Some new species of Phaneroptera, Eulioptera and Scolocerca (Orthoptera Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae) from West Tropical Africa
Author
Massa, Bruno
0000-0003-2127-0715
Department of Agriculture, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Viale Scienze 13, 90128 Palermo, Italy (retired) bruno. massa @ unipa. it; https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 2127 - 0715
bruno.massa@unipa.it
text
Zootaxa
2021
2021-03-18
4948
1
123
135
journal article
7555
10.11646/zootaxa.4948.1.7
3cec2643-a3a9-4104-97f0-2d1ed963f772
1175-5326
4616211
E83576E9-1B49-4D85-B02C-7DE1CB219CA1
Eulioptera atypica
n. sp.
(
Figs. 25-27
)
Material examined.
Côte d’Ivoire
,
Denguélé
Classified Forest
(sudanian forest) (
479m
)
9°30’0.6”N
,
7°40’51.1”W
(MV Light Trap),
6-14.VI.2018
,
M. Aristophanous
,
W. Miles
,
P. Moretto
,
Y. Outtara
(
³ holotype
) (
ANHRT
)
.
Measurements (mm)
. Male (N = 1). Body length: 13.9; Length of pronotum: 3.6; Height of pronotum: 3.4; Length of hind femora: 19.1; Length of tegmina: 20.0; Width of tegmina: 3.5.
Diagnosis
. A small
Eulioptera
, characterized by atypical opaque tegmina, as in
Phaneroptera
; however, the stridulatory file is typical for the genus
Eulioptera
.
Male description
. Color. Yellow-green, with brown spots on pronotum, legs and abdominal tergites. Cerci dark tipped.
FIGS. 25-27.
Eulioptera atypica
n. sp.
Fig. 25. Stridulatory area and mirror of the holotype; Fig. 26. Stridulatory file under the left tegmen of the holotype; Fig. 27. Subgenital plate and cerci of the same.
FIGS. 28-35.
Scolocerca thomasi
n. sp.
Fig. 28. Habitus of the male (holotype); Fig. 29. Cerci and subgenital plate of the male from above; Fig. 30. Lateral view of the male subgenital plate and cerci; Fig. 31. Ventral view of the subgenital plate; Fig. 32. Habitus of the female; Fig. 33. Fastigium of vertex and antennal segments of the female; Fig. 34. Lateral view of the last tergites and ovipositor (arrows indicate spines on median area of tergites); Fig. 35. Ventral view of the ovipositor and gonocoxa (arrows indicate its ventral concavity).
Small species. Head typical of the genus, eyes round prominent, fastigium of vertex compressed, just raised at the apex, narrower than scapus, not contiguous with fastigium of frons. Antennae long. Pronotum without lateral carinae, anteriorly just incurved, posteriorly widely rounded, longer than high. Both pairs of wings well-developed. Tegmina about 5.7 times longer than broad, rounded at tips. Veins and veinlets not much contrasting to remaining parts of tegmina. Hind wings with green archedictyon, extending beyond tegmina by a bit less than one third of latter. Stridulatory area on the left tegmen long and reticulate, mirror on the right tegmen oval (
Fig. 25
). Stridulatory file under the left tegmen arched, about
1.2 mm
long, consisting of many small teeth very close (
Fig. 26
). Legs. Fore coxae armed, fore femora unarmed, fore tibiae furrowed dorsally, with 4 spines + 1 apical inner and outer spur on ventral margins and 1 apical spur on dorsal outer margin, open tympana on both sides. Mid femora unarmed, mid tibiae with 6-7 spines on both ventral margins + 1 spur on each ventral side and on inner dorsal side. Hind femora unarmed, hind tibiae with sparse hairs and 8-9 rows of spines on ventral margins, many spines on dorsal margins + 3 spurs on each apical side. Abdomen. Supra-anal plate transverse with a little rounded posterior margin. Cerci longer than the subgenital plate, apically much incurved with a pointed brown concave tip (
Fig. 27
). Subgenital plate triangular, basally larger than apically, narrowing about in the middle, with a v-shaped apex, two rounded short lobes, and a central longitudinal carina; styli absent (
Fig. 27
).
Female
. Unknown.
Etymology
.
P. atypica
n. sp.
is derived from Latin
atypicus
(atypical, different from the norm) and refers to the atypical opaque tegmina, generally present in the genus
Phaneroptera
, but not in
Eulioptera
, whose species have shiny, translucent tegmina.
Distribution
. Only known from the
Côte d’Ivoire
(
Denguélé
classified Forest).
Discussion
. The present specimen was found within a series of
Phaneroptera sparsa
, a very common species in tropical Africa, but it appeared different mainly by the structure of its subgenital plate (see
Fig. 27
). Its tegmina are opaque, as in
Phaneroptera
species; however, when the specimen was mounted with the left tegmen open, it was possible to inspect also the stridulatory file under the tegmen, which resulted very atypical for the genus
Phaneroptera
(
Fig. 26
). The subgenital plate is apically bilobed, as in some species of the genus
Eulioptera
, but also of
Phaneroptera
(see above
P. abdita
n. sp.
). In all examined species of
Phaneroptera
the male stridulatory file has a double bending in the middle or the distal part, and the stridulatory teeth have their steep side pointing basally, indicating sound production during wing opening. The lack of this steep side may result in a completely different kind of song during wing opening. Thus, it seems justified to describe this new taxon within the genus
Eulioptera
. Among the species of this genus, only
E. flexilima
Ragge, 1980
from
South Africa
,
Mozambique
and
Zimbabwe
has a similar subgenital plate, but their cerci and the stridulatory file are differently shaped (cf.
Ragge 1980
); in addition,
E. atypica
n. sp.
has opaque tegmina, while
E. flexilima
has shiny, translucent tegmina.