New species of phaulotettix scudder (orthoptera: Acrididae) from northeastern Mexico

Abstract

This paper treats the genus Phaulotettix Scudder, 1897, which previously included only three species. In this work we describe 12 new species: P. adibilis n. sp., P. opimus n. sp., P. altissimus n. sp., P. ablusus n. sp., P. adiaphoros n. sp., P. ambrosius n. sp., P. arcadius n. sp., P. flaccidus n. sp., P. affinis n. sp., P. adynatos n. sp., P. nimius n. sp. and P. jocundus n. sp. Species separation is based on male cerci and internal genitalia. The members of this group are distributed mostly in northeastern Mexico: Cohauila, Nuevo Len, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potos, Hidalgo and north Veracruz. Two species, P. compressas Scudder, 1897 and P. eurycercus Hebard, 1918, extend their distribution into Texas, USA. Many of the species treated here overlap geographically, and many occur sympatrically. We also provide a brief discussion of the geography of northeastern Mexico.