.</b> see Table 1.</p> <p> <b>Habitat and life history traits.</b> unknown.</p> <p> <b>Behaviour.</b> unknown.</p>Published as part of <i>Robillard, Tony, 2010, New species of the genus Lebinthus (Orthoptera, Grylloidea, Eneopterinae, Lebinthini) from Indonesia and the Solomon Islands, pp. 25-48 in Zootaxa 2386</i> on pages 40-42, DOI: <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/193757">10.5281/zenodo.193757</a&gt

Cardiodactylus Saussure 1878

Genus Cardiodactylus Saussure, 1878 Type species: Cardiodactylus novaeguineae (Haan, 1842)Published as part of Robillard, Tony, 2011, New Cardiodactylus species from unsuspected places in Southeast Asia (Orthoptera, Grylloidea, Eneopterinae), pp. 14-26 in Zootaxa 2909 on page 16, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20145

Cardiodactylus Saussure 1878

Genus <i>Cardiodactylus</i> Saussure, 1878 <p> DIAGNOSIS. <i>—</i> Among Lebinthini genera, <i>Cardiodactylus</i> is characterised by its large size, long wings most often with whitish spots in both sexes, male FW venation (Wshaped harp veins, mirror incomplete generally elongated longitudinally), and male genitalia (pseudepiphallic dorso-lateral crests, posterior apex of pseudepiphallus more or less spoon-like).</p> <p>REMARKS</p> <p> Based on male genitalic structure, Otte (2007a) defined two species groups within <i>Cardiodactylus</i>, the <i>Efordi</i> group and the <i>Novaeguineae</i> group.</p>Published as part of <i>Robillard, Tony, 2009, Eneopterinae crickets (Insecta, Orthoptera, Grylloidea) from Vanuatu, pp. 577-618 in Zoosystema 31 (3)</i> on page 581, DOI: 10.5252/z2009n3a11, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/5398171">http://zenodo.org/record/5398171</a&gt

Lebinthus buruensis Robillard, 2010, n. sp.

<i>Lebinthus buruensis</i> n. sp. <p>(Figs 1 B, 3B, 4B, 5D–F, 6A, 7A, 8A–C)</p> <p> <b>Type material.</b> Holotype male: Indonesia: Province Maluku: [Pulau] Buru Is., Station 16, 20/ 2-X-1921, leg. L. J. Toxopeus (MZB Orth 1753). Allotype female: same locality as HT, Station 9, 28-VI-1921, leg. L. J. Toxopeus (MZB Orth 1853), (MNHN-ENSIF2365).</p> <p> <b>Type locality.</b> Indonesia, Pulau Buru Island.</p> <p> <b>Etymology.</b> Species named after the type locality of Buru Island, Indonesia.</p> <p> <b>Other material examined.</b> Indonesia: Province Maluku: [Pulau] Buru Is., Station 16, 20/ 2-X-1921, 1 Ƥ juvenile, leg. L. J. Toxopeus (MZB Orth 1846).</p> <p> <b>Distribution.</b> Indonesia, Pulau Buru Is.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis.</b> Species of small size, with eyes small and little protruding, differing strikingly from other members of the genus by male genitalia.</p> <p> <b>Description.</b> Size small. Colouration brownish. Head dorsum yellowish brown with 6 wide dark brown longitudinal bands. Eyes little protruding. Fastigium wider than long, setose and slightly carenated posteriorly to yellow median ocellus. Scapes yellowish brown with faint dark patterns on facial side; antennae yellowish brown to dark brown. Cheeks dark brown posterior to eye, except ventral margin yellow (Fig. 3 B). Face, front head, mandibles, clypeus and area surrounding median ocellus dorsally black; ventral margins of eyes yellow; faint light brown patterns on epistomal suture, front head and clypeus. Palpi brown. Pronotum: Dorsal disk slightly trapezoidal, straight posteriorly; yellowish brown with dark brown spots, a faint dark brown band medially, lateral margins yellow, anterior and posterior margins with dark brown patterns. Lateral lobes black except a yellow spot on ventral margin (Fig. 3 B). Legs: fore and median femora yellowish brown with dark brown spots on dorsal surface, fore and median tibiae brown. Hind femora red brown mottled with yellow, with striated brown patterns on outer face, 3–5 black spots on each ventral edge; hind tibiae brown, distal half of tarsomeres III-1 dark brown. Hind tibiae with 4–5 inner (m = 4.5, n = 2) and 7–8 outer (m = 7.5, n = 2) spines above spurs and 3 inner (n = 2) and 5–6 outer (m = 5.5, n = 2) spines between spurs. Tarsomeres III-1 with 4 spines on dorsal outer edges (n = 2). Abdomen homogeneously dark brown. Cerci yellowish brown basally, then homogeneously brown.</p> <p> <b>Male:</b> FW setose, not reaching abdomen midlength (Fig. 1 B). FW colouration: Cells and veins homogeneously brown, not translucent. FW venation: Most veins very faint. 1A angle wide (>100°). CuP missing. Harp wide, almost flat, with no harp vein and without a distinctive rounded area. Proximal part of CuA very faint, distal part slightly curved inwards around the median fold. Diagonal vein prolonged posteriorly by a strong elevated vein fused to R. Longitudinal veins very strong at apex, transverse veins very weak or absent, except a faint but wide transverse vein posterior of the undifferentiated mirror (d1). Apical field restricted to 2 cells in E alignment. Lateral field homogeneously brown, except a translucent area on ventral margin; with 5 strong longitudinal veins including MA, R and 3 more ventral veins, the most ventral one bifurcated; latero-dorsal angle made by MP; R without strong bifurcating veins. Subgenital plate trapezoidal, slightly indented posteriorly (Fig. 4 B).</p> <p>Male genitalia (Fig. 5 G–I): Pseudepiphallic sclerite as wide as long, convex dorsally; posterior apex with large triangular lophi, separated by a deep V-shaped indentation; anterior apex straight, its lateral margins slightly curved dorsally. Rami short. Pseudepiphallic parameres very large, trilobate, the posterior lobe short and dorsal, the two other lobes ventral, the posterior one very elongate, surrounding outerly the pseudepiphallic lophi. Ectophallic arc complete, narrow, near basis of pseudepiphallic parameres. Ectophallic fold short and wide, membranous. Ectophallic apodemes parallel and short. Endophallic sclerite short, but exceeding anterior margin of pseudepiphallus, convex dorsally, its posterior apex with a median expansion; endophallic apodeme made of lateral lamellas and a narrow median crest.</p> <p> <b>Female:</b> FW very short (Fig. 6 A), reaching posterior margin of first tergite, not overlapping; homogeneously dark brown, except a lighter area near lateral margin of dorsal field; dorsal field with 4 strong and 1 weak longitudinal veins. Lateral field with 2 strong dark brown longitudinal veins. Ovipositor as long as hind femora; apex lanceolate, darker brown, denticulate on dorsal edge (Fig. 7 A).</p> <p>Female genitalia: Copulatory papilla (Fig. 8 A–C) concave ventrally, well sclerotized except apex and median dorsal area.</p> <p> <b>Juvenile:</b> Subadults similar to adults in colouration, dark brown.</p> <p> <b>Measurements.</b> see Table 1.</p> <p> <b>Habitat and life history traits.</b> unknown.</p> <p> <b>Behaviour.</b> unknown.</p>Published as part of <i>Robillard, Tony, 2010, New species of the genus Lebinthus (Orthoptera, Grylloidea, Eneopterinae, Lebinthini) from Indonesia and the Solomon Islands, pp. 25-48 in Zootaxa 2386</i> on pages 29-32, DOI: <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/193757">10.5281/zenodo.193757</a&gt

Cardiodactylus thailandia Robillard, sp. nov.

Cardiodactylus thailandia Robillard, sp. nov. (Figs 6–7) Type material. Male holotype: Thailand. Khaoyai [Khao Yai] National Park, about 14.VII. 1986 (M. Takeda) (OMNH). Type locality. Thailand. Khao Yai National Park Etymology. Named after the type locality. Distribution. Thailand. Diagnosis. Species of average size for the genus, with very contrasted coloration, close to C. pelagus Otte, 2007 from Borneo and C. guttulus (Matsumura, 1913) from Japan, with differences on colour pattern and the shape of the pseudepiphallic sclerite and parameres and in male genitalia. Description. Average size for the species group. General coloration very contrasted, orange brown, dark brown and whitish brown. Head dorsum yellow brown with 4 wide dark brown bands, median ones punctuated, fused with lateral ones near fastigium; bordered by dark brown triangles posterior to eyes (Figs 6, 7 A). Fastigium dark brown. Scapes and antennae homogeneously yellow brown. Face and mouth parts almost homogeneously yellow brown, slightly mottled with brown, with 2 dark spots ventral to antennae. Maxillary palpi yellowish, dark brown apically. Head lateral sides with a wide dark brown area posterior to eyes. Pronotum: Dorsal disk trapezoidal, posterior margin straight; yellow brown laterally, median area mottled with dark brown. Lateral lobes dark brown, ventral edges yellow. Legs homogeneously orange brown. Tarsomeres III- 1 with 3 spines on dorso-external edges (n= 1). Hind wings longer than FWs, the dark brown tail exceeding the forewings one and a half longer than the pronotum. Cerci yellow brown basally then gray brown with dark brown spots. Tergites yellow brown mottled with black. Male: FW coloration very contrasted (Figs 6, 7 B): Dorsal field cells and veins brown, some areas dark brown, black, yellow or translucent. Yellow areas include: bases of anal veins, basal 3 / 4 of CuA, part of 1 A bearing the stridulatory file, harp veins, chords, part of diagonal vein, mirror accessory veins, large rounded area posterior to mirror, area between CuA and MP. Posterior corner of harp whitish. Translucent areas include anterior region of harp and cells posterior to mirror. MP/R area red brown. Area ventral to R black. Lateral field veins: MP black; MA red brown on first half, then black; R black; R projections yellow, their bases black. FW venation (Fig. 7 B): 1 A slightly bisinuated; CuP missing. Harp longer than wide, with 2 w-shaped harp veins; posterior margin raised along diagonal vein. Mirror area: c 1 long and narrow, c 2 quite large; mirror (d 1) longer than wide, not rounded, separated in two parts by a strong transverse vein, the posterior part almost rectangular; d 2 wide, prolonging the mirror, crossed by many accessory veins; e 1 very elongated, along the mirror. Apical field short, with 3 cell alignments posterior to mirror. Lateral field with 8 projections of R and 4 more ventral veins. Subgenital plate yellow brown. Male genitalia (Fig. 7 C–F): Pseudepiphallus very sclerotized, little setose, clearly narrowed at midlength. Two parallel dorsal ridges, forming a narrow gutter, their dorsal surface bean-shaped and setose, slightly asymmetrical, the left ridge curved externally, the right one straight. Pseudepiphallic sclerite with latero-anterior expansions, but without a membranous sac as in C. novaeguineae. Apex of pseudepiphallus spoon-like, not indented. Rami strong, with large preapical plates. Pseudepiphallic parameres trilobate, the posterior lobe pointed and divergent. Ectophallic arc complete, with a triangular posterior expansion. Ectophallic apodemes wide, slightly divergent; base of apodemes with sclerotized expansions oriented posteriorly. Apex of ectophallic fold membranous and trilobate. Endophallic sclerite with long posterior arms. Endophallic apodeme with both lateral lamellas and a long mediodorsal crest. Membrane of endophallic cavity smooth. PronL PronW FWL FWW HWT FIIIL FIIIW TIIIL Male holotype 3.2 4.9 14 4.7 5.2 16.4 4.3 14 continued. TIIIs TaIIIs ST OL Ias Ibs Oas Obs Tt Lt Bt Male holotype 8 6 11 6 3 ??? - Female: unknown. Juvenile: unknown. Measurements. See Table 2. Habitat and life history traits. Unknown. Behavior. Unknown.Published as part of Robillard, Tony, 2011, New Cardiodactylus species from unsuspected places in Southeast Asia (Orthoptera, Grylloidea, Eneopterinae), pp. 14-26 in Zootaxa 2909 on pages 22-24, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20145

Lebinthus villemantae Robillard, 2010, n. sp.

<i>Lebinthus villemantae</i> n. sp. <p>(Figs 1 G, 3G, 4G, 6D, 7D, 8J–L, 10D–F, 11, 12, 13)</p> <p> <b>Type material.</b> Holotype male: Indonesia: Province Sulawesi Selatan: Sulawesi Selatan, Mont Bulu Saraung, Pos 5, forêt de pente, espace dégagé en bord de piste, litière, 20-VIII-2007, jour (T. Robillard), adulte en élevage (MZB Orth). Allotype female: same locality as HT, 31-VIII-2007, jour (C. Villemant), adulte en élevage (MZB). Paratypes (183, 5Ƥ): Indonesia: Province Sulawesi Selatan: same locality, date and collector as AT, 73, 2Ƥ, adultes en élevage (MZB); 93 (recorded), 2Ƥ, adultes en élevage (MNHN-ENSIF 2572-2582). Sulawesi Selatan, région de Malawa, forêt humide au-dessus de Boto Siri, sentier longeant ruisseau, litière, 25-VIII-2007, jour (T. Robillard), 13, 1Ƥ (MZB); 13 (MNHN-ENSIF2583).</p> <p> <b>Type locality.</b> Indonesia, Sulawesi Selatan, Mount Bulu Saraung.</p> <p> <b>Etymology.</b> Species dedicated to the French hymenopterologist Dr. Claire Villemant (MNHN).</p> <p> <b>Other material examined.</b> Indonesia: Province Sulawesi Selatan: Sulawesi Selatan, Mont Bulu Saraung, Pos 5, forêt de pente, espace dégagé en bord de piste, litière, 20-VIII-2007, jour (T. Robillard), 12 juveniles (7 in alcohol) (MNHN-ENSIF 2591-2596); 30 juveniles (MZB); 31-VIII-2007, jour (C. Villemant), 83, 4Ƥ (MNHN-ENSIF 2567-2571, 2584-2590), 6 juveniles (MZB).</p> <p> <b>Distribution.</b> Indonesia, South Sulawesi.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis.</b> Species of small size, slightly smaller and darker than <i>Lebinthus truncatipennis</i>, and differing from <i>L. truncatipennis</i> and <i>L. makilingus</i> by male genitalia and details of colouration.</p> <p> <b>Description.</b> Size small. Colouration variable, most often dark brown with more or less contrasted colour patterns (Fig. 11). Head dorsum with 4–6 wide dark brown longitudinal bands more or less distinct, with a yellow band posterior to eyes prolonging their colouration and underlined by black pattern. Eyes well protruding, black with a yellow longitudinal band dorsally. Fastigium wider than long, setose, brown with a dark spot behind median ocellus, yellow. Scapes yellow; antennae yellow at base then progressively dark brown. Upper part of front head yellow. Black mask including lower part of front head, region below antennae and eyes, base of mandibles and upper part of clypeus; epistomal suture yellowish brown; yellow to whitish colouration around the mask, including parts of jaws and lower parts of mandibles and clypeus. Palpi whitish with dark brown rings. Pronotum: Dorsal disk slightly trapezoidal, straight posteriorly; generally dark brown, lighter laterally. Lateral lobes dorsally black, ventral margin yellow with a black line (Fig. 3 G). Legs: Fore and mid legs light brown, femora with dark brown spots, tibiae with dark rings. Hind femora brown, with striated dark patterns on outer faces, 3–5 black spots on each ventral edge, knees dark brown; hind tibiae with black rings, distal half of tarsomeres III-1 black. Hind tibiae with 6–12 inner (m = 7.9, n = 10) and 10–13 outer (m = 11.3, n = 10) spines above spurs and 4–5 inner (m = 4.3, n = 10) and 4–7 outer (m = 5.4, n = 10) spines between spurs. Tarsomeres III-1 with 3–4 spines on dorsal outer edges (m = 3.4, n = 10) and 0–2 (m = 1.3, n=8) on outer faces. Abdomen homogeneously brown dorsally, yellowish brown ventrally with sometimes a median dark brown band. Cerci yellowish brown basally, with black rings near apex.</p> <p> <b>Male:</b> FW not reaching abdomen midlength. FW colouration: Cells and veins brown, not translucent; intermedian area whitish, except for dark brown veins; lateral field brown, its dorsal margin (MA/R area) dark brown. FW venation (Fig. 1 G): 1A angle wide (>100°); stridulatory file with 198–213 teeth (m = 203, n = 4), located on transverse part of 1A only. CuP visible at FW basis only. Harp wide, including a false mirror, i.e. a distinctive rounded area delimited by the strong harp vein, polyfurcated anteriorly, and fused with both diagonal vein and CuA posteriorly. Distal part of CuA weak and curved inwards, surrounding the median fold. Distal part of diagonal vein very weak. Longitudinal veins very strong at apex, transverse veins very weak. Mirror (d1) not differentiated. Apical field absent, with no bifurcation of CuA posterior to diagonal vein. Lateral field with 5 strong longitudinal veins including MA, R and 3 more ventral veins; latero-dorsal angle made by MP; R without strong bifurcating veins. Subgenital plate elongate, clog-shaped (Fig. 4 G).</p> <p>Male genitalia (Fig. 10 D–F): Pseudepiphallic sclerite triangular, convex dorsally; posterior apex with short individualized lophi, setose, parallel and separated by a V-shaped indentation; anterior margin slightly indented, its lateral margins slightly curved dorsally. Rami short. Pseudepiphallic parameres trilobate, the posterior lobe dorsal, the two other lobes ventral, the median one rectangular. Ectophallic arc complete, narrow, very close to basis of pseudepiphallic parameres. Ectophallic fold short and wide, with a wide preapical sclerotization including a rounded part and two anterior expansions laterally. Ectophallic apodemes parallel and very long, exceeding anterior margin of pseudepiphallus. Endophallic sclerite very long, exceeding anterior margin of pseudepiphallus, dorsally convex, its posterior apex with a median triangular expansion and with short lateral arms; endophallic apodeme made of a narrow median crest.</p> <p> <b>Female:</b> FW short (Fig. 6 D), exceeding posterior margin of second tergite, not overlapping but close together; dorsal field with 5 strong longitudinal veins, brown. Lateral field darker than dorsal field, with 3–4 strong dark brown longitudinal veins, intermedian area whitish as in male. Ovipositor shorter than hind femora; apex lanceolate, denticulate on dorsal edge (Fig. 7 D).</p> <p>Female genitalia: Copulatory papilla (Fig. 8 J–L) with small basal sclerotized ring; apical part narrowed and long, slightly plicate ventrally and sclerotized at apex.</p> <p> <b>Juvenile:</b> Similar to adults in colouration, dark brown (Fig. 12).</p> <p> <b>Measurements.</b> see Table 1.</p> <p> <b>Habitat and life history traits.</b> <i>L. villemantae</i> lives in the leaf litter of forested areas (Fig. 12). It is found in dense populations in wet leaf litter, generally on or under large dead leaves.</p> <p> <b>Behaviour.</b> Only 3 adult specimens were observed in the field, by day in leaf litter in Malawa region, South Sulawesi. Singing activity was recorded in laboratory mostly during night period, but sexual activity seems to occur during both day and night. Mating behaviour has been observed in laboratory; multiple copulations have been recorded and will be described in a forthcoming paper (Robillard <i>et al.</i> in prep.).</p> <p> <i>Calling song</i> (Fig. 13; Table 2): Five males recorded in laboratory at 18–26 °C are analysed here. The calling song consists of a succession of short echemes of 1.8 ± 0.1 s emitted every 47.1 ± 19 s, with a duty cycle of 3.8%. At 20°C each echeme is made of 99.5 ± 10.6 syllables, with the following characteristics: syllable rate = 58.7 ± 3.8 /s; syllable duration = 7.2 ± 1.9 ms; syllable period = 17.5 ± 4.1 ms; syllable duty cycle = 41.1%; the dominant frequency is 20.1 ± 2.3 kHz and corresponds to the fundamental frequency of the song.</p> <p> <i>Courtship song</i>: Less intense and shorter than calling song.</p> <p> <i>Aggressive song:</i> Not observed despite many observations of male interactions. This song is probably absent from the species repertoire.</p> <p>Specimens T°C Echeme Syllable The field work in South Sulawesi was organised by Louis Deharveng (MNHN), Anne Bedos (MNHN) and Yayuk Suhardjono (LIPI), with a grant from the PPF "État et structure phylogénétique de la biodiversité actuelle et fossile", MNHN (P. Janvier). I thank Claire Villemant (MNHN) for helping collecting crickets in Sulawesi. I also thank Simon Poulain (CNRS) for preparation of the specimens, Constance Boitard for specimen measurements, Gilbert Hodebert (MNHN) for habitus drawings and Laure Desutter-Grandcolas for helpful comments on the manuscript. I also thank: Judith Marshall and George Beccaloni (BMNH), for their help during the study of Eneopterinae crickets in the Natural History Museum, London, funded by the SYNTHESYS European program (GB-TAF-531); Rob de Vries and Caroline Pepermans (RMNH) for their help during the study in Leiden collections, funded by a grant from the PPF "État et structure phylogénétique de la biodiversité actuelle et fossile", MNHN (P. Janvier).</p>Published as part of <i>Robillard, Tony, 2010, New species of the genus Lebinthus (Orthoptera, Grylloidea, Eneopterinae, Lebinthini) from Indonesia and the Solomon Islands, pp. 25-48 in Zootaxa 2386</i> on pages 43-47, DOI: <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/193757">10.5281/zenodo.193757</a&gt