Account
What the sources say about this taxon, as written.
discussion · 
Plazi
Discussion .This subgenus is similar to Conocephalus s. str. (the genus Conocephalus has been divided into several subgenera by previous authors, but many of them are possibly only groups of the same subgenus, as they are very similar to each other in: the shape of the head, rostrum in profile with dorsal and ventral prosternal tubercles closely contacting each other; the disposition of spines on the legs; and the structure of the stridulatory apparatus in the male and the abdominal apex in both sexes; but its representatives differ from the majority of species of Conocephalus s. str. in the characters connected with their specialized stick-like appearance, a strong adaptation to life on thin stems and very narrow leaves of grasses); body thin; head very long and with very narrow rostrum; proximal antennal segments thickened, pronotum low and without distinct humeral notches (in typical species of Conocephalus , it is high and with distinct humeral notches); fore and middle legs short; hind femora thin. In some species of Megalotheca the male cerci are very different in shape to those of Conocephalus s. str. However, in the other species of this subgenus the male cerci are similar to those of Conocephalus s. str. or are intermediate. Also, some species of Conocephalus have the head similar to that of Conocephalus s. str. (their head is shorter and with wider rostrum than in Megalotheca ) and the structure of some other body parts more or less similar to that of Megalotheca Species included (names in original binomen): Type species [= Xiphidion restiorum Peringuey, 1916 , synonymized by Uvarov (1928)]; M. xiphidioides Karny, 1907 ; X. parvulum Peringuey, 1916 ; X. longiceps Peringuey, 1916 ; M. montana Uvarov, 1928 ; C. phasma Gorochov & Llorente, 2004 ; C. marcelloi Gorochov & Llorente, 2004 ; C. ( M. ) namibius sp. n. ; C. ( M. ) zlobini sp. n. Eades and Otte (2009) continue to include M. nigrifrons Chopard, 1952 in the genus Megalotheca , but Gorochov and Llorente (2004) have shown that this species probably belongs to another tribe of the Conocephalinae .