Tetraconcha morettoi, Massa, Bruno, 2017

Massa, Bruno, 2017, Revision of the tropical African genus Tetraconcha (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae) with the description of ten new species, Journal of Orthoptera Research 26 (2), pp. 211-232 : 217-218

Tetraconcha morettoi sp. n. Figs 41-44, 72, 85, 90

Material examined and depository.

-Central African Republic, N’Doki, shore of Lake 1, 29.II-1.III.2012, 02°28' 51.0N 016°13' 04.5E (UV trap), P. Moretto (1♂ holotype) (MSNG); same data 31.I-2.II.2012, 5-6.II.2012, 13 -14.II.2012, 20-23.II.2012 (UV trap), P. Moretto (9♂ paratypes); Central African Republic, Dzanga-N’Doki National Park, N’Doki, Lake 1, 3.III.2012 (light trap), P. Annoyer (1♀ paratype) (BMPC); Central African Republic, Dzanga-N’Doki National Park, Sangha, camp 3, 9.II.2005, P. Annoyer (1♂ paratype); Central African Republic, Dzanga-N’Doki National Park, Sangha 10.X.2008, P. Annoyer (1♂ paratype); Central African Republic, Dzanga-N’Doki National Park, N’Doki, Lake 1, 12.II.2012, 19.II.2012, 3.III.2012 (light trap), P. Annoyer (4♂ paratypes); Central African Republic, Dzanga-N’Doki National Park, N’Doki, camp 1, II.2012 (light trap), P. Annoyer (1♂ paratype) (PACT).

Color.

-Head and pronotum yellow-green, abdomen yellow-brown, cerci black, tegmina with a black spot at their base, green with black spots on veinlets, in most specimens the stridulatory area is brown (Fig. 41).

Description.

-Males. Head and antennae: Fastigium of vertex narrow, sulcate above, separated from fastigium of frons. Eyes rounded, well projecting. Antennae longer than body. Legs: Fore coxae armed with a small spine. Fore tibiae furrowed on upper margin, distinctly widening above tympanum, conchate on both sides. Fore femora armed on inner ventral side with 10-12 spines, fore tibiae with 5 spines + 1 spur on inner side and 2 spines on outer ventral side, 2 spines + 1 spur on outer dorsal side, mid femora armed with 7-8 spines on outer ventral side, mid tibiae with 10-12 spines on outer and inner ventral sides + 1 spur on each side, and 3 spines + 1 spur on inner dorsal side, hind femora armed with 5-6 small spines on outer and 1-2 on inner ventral sides, hind tibiae with many spines on ventral and dorsal sides + 3 spurs on each side. Thorax: Pronotum narrowing anteriorly, flat above, anterior margin incurved, posterior margin rounded, humeral sinus well developed, lobes of pronotum rounded. Tegmina narrow with rounded apices. Wings longer than tegmina. Stridulatory area of left and right tegmina shown in Fig. 41, veinlets of left tegmen in Fig. 90; stridulatory file arched and composed by ca. 20 very dense, little raised and evenly spaced teeth in the proximal part (ca. 1/3 of the length), and ca. 14-15 widely spaced teeth in the distal part (ca. 2/3 of the length) (Fig. 42) Abdomen: Subgenital plate large and short with a fairly developed concavity, cerci slender, fairly straight and incurved at the tip (Figs 43-44).

Female (Fig. 85). A female was collected together with some males. It has the same characters of the male except of the following: The color of the fore legs, mid tibiae and first antennal segments are blackish, tegmina green with brownish veinlets. Fore femora with 6 spines, mid femora with 8 spines and hind femora with 4 spines. The ovipositor is very short (2.5 mm).

Measurements.

-Cf. Tables 1 and 2; length of the ovipositor: 2.5 mm.

Diagnosis.

- T. morettoi is characterised mainly by black cerci, its stridulatory area of left and right tegmina (Fig. 41), by its stridulatory file (Fig. 42), veinlets of tegmina (Fig. 90), the subgenital plate, that is similar to that of T. loubesi , but cerci are more slender (compare Figs 39-40 and 43-44).

Etymology.

-This species is gratefully named after the French colleague Philippe Moretto, who collected a long series of specimens of Tetraconcha and other interesting species from the Central African Republic and the Ivory Coast.

Distribution.

-Known only from Central African Republic.