Subterranean Biology 7: 65-68, 2009 (2010) as part of the process of forming the Cape Fold Moun- tains. The first cave (named Shale Peak 1) is about 120 m long and consists of a low and wide passage. A small trickle enters at the top end and flows down the bedding plane. The second cave (named Shale Peak 2) has a low wide entrance about 30 m wide and a maximum ceil- ing height of 3 m. The floor is sandy and damp with a sprinkling of bat guano. This cave is larger than the first one with more stable dark habitats protected from the outside influence. In the first cave only 3 crickets were recorded, whereas about 50 specimens were counted in the Shale Peak 2 cave. TAXONOMIC STUDY Spelaeiacris monslamiensis, sp. nov. Rampini & Di Russo (Figs 1-8) Diagnosis A Rhaphidophoridae species can be attributable to the Macropathinae subfamily for two apical spines on the proximal segment of hind tarsus. The new species is very close to Spelaeiacris tabulae for the general char- acters of this genus but it differs for the smaller size, the spinulation of hind tarsus, the shape of X tergite and genitalia morphology in the male and for the particular shape of the genital plate in the female. Material examined Holotype male, South Africa, Ceres, Hex River Mountain, Shale Peak cave 2, 1450 m a.s.l., 12.VIII. 2008, A. Hitchcock, S. Moser leg. Paratypes: 1 male, 1 INTRODUCTION Among the 7 subfamilies that are included in the Rhaphidophoridae Walker, 1871 only the Macropa- thinae Karny, 1929 are confined to the southern hemi- sphere with more than 80 species (Eades and Otte 2009) distributed in South America, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and some Pacific islands. This biogeo- graphical pattern, as common in many other vegetal and animal taxa, is in agreement with the Gondwanian origin of this subfamily and can be interpreted as the effect of the Gondwana breakout events, which confined the an- cestors of the present species to the southern part of the austral continents (Hubbel and Norton 1978). Until now only the monospecific genus Spelaeiac- ris Péringuey, 1916 (S. tabulae Péringuey, 1916; Hesse 1929; Karny 1929) was recorded in South Africa. In par- ticular this species is limited to the caves of the Cape Town area (Table Mountain and Kalk bay, Carchini et al 1991). Recent biospeleological investigations conducted by speleologists of SASA (South African Speleological Association) in a sandstone area 150 Km north of Cape Town allowed us to obtain new samples of cave crickets. The morphological analysis of this material permits us to assign the new specimens to a new species of the genus Spelaeiacris whose description is reported here. Collection sites description The crickets were all collected from permanently dark zones in two caves on the slopes of the Shale Peaks, which form part of the Hex River Mountain about 15 Km from Ceres. The caves, located at about 1500 m of altitude, are open in the North Hex sandstone fynbos and are formed in quartzite sandstones which have been tilted A second species of cave Macropathinae for Africa (Orthoptera, Rhaphidophoridae) Mauro RAMPINI (1) , Claudio DI RUSSO (1) , Gianmaria CARCHINI (2) (1) Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e dell’Uomo, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”, Viale dell’Università, 32, I - 00185 Roma, Italy; email: mauro.rampini@uniroma1.it. (2) Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Tor Vergata, Via della Ricerca Scientifica snc, I- 00133, Roma, Italy ABSTRACT In this paper the description of a new species of the South African genus Spelaeiacris is reported. This genus is the only mem- ber of the subfamily Macropathinae and of the family Rhaphidophoridae in the whole Africa, including Madagascar. Spelaeiacris monslamiensis Rampini & Di Russo, sp. nov., collected in caves of Hex River Mountain, Ceres, 150 Km North-East of Cape Town, is very close to Spelaeiacris tabulae, but differs for the smaller size, the shape of the X tergite, of genitalia morphology and the spinulation of hind tarsus in the male; the females are different from S. tabulae for the particular shape of the genital plate and lower number of denticles on the ovipositor inner valvae. Key words: Spelaeiacris, Macropathinae, Rhaphidophoridae, cave crickets, South Africa.