Griffinipteryx mukonja (= Polichne mukonja Griffini, 1908).

Griffinipteryx is characterized by slender body, lateral lobes of pronotum as deep as wide, ovipositor much reduced (Figs 1–4, 6).

Figures 1–5. 

1 The Holotype of Polichne mukonja Griffini, 1908, now included in the new genus Griffinipteryx (photo by Jerome Constant, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels) 2 Griffinipteryx mukonja, female from Cameroon (Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna) 3 Face in frontal view of the same 4 Lateral view of the ovipositor of Griffinipteryx mukonja 5 Lateral view of the ovipositor of Catoptropteryx extensipes Karsch, 1896.

Figures 6–8. 

6 Lateral view of head and pronotum of Griffinipteryx mukonja from Cameroon 7 Lateral view of head and pronotum of Catoptropteryx punctulata Karsch, 1890 8 Lateral view of head and pronotum of Polichne parvicauda (Stål, 1861), type species of the genus Polichne.

Head and antennae: fastigium of vertex narrow and pointed, much narrower than the first antennal segment. Eyes round, prominent, face smooth without fronto-genal carinae, higher than wide.

Thorax: pronotum just longer than high, with a well-developed humeral excision, lateral lobes are as deep as wide.

Legs: long (ratio body length/length hind femur: 0.9), fore coxae armed with a fine spine, fore, mid and hind femora unarmed, fore, mid and hind tibiae with ventral and dorsal spines. Fore tibiae with anterior and posterior open tympana.

Tegmina elongated, well developed, shorter than hind wings.

Ovipositor very reduced, crenulated on upper apex.

Griffinipteryx (Griffini + pteryx) is dedicated to the late Achille Griffini (1870–1932), distinguished Italian entomologist, who studied many African collections of Orthoptera and described Polichne mukonja; the Greek suffix pteryx (wing) is a reminder of the genus Catoptropteryx.

Catoptropteryx is certainly the only other African genus related to Griffinipteryx. In particular, some C. punctulata Karsch, 1890 specimens have a similar colour pattern in the pronotum (Fig. 7), even if the black stripe is absent on the lateral lobes. Catoptropteryx may have small spines at the ventral inner margin of fore, mid and hind femora, while Griffinipteryx gen. n. has unarmed fore and mid femora (in actual fact a very small spine is present at the base of the ventral inner margin of the fore and on the ventral outer margin of the mid femora). Other differences are also detectable in the shape of the lateral lobes of the pronotum. In Catoptropteryx the pronotal lobes are deeper than wide, while in Griffinipteryx gen. n. they are as deep as wide (Figs 6–7). Also the length of the hind femora is proportionally longer in Griffinipteryx gen. n. than in Catoptropteryx. However, the most important character that separates the two genera is the shape of the ovipositor. While in Catoptropteryx the ovipositor is very reduced and simplified (cf. Fig. 2 of Huxley 1970), in Griffinipteryx gen. n. it is more apically chitinous, mainly in the apical dorsal margin, where it is a somewhat crenulated. In some species of Catoptropteryx the dorsal valve may also be crenulated (Huxley 1970), but the ovipositor appears longer with slender infra- and supra-gonangulum, and less chitinous. In Griffinipteryx the ovipositor and the subgenital plate are more chitinous and infra- and supra-gonangulum are stout (compare Figs 4 and 5).

Cameroon, Mukonje Farm (♀ holotype) (RBINS, Brussels) (photograph examined by courtesy of Jerome Constant).

Cameroon, Johann-Albrechtshöhe [near Lake Barombi, ca. 80 km from Mukonje], Rhode (2♀) (coll. Brunner von Wattenwyl, NMW, Vienna).

Yellow-brownish, a black stripe from behind the eye on the head through the lateral lobes of the pronotum and gradually broadening along the tegmina. Abdomen yellow with some brown spots; legs yellow with many black dots; tympanum with a black anterior margin; fore and mid tarsi black, hind tarsi yellow with a black base.

Female. Fastigium of vertex sulcate above; face smooth without fronto-genal carinae, higher than wide. Pronotum without lateral carinae, surface shiny, with a well-developed humeral excision on the lateral lobes. Anterior margin of pronotum straight, posterior margin gently rounded, pronotum lobes rounded on posterior margins. Fore coxae armed with a fine spine; a very small spine is present at the base of the ventral inner margin of fore and of ventral outer margin of the mid femora, hind femora unarmed; fore tibiae with 3 black spines on ventral inner margin, 3 spines + 1 apical spur on ventral outer margin, 1 spine dorsal on fore tibia above tympanum + 1 apical spur; mid tibiae with 4-5 black spines on ventral inner margin + 1 apical spur, 6 black spines ventral on outer margin + 1 apical spur, 1 dorsal inner black spine + 1 apical spur; hind tibiae with 9-10 black spines ventral on both margins + 2 apical spurs on each side; dorsal margins of hind tibiae with many black and yellow black tipped spines + 1 apical spur on each side. Abdomen: styli pointed, ovipositor very short with crenulated dorsal apex. Subgenital plate triangular and short, as long as wide, apically rounded.

Male: unknown.

See Table 1.

Catoptropteryx Karsch, 1890.

Currently the genus Catoptropteryx Karsch, 1890 belongs to the species group Ephippithytae Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878, together with another eleven genera found in Australia and Papua New Guinea. This group of species is very heterogeneous and probably the sole character that brings them together is the reduction of the female ovipositor, even if its structure is much different in some of them. To include the African genus Catoptropteryx in this heterogeneous group of Australasian genera seems like a biogeographical nonsense. As a first step, the comparison of the African species P. mukonja described by Griffini (1908) was carried out on the type species Polichne parvicauda (Stål, 1861) (♀ from Australia, NMW), originally described as Phaneroptera, and the following differences were noticed (Fig. 8): presence of fronto-genal carinae, eyes oval, fastigium sulcate, short ovipositor, but not as reduced as in mukonja, pronotum with a deep humeral excision, just longer than high, of different shape compared to mukonja. Then, the type species of the genus Ephippitytha¹ Serville, 1838 [E. trigintiduoguttata (Serville, 1838)] was examined (6 specimens of both sexes from Australia, NMW). It has clear fronto-genal carinae, large spines on both margins of the hind femora, one spine on both apices of fore, mid and hind femur knees, pronotum centrally narrowed, similar to a saddle, ovipositor much reduced, but slender and pointed. In addition, the ovipositor of the other nine genera in the Ephippithytae group is heterogeneous even if reduced, eyes may be round or elongate and fronto-genal carinae may be both present or absent.

When the first species of Catoptropteryx were discovered, they were described within the Australian genus Caedicia Stål, 1874 (e.g.: afra: Karsch 1888; apicalis: Bolívar 1893), also included in the Ephippithytae group. Thus, when Karsch (1890) erected for them the genus Catoptropteryx it was considered logical at the time to include this genus in the Ephippithytae group, erected by Brunner von Wattenwyl in 1878. However, also Caedicia is evidently different from Catoptropteryx (examined 6♂ of the type species of the genus, Caedicia pictipes Stål, 1874, and a few specimens of the other six species, C. marginata Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878, C. concisa Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878, C. septentrionalis Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878, C. simplex (Walker, 1869), C. inermis Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878, and C. scalaris Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878, all from Australia, NMW, coll. Brunner von Wattenwyl). The characteristics of this genus are: eyes round, small spines on femur knees, presence of spines on lower margins of femora, fronto-genal carinae. While these characters are evident in the type species, they are not always present in other species (e.g.: eyes may be oval, spines in femur knees may be absent). Overall, it may be confirmed that the Ephippithytae group is very heterogeneous and therefore it cannot be considered as a tribe.

Presently, in the light of the revision of the genus Catoptropteryx by Huxley (1970) and the discovery of the identity of the African Polichne mukonja Griffini, 1908 (now Griffinipteryx mukonja), the new tribe Catoptropterigini seems a logical taxonomical consequence.

Characters of the tribe are the following. Fastigium narrower than first antennal segment, furrowed, face smooth without fronto-genal carinae, eyes round, very small spines or unarmed lower margins of fore and mid femora, hind femora with few small spines or unarmed, tegmina longer than wings, ovipositor very reduced.