Mopla guttata (Acrididae: Catantopinae) rediscovered in the Western Ghats, Kerala, India

Abstract

The endemic Catantopinae genus Mopla was described by Henry in 1940 from the Malabar region of South India. Henry described two species under this genus, M. guttata and M. rubra. The female type specimens of Mopla are deposited in the Natural History Museum, London, UK. There have been no further records of these two species since their description. Seventy-six years later, the first male specimen of the genus Mopla was discovered in the Western Ghats, Kerala, India, in 2016. This paper describes the specimen, thought to be of Mopla guttata, and reconsiders its systematic placement.