Review of the tribe Amorphopini (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae: Metrodorinae): Pygmy moss-lichen tetrigids from the Amazon rainforest
Author
Cadena-Castaneda, Oscar J.
Universidad INCCA de Colombia. Grupo en Ecologia Evolutiva y Biogeografia Tropical ECOBIT, Bogota, Colombia. & Universidad Distrital Francisco Jose de Caldas. Grupo de Investigacion en Artropodos " Kumangui ", Bogota, Colombia.
ojccorthoptera@gmail.com
Author
Silva, Daniela Santos Martins
Instituto de Ciencias Biologicas e da Saude, Universidade Federal de Vicosa (UFV) - campus Rio Paranaiba, 38810 - 000, Rio Paranaiba - MG, Brazil.
Author
Mendes, Diego Matheus De Mello
Laboratorio de Entomologia Sistematica, Urbana e Forense. Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazonia (INPA), CEP 69060 - 001, Manaus, AM, Brazil.
Author
Pereira, Marcelo Ribeiro
Instituto de Ciencias Biologicas e da Saude, Universidade Federal de Vicosa (UFV) - campus Rio Paranaiba, 38810 - 000, Rio Paranaiba - MG, Brazil.
Author
Domenico, Fernando Campos De
Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), 04263 - 000, Sao Paulo - SP, Brazil.
Author
Sperber, Carlos Frankl
Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), 04263 - 000, Sao Paulo - SP, Brazil.
text
Journal of Orthoptera Research
2020
29
1
45
62
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/jor.29.33717
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/jor.29.33717
1937-2426-1-45
647877CDF0434952841920D0F18EA28C
1D3609CADB1D568ABC40741E117DB0B1
Amorphopus notabilis Serville, 1838
Figs 1
, 2
, 3
, 12
Neotype
COLOMBIA • ♀; Amazonas, PNN Amacayacu;
03°44'19"S
,
70°13'7"W
; C.
Rodriguez
leg (CAUD).
Description
Head.
Not protruding from the body; face very distinctly oblique (Fig.
1B, C
); antennae filiform with 15 segments, inserted below the eyes; vertex anteriorly truncated and equal in width to one of the eyes; frontal costa with a wide scutellum between the lower part of the eyes, slightly compressed-elevated, sinuate below; eyes globose, not prominent; posterior ocelli placed between the inferior part of the eyes (Fig.
1B
).
Thorax.
Meso-pleura expanding to the sides and covering the coxae in dorsal view.
Pronotum.
Macropronotal and strongly depressed dorso-ventrally. Lateral view. Median carina slightly undulated on prozona and extended to pronotal disc apex, prozonal carina and humero-apical carina visible, reaching the sulci; tegminal and ventral sinus present; length of the infrascapular area mid-sized covering to first abdominal tergite; humeral angles obtuse (Fig.
1A
). Dorsal view. anterior and posterior margins truncated, also the first one undulated; prozonal carina visible; lateral lobes of pronotum ampliate and projected sideways, with the margins undulated and with a blunt spine (Fig.
1D
).
Wings.
Tegmina and hind wings developed; tegmina ovoid, hind wings as long as the pronotum apex, opaque with the apical veins between the C and Sc yellowish.
Legs.
Fore and middle femora rectangular, longer than wide and with margins undulated (Fig.
1E, F
), fore and middle tibiae narrow and short. Hind femur with the pre-genicular tooth slightly developed, small foliose plate present between the ventro and dorso-external carinae (Fig.
1D
), hind tibia narrow and with few spines on the meso-distal portion.
Abdomen.
Narrow and slim, subgenital plate with the distal edge wavy with a rounded prolongation in the middle (Fig.
1G
); ovipositor with narrow valves and with denticulations of moderate size (Fig.
1H
).
Male.
Similar to the female, except for the post-abdomen characters (Fig.
2A-F
). Subgenital plate moderately prolonged, with the dorsal edge straight and the apex rounded (Fig.
2G
), conical and robust cerci (Fig.
2H
).
Coloration.
Predominantly white with scattered gray spots. Face and ventral surface of the body black with scattered whitish bands; pronotal disc from the level of the third pair of coxae with gray stripes, which extend and alternate towards the posterior area of the pronotum; fore femur white, fore tibia black with a white ring in the mesal region; femur and mid tibia, as well as the basal half of the hind femur, light pink, distal half of the hind femur white with gray stripes in similar appearance to the pronotal disc (Fig.
3
).
Variations
The margin undulations of the fore and mid femora may be more conspicuous in some specimens and the lateral lobes with the posterior angles may have sinuato-dentate or serrato-crenate margins.
Measurements (in mm)
Female.
CFP: 14.0-15.5; PL: 13.6-14.2; PLB: 5.5-5.9; FF: 2.6-2.8; FL:2.1- 2.3; MFL: 2.7-3.0; MTL: 2.6-2.9; HL: 6.0-6.2; HW: 1.7-1.9; HL: 4.3-4.6.
Male.
CFP: 11.5-12.2; PL: 11.2-11.5; PLB: 4.8-5.1; FF: 2.3-2.5; FL: 2.0-2.1; MFL: 2.9-3.1; MTL: 2.0-2.2; HL: 5.1-5.5; HW: 1.8-2.0; HL: 3.9-4.1.
Specimens examined
Museum specimens.
BRAZIL • 1♀. Amazonas, Manaus, Reserva Adolpho Ducke;
02°55'49"S
,
59°58'31"W
; 14-18 Apr. 2010, Rede
entomologica
, V. Linard leg.; AM-010, km 26 • 2♀♀; same collection data as for preceding; Coleta manual, D.M.M. Mendes leg. • 1♂. Amazonas, Manaus. ZF2, km 14;
02°35'21"S
,
60°04'55"W
; 1-15 Apr. 2016, Malaise grande no
chao
, J.A. Rafael and F.F. Xavier F leg. • 1♀. Amazonas,
Tefe
, Terra Firme;
03°25'19"S
,
64°37'05"W
; 10-26 Jun. 2016, malaise, J.A. Oliveira, D.M.M. Mendes and J.A. Rafael leg. (INPA).
Photographic records.
ECUADOR • Sumaco NP, Bigal River Forest Reserve (Arthur Anker). PERU •
Huanuco
, Tingo
Maria
(
Huaman
Cuespan
et al. 2014).
Comments
Currently
A. notabilis
has two synonyms:
Tetrix cnemidotus
Burmeister, 1838 and
Amorphopus caiman
Saussure, 1861, both synonymized by
Guenther
(1939)
.
A. testudo
Saussure, 1861 is an immature specimen (
Guenther
1939
) and currently the type depository is unknown (
Hollier 2013
); this specimen could possibly be an immature of
A. notabilis
, but we kept it as
nomen dubius
.
Bruner (1910)
separated
A. griseus
Bolivar
, 1887,
A. notabilis
Serville, 1838,
A. cnemidotus
(Burmeister, 1838), and
A. caiman
by the size of the females and the coloration of the specimens. The size and coloration in this species may vary, depending on the area, availability of resources, and camouflage strategies (
Cadena-Castaneda
2011a
,
b
,
2013a
,
b
,
c
). Moreover, colors of specimens preserved in museums may vary by virtue of the preservation method used, such as storage in alcohol, which usually makes the specimens lose its color (
Cadena-Castaneda
2012
,
Cadena-Castaneda
and
Paez
2013
). By studying the type specimens, the synonymy of these species is confirmed, and we propose that
Amorphopus griseus
Bolivar
, 1887
syn. nov.
, be considered as a new synonym under
A. notabilis
.
To the two remaining species of the genus, the following nomenclatural acts are proposed:
1.
A. gibbosulus
Walker, 1871 is transferred to
Metrodora
Bolivar
, 1887, and it is synonymized with
Metrodora reticulata
(Hancock, 1906)
syn. nov.
(originally described as
Platytettix reticulatus
Hancock, 1906) under
Metrodora gibbosulus
(Walker, 1871)
comb. nov.
This synonym is proposed by comparison of the type specimens of both species. It is observed that there is no variation in the shape of the fastigium of the vertex, since both species have a broad frontal costa, similar to the species of the subfamily
Cladonotinae
. The pronotum has a curvature in the prozone that rises significantly; the apex of the pronotum is curved slightly upwards and the lateral lobes of the pronotum project towards the sides, with the inferior margin triangular in shape. Since these diagnostic characters are present in specimens of both species, they cannot be maintained as separate specific entities, much less belonging to different genera.
2.
Similarly,
A. humeralis
(Walker, 1871) (=
Tettix humeralis
) is transferred to
Crimisus
Bolivar
, 1887, and it is synonymized with
Crimisus bolivianus
(Bruner, 1913),
syn. nov.
(originally described as
Allotettix bolivianus
Bruner, 1913) under
Crimisus humeralis
(Walker, 1871),
comb. nov.
The type specimens of both species are females, but, unfortunately, the legs in the holotype of
A. humeralis
are missing, so the legs were not compared. Nevertheless, both species share the same characteristics: narrow frontal costa, lower margins of the pronotal lobes rounded, without projecting to the sides as in the previous case, subgenital plate triangular, with a small prolongation at the apex. The aforementioned characters are observed in the type specimens of both species, indicating that they belong to a single species. Since they do not have expanded anterior and middle femora, it is ruled out that they belong to the
Amorphopini
tribe, fitting better in the genus
Crimisus
.
The two species described by
Walker (1871)
,
A. gibbosulus
and
A. humeralis
, were not studied again and were not included in the
Orthoptera
Species File until Dr. J. Tumbrinck photographed the specimens and updated the information. If historical authors like Hancock and
Guenther
had access to those specimens, for example, certainly they would have considered them to be synonyms. The nomenclatural acts were carried out by comparing the type specimens and their photographs;
A. gibbosulus
and
A. humeralis
do not meet the diagnostic characteristics to be included in
Amorphopus
, but they are similar to
Metrodora reticulata
syn. nov.
(now
Metrodora gibbosulus
) and
Crimisus bolivianus
syn. nov.
(now
Crimisus humeralis
), respectively, in diagnostic structures such as pronotum structure, face, and terminalia shape.
Finally, the genus
Amorphopus
is kept monotypic and its known distribution is extended through the Amazonian slope, similarly to
Pterochroza ocellata
(Linnaeus, 1758), a species that was once considered several different species, but is now known to be a single, very variable species (
Xiberras and Ducaud 2004
).
A neotype specimen is designated as the carrier-name of the species and is supported by the following reasons (
ICZN 1999
Art. 75):
1.
The location of the only type specimen is unknown. It was deposited in NHRS, but Josef Tumbrinck visited that collection and did not find the type specimen (pers. comm.) "Some of the types of Serville are lost. Some of them are in Paris. But Josip Skejo did not find
Amorphopus notabilis
in Paris. So - today - the type is lost". The holotype female specimen has as type locality "Brazil, Para". This specimen could not be traced from its original description (Arts. 75.3.1., 75.3.4.), but the author provided figures, and when compared with the neotype specimen here designated, it agrees with the drawings by
Serville (1838)
.
2.
Not having specimens from the type locality, a female from a nearby and available locality of similar geological characteristics was designated (Arts. 75.3.5, 75.3.6; recommendation 75A ICZN).
3.
A detailed description is written of the neotype that is in agreement with the general idea of the identity of this species, differentiating itself from other taxa, ensuring the recognition of the designated specimen, and conveying a consensus in identifications and wide distribution that characterizes the species, ensuring that most identifications from the past are correct (Arts. 75.3.2, 75.3.3, 75.3.5; recommendation 75B).
4.
The neotype is deposited in CAUD, a collection of a recognized scientific institution, which maintains adequate facilities to preserve the types and makes them accessible for study (Art. 75.3.7).
Behavioral notes.
-
The Brazilian specimens were collected only in non-flooded ombrophilous forests (Terra Firme). In this environment they are usually found on the trunk and branches of fallen trees, where, due to their coloration and flattened body, they are easily confused with the
tree's
bark. Once physically stimulated, the specimens exhibited thanatosis behavior, where the individual remained immobile, leaving its femurs parallel to the body, with the lobes of the femora that mimic foliage lying alongside the body and the tibia folded against the femora. Thus, the body of the insect is very similar to a small fragment of bark, and it remains in this position for several minutes even on physical stimulation. Only after several minutes did the observed specimens leave the thanatosis behavior and move (D. Mello Mendes pers. obs.).