Revision of the genus Dziriblatta Chopard, 1936 (Blattodea, Ectobiidae, Ectobiinae) II. The species of the subgenera Pauciscleroblatta and Monoscleroblatta
Author
Bohn, Horst
text
Zootaxa
2020
2020-01-23
4728
3
301
333
journal article
24277
10.11646/zootaxa.4728.3.1
5453a473-5256-4488-8f49-c96f3ab791ea
1175-5326
3625808
652F57D7-725B-4D6E-BD79-492A66DB5996
5.
Hololampra sancta
Werner, 1929
Hololampra sancta
Werner, 1929: 172
, fig. 3;
Werner 1932: 126
.
Nom. dubium nov.
Arbiblatta sancta
:
Chopard 1943: 28
.
Phyllodromica
(
Arbiblatta
)
sancta
:
Morales Agacino 1948: 341
;
Princis 1971: 1109
.
Type
material
:
1 female
,
Morocco
,
Mulay Idris
,
12.V.1928
, leg.
F.Werner.
The species is only known from the female
type
specimen which should be housed in Naturhistorisches Museum
Wien
(
NHMW
) but which is untraceable there at least since 1990.
Werner (1929)
and
Chopard (1943)
consider the species to be closely related to the other species of the subgenus then known:
Dz.
(
M.
)
abdelazizi
,
Dz.
(
M.
)
haffidi
and
Dz.
(
M.
)
azruensis
. But their descriptions only include external characters. Since neither genital sclerites nor the position of the ootheca prior to its deposition are known—important female features allowing the distinction between the genera
Dziriblatta
and
Phyllodromica
in the female sex—the assignment to
Dziriblatta
and
Monoscleroblatta
remains doubtful. Nevertheless, there are similarities arguing for such an assignment: The colouration of the thoracal nota—a pattern of darker spots on a straw-coloured background—and the dark transversal stripes on the abdominal tergites is in similar way found in the females of most subgenera of
Dziriblatta
. The relatively broad tegmina with obliquely cut apical ends strongly resemble those of the females of
Dziriblatta
(
Monoscleroblatta
)
abdelazizi
and
Dz.
(
M.
)
haffidi
,
from which the
type
specimen according to Werner’s description is distinguished by the straight inner (posterior) border of the tegmina (fig. 3 of
Werner1929
).
The specimen was found in the surroundings of Mulay Idriss at the northern border of the distribution area of
Dz.
(
M.
)
haffidi
; a sample of specimens (
16 males
,
22 females
) collected by B. & H.Bohn at the same locality or near by (Ma 65,
Figs. 18
,
19
) only contained the species
Dz.
(
M.
)
haffidi
, raising the suspicion that the
type
specimen could also belong to this species. The distinguishing character in the shape of the tegmina does not seem to be very reliable; the present studies have shown that there is some variation in this character (
Figs. 9L, M
,
11F, G
). Moreover, it is usually rather difficult to analyse the course of the inner border of the tegmina in situ since the transparent wing structures may become overlayed by the strong contour of the lateral border of the mesonotum. In the same paper
Werner (1929)
also presents a drawing of a female of
Dz.
(
M.
)
azruensis
showing tegmina with obliquely straight inner borders; the pictures of separately mounted tegmina of the same species present well rounded inner borders (
Figs. 10L, M
). Since it is—due to the obvious loss of the
type
specimen—impossible to unequivocally clarify the identity of the
type
specimen it is proposed to consider the name
sancta
as nomen dubium.