Studies in Australian Tettigoniidae: New short-winged Agraeciini from Australia (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae; Conocephalinae; Agraeciini).

Descriptions of seven new, short-winged Australian Agraeciine genera are presented with details of distribution, calling songs and karyotypes of several species. Photographs of the habitats of most species are included. A key to the known brachypterous and micropterous Australia agraeciines is presented. A new subtribe Australiagraeciina Rentz, Su, Ueshima is described to include species with small size of adults, macropterous males, apterous females and males with the stridulatory file positioned on a raised swelling. Included in the new subtribe are the following: Australiagraecia Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. with the species A. spina Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. (type species); A. minuta Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov.; A. helleri Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov.; A. torndirrupa Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov.; A. tagera Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov.; A. gladiator Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov.; A. curvata Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. Ganiagraecia Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. nov.; G. karwinia Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. (type species). Gwynnagraecia Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. nov.; G. viridis Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. (type species).; G. perplexa Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov.; G. marandoo Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. Latitatagraecia Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. nov.; L. kalamaya Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. (type species); L. vulgivaga Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. The following are placed in the subtribe Agraeciina Redtenbacher 1891: Cooloolagraecia Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. nov.; C. wallum Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. (type species); C. gubbi Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. Kokominiagraecia Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. nov.; K. dicra Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. (type species). Timbarragraecia Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. nov.; T. samneilli Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov. (type species). A key to the Australiagraecia species is included.

Erratum: DCF RENTZ, YOU NING SU amp; NORIHIRO UESHIMA (2021) Studies in Australian Tettigoniidae: New short-winged Agraeciini from Australia (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae; Conocephalinae; Agraeciini). Zootaxa 5059: 001072.

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Studies in Australian Tettigoniidae: New Fully-winged Agraeciini From North-eastern Australia (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae; Conocephalinae; Agraeciini).

Four new genera including five new species are described. All are from north-eastern Queensland. Barbaragraecia comprises two new species. B. unicorn Rentz Su, gen. et sp. nov. (the type species) and B. richardsoni Rentz Su, sp. nov. Geoffagraecia is known from a single species, G. gwinganna Rentz Su, sp. nov. the type species. Greenagraecia Rentz Su, gen. et sp. nov. is known from two species, G. attenuata Rentz Su, gen. et sp. nov., the type species and G. cooloola Rentz Su, gen. et sp. nov.. The unrelated genus Nicsara Walker 1869 is discussed and species with falcate ovipositors are removed and placed in a new genus, Larifugagraecia Rentz Su gen. nov., with Nicsara spuria Redtenbacher 1891 designated as the type species. Two species are removed from Nicsara and placed in Larifugagraecia. These are N. cornuta (Redtenbacher 1891) and N. spuria. Other species remain in Nicsara until they can be further assessed. Biological and ecological notes accompany detailed descriptions of the new species along with many morphological illustrations. Illustrations also are provided for L. spuria gen. nov. A key to the described fully-winged Australian agraeciine genera is provided at the end of the paper.

Studies in Australian Tettigoniidae: Three New Species of Agraeciini From North-eastern Australia Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae; Conocephalinae; Agraeciini.

Three agraeciine species are described from the north-eastern tropics of coastal Queensland. Two species of Austrosalomona are described. A. destructor sp. nov. is common from the Daintree region to Cairns where it has been seen to destroy orchids and other garden flowers. A. poecila has been found on coastal islands as well as at a few localities on the mainland north of Cairns. It has not been implicated in any destructive activities. Salomona nori sp. nov. is known from Kutini-Payamu (Iron Range) where it has been found living in tree holes. It is a large and formidable species that attracts the attention of tourists. Karyotypes and acoustic information are presented for all three species.

A new Raspy Cricket from the northern Australian Rainforests (Orthoptera: Gryllacrididae).

An Australian Raspy Cricket, Chauliogryllacris acaropenates Rentz, Su, Béthoux, sp. nov. is described. This cricket was found to harbor a number of mite species of interest to acarologists and the name was needed for them to proceed with their studies. A key to the males of the described species of Chauliogryllacris is provided along with numerous illustrations of the described cricket. Observations and comments on its biology, behavior and ecology are presented.

Changes in the nomenclature of three Australian crickets.

During the course of preparation of the Guidebook to Australian Crickets, we have become aware of the incorrect identification and subsequent placement of Apterogryllus kimberleyanus Baehr. In addition, we make two changes in the tribal placement of two other genera.

New lineages of Lebinthini from Australia (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Eneopterinae).

A monograph concerning the Australian crickets was published in 1983 by Otte Alexander, but this territory still harbors many undiscovered, undescribed treasures. Both existing species of Australian Lebinthus prove to belong to the tribe Eurepini. Our study results in the following new combinations: Salmanites miripara (Otte Alexander, 1983) n. comb. and Eurepa bifasciata (Chopard, 1951) n. comb. In the meantime, newly collected material from northern Queensland allows us to describe two new lineages of brachypterous Lebinthini from northern Australia, the species Macrobinthus kutini n. sp., and the new genus Julverninthus and the species Julverninthus rentzi n. sp. and Julverninthus minoris n. sp.

Museum Genomics Confirms that the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect Survived Extinction.

The Lord Howe Island stick insect, Dryococelus australis, was once common on the island but was driven to extinction after the arrival of ship rats in the early 20th century [1, 2]. It was thought to be extinct for decades, until a tiny population of similar-looking stick insects was discovered 20 km away, on the islet of Ball's Pyramid, in 2001 [2]. Individuals from this population are currently being reared in Australia and elsewhere in the world, with the eventual goal of recolonizing Lord Howe Island [3]. Recent surveys of the wild population on Ball's Pyramid suggest that it is among the world's rarest species. However, there are significant morphological differences between Ball's Pyramid and museum specimens, and there has never been a genetic confirmation of the rediscovered population's species identity. Because Dryococelus is monotypic, there are also no known extant relatives for comparison. Using shotgun genomic data from the Ball's Pyramid population, we assembled a draft genome and the complete mitochondrial genome. We found that the genome is massive, over 4 Gb in size, and is most likely hexaploid. We re-sequenced mitochondrial genomes from historic museum specimens collected on Lord Howe Island before the extinction event. Sequence divergence between the two populations is less than 1% and is within the range of intraspecific differences between the museum specimens, suggesting that they are conspecific and that D. australis has successfully evaded extinction so far. This work highlights the importance of museum collections for taxonomic validation in the context of ongoing conservation efforts.

A simple and quick method of displaying liquid-preserved morphological structures for microphotography.

Stabilising microstructures and small organisms for microphotography can be frustrating. If it is desired to take photographs in water from structures just cleared in potassium hydroxide, some sort of stabilisation is necessary otherwise the structures drift. Similarly, specimens taken from glycerol or alcohol, or those placed in alcohol, drift even more as the alcohol evaporates. Bits of crushed coverslip, glass beads, micro pins and dobs of Vaseline® have all been used to help keep the structures in place. In an attempt to solve the problem of "drifting genitalia" a simple solution was inadvertently discovered. A method used for whole insects by Sam Droege and his colleagues of the United States Geological Survey (Droege 2016; USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab 2016) was adapted for use with insect genitalia.

Studies in Australian Tettigoniidae: A review of the Australian katydids of the genus Goodangarkia (Tettigoniidae: Conocephalinae; Agraeciini; Liarina).

Six species in Goodangarkia are described. Information on the distribution. ecology and cytology of species is presented. An unusual characteristic of cranial stridulation of one species is noted. Cytological evidence suggests the chromosome complement of species are more basal than those from Africa for example.

Studies in Australian Katydids: A Review of the Australian Snub-nosed Sylvan katydids (Tettigoniidae; Pseudophyllinae; Simoderini).

The Australian members of the simoderine katydids are reviewed. The tribe is known from nine genera, five of which occur only in Madagascar, the others are Australian: Chloracantha Hebard (C. lampra, C. angularis sp. nov., C. garradunga sp. nov., C. hilleri sp. nov.), Tallebudgeroptera gen. nov. (T. spininota sp. nov.), Mastigaphoides Weidner (M. haffneri, M. tuberculatus sp. nov., M. vaginalis sp. nov., M. lewisensis sp. nov.), Narea Walker (N. compacta, N. elongata, N. kungaree sp. nov.). Mastighapha Karsch is synonymised with Narea. Descriptions, illustrations, sound recording information and distribution maps are presented for all species.