Capillogryllus megastomus, Ma & He & Wang, 2025

Capillogryllus megastomus sp. nov.

Chinese name: 大嘴ƭē (Dà zuǐ máo xī)

Figs. 1A View FIGURE 1 , 3 View FIGURE 3 , 4A View FIGURE 4 , 5A View FIGURE 5

Etymology. The specific epithet megastomus is a compound adjective derived from the Greek adjectives megas, meaning ‘large’ or ‘great’, and stoma, meaning ‘mouth’. It refers to the species’ most prominent diagnostic characteristic: the exceptionally large mandibles and broad mouthparts of the male.

Type material. Holotype: ♂, CHINA, Xizang, Gyirong , 28°19.97′ N, 85°24.02′ E; 3004 m, 10.IX.2025, Zhi-Xin He leg. ( SNNU) GoogleMaps . Paratypes: 5♀♀, same data as holotype ( SNNU) GoogleMaps .

Diagnosis. Small-sized cricket. Body blackish-brown, appendages variegated. Mouthparts yellowish-brown with brown patches. Legs yellowish-brown internally; femora outwardly, apically and tibiae onwards blackish-brown; hind femur with distinct blackish-brown stripes outwardly. Head and pronotum glossy. Abdominal terga densely pubescent. Male abdominal terga blackish-brown; female abdominal terga with paired brown spots. Male mouthparts strongly developed; labrum occupying about half of facial area; mandibles robust; entire mouthparts in lateral view with vertical length longer than length from vertex to clypeus. Epiphallus without median lobe; lateral lobes with outer margins incurved; arch-shaped structure formed between lateral lobes and median bridge.

Description. Male. Body small (body length less than 1 cm). Head and pronotum glossy. Head nearly glabrous. Pronotum with few setae medially, anterior and posterior margins and lateral lobes with long stiff setae or slender soft setae. Meso-, metanotum and abdominal terga densely pubescent; all setae (stiff and soft) appressed. Head broad, distinctly wider than pronotum. Vertex broad and rounded. Ocelli arranged in an inverted triangle; median ocellus small, lateral ocelli larger; distance between lateral ocelli very wide. Compound eyes large, vertical length much longer than half the length from vertex to clypeus. Frontal rostrum broad and flat, distinctly more than twice as wide as antennal scape; base of frontal rostrum and clypeus deeply sunken. Labrum very large, its area approximately equal to the facial area from vertex to clypeus. Clypeus concave basally, apically transversely broad and shield-shaped, covering the enormous mandibles. Mandibles highly developed but normal in form, typical of chewing mouthparts. Ultimate segment of maxillary palpus broadly rounded apically, obliquely truncate; its length slightly shorter than the combined length of the three basal segments. Pronotum with anterior and posterior margins straight; lateral margins nearly straight. Pronotal disc broad and flat, sloping to lateral lobes. Meso-, metanotum and abdominal terga uniformly textured, rough and dull. Epiproct inversely trapezoidal, dorsally with symmetrical concave-convex sculpturing, apical margin angularly notched. Cerci slender, tapering from base, bearing short stiff setae, slender long setae, and clavate setae. Fore tibia lacking tympana, without any trace of tympanal structure. Hind femur robust, distinctly longer than hind tibia. Hind tibia with three pairs of alternating dorsal spurs; outer dorsal spurs slender, apices slightly curved inwards, somewhat hook-like; inner dorsal spurs robust, scale-like. Epiphallus without median lobe; in dorsal view, median bridge between lateral lobes broadly, archly concave. Also in dorsal view, lateral lobes of epiphallus slightly angular; in lateral view, massive, apices obtusely rounded, tops curved dorsally, forming weak projections. Apices of ectoparamere broadly rounded; clearly divided into two branches internally. Guiding rod located centrally on inner side of endophallus, their apices not protruding beyond the median bridge of epiphallus.

Female. Head in frontal view broadly ovoid, sometimes wider than pronotum. Mouthparts small; vertical length of labrum about one-quarter vertical length of head. Dorsal spurs of hind tibia alternating, all slender and spine-like, apices slightly curved inwards. Ovipositor needle-like, apically acute, not distinctly swollen. Dorsal valves (first pair) apically acute but not distinctly elongated, dorsal margins weakly arcuate. Ventral valves (third pair) shorter than dorsal valves, more acutely slender, ventral margins weakly arcuate and curved dorsally. Other characteristics as in male.

Coloration. Male: body mostly blackish-brown. Stiff long setae blackish-brown; slender soft setae yellowish-brown. Head blackish-brown. Ocelli pale yellow. Compound eyes dark gray. Mouthparts yellowish-brown except maxillary palpi brown; clypeus with dark brown patch centrally on apical side. Fore and mid legs: femora dorsally, outwardly, and tibiae onwards dark brown; remaining parts yellowish-brown. Hind femur: dorsally and apically dark brown, with dark brown stripe outwardly; remaining parts yellowish-brown. Hind tibia dark brown; dorsal and apical spurs paler. Female: mouthparts variegated, predominantly dark brown. Meso-, metanotum and abdominal terga with paired brown spots. Legs with tibiae onwards blackish-brown; femora variegated, mostly dark brown dorsally and outwardly; hind femur with blackish-brown stripe outwardly. Ovipositor darker basally, paler apically.

Measurements (in mm). Male (n=1). BL 8.24, HL 1.51, HW 2.85, PL 1.65, PW 2.43, HFL 5.26, CL 3.54. Female (n=4). BL 8.34 ± 0.26, HL 1.40 ± 0.22, HW 2.33 ± 0.11, PL 1.50 ± 0.06, PW 2.38 ± 0.07, HFL 5.45 ± 0.17, CL 3.79 ± 0.20, OL 4.53 ± 0.22.

Remarks. The new species is similar to C. yuani in its coloration pattern, with both having a blackish-brown body, variegated appendages, and paired pale spots (or patches) on the dorsal side of the female. However, the new species can be distinguished by the distinct blackish-brown stripes on the outer side of the femora and by the female's dorsal spots, which are uniform and punctate on each segment, unlike the more patch-like spots in the female of C. yuani . The male genitalia and ovipositor of the new species are similar to those of C. dolabripalpis but exhibit clear differences. The epiphallus of C. megastomus is shorter, with distinctly arcuate lateral margins, forming a broader and shorter arched concavity with the median bridge. In contrast, the epiphallus of C. dolabripalpis has straighter lateral margins and a narrower, longer concavity. While the ovipositor apices of both species lack a distinct swelling, the dorsal valves (first pair) of the new species are distinctly shorter and blunter, with their dorsal margins curved ventrally. Conversely, the dorsal valves of C. dolabripalpis have very sharp apices and extremely straight dorsal margins. Based on these consistent differences, we confirm C. megastomus as a new species.