Afroanthracites viridis Hemp, Ingrisch & Ünal, 2013

Hemp, Claudia, 2013, Annotated list of Tettigoniidae (Orthoptera) from the East Usambara Mountains Tanzania and new Tettigoniidae species from East Africa, Zootaxa 3737 (4), pp. 301-350 : 314-318

Afroanthracites viridis Hemp, Ingrisch & Ünal n. sp. ( Fig. 5 , Fig. 6 , Fig. 7 A–D, Fig. 8 H, Fig. 9 , Fig. 10 D)

http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: orthoptera .speciesfile.org:TaxonName:180004

Holotype male, Tanzania, East Usambara Mountains, Zigi Trail, 450 m, on herb at night, December 2011. Depository: ZMHB.

Paratypes.— 1 female, same data as holotype, depository: ZMHB.

Further paratype material: all Tanzania, all East Usambara Mountains. 2 males, 3 females, nr. Amani, Sigi, April 1966, leg. N. Jago; 1 male, 1 female, Amani, December 1966, leg. N. Jago. Depository: all BMNH. 8 males, 11 females, Zigi, same data as holotype and March 1999, December 2001 and March 2012. Depository: all collection C Hemp.

Description.—Male. General colour pattern of vivid green, with large brown patch bordered by white fascia on the pronotal disk and a bright yellow 10th abdominal tergite. Head and antennae.—Fastigium verticis acute conical, only slightly laterally compressed and shorter than scapus. Face uniformly green. Antennae long, more than twice the length of body. Scapus green with brown anterior margin, pedicellus green, following antennal segments long and thin, blackish till approximately segment 3–4, remaining segments pale ( Fig. 5 ). Thorax.— Pronotum rugose, rounded, posterior area slightly inflated; disk in pro- and mesozona dull orange brown, in metazona bright orangebrown, laterally fringed by white band and pair of thin black fascia in anterior area of metazona ( Fig. 5 ). Tegmina completely hidden under pronotum, reduced to stridulatory area and a short apical flap, wider than long; stridulatory area strongly elevated and ventral margins curved to fit the shape of the body; stridulatory vein on left tegmen dark brown and strongly bulging on dorsal side, on right tegmen weak with stridulatory teeth shining through the surface; both tegmina with a large transparent mirror divided by a single vein; stridulatory vein on underside of left tegmen strongly curved, about 3.0 mm long (direct line between both ends), with 251 narrow, very densely arranged teeth plus 3 separate teeth at lateral end (n=1) ( Fig. 10 D). Legs.— Fore and mid femora with 4 outer ventral spines, unarmed or with 1–2 reduced spines on inner side; spines stout with green base and brown tips. Hind femora with 6–7 outer and no inner ventral spines. Fore and mid tibiae armed with 4–6 slender spinules on both ventral margins. Hind tibiae faintly swollen near base with obsolete ventral carinae, more so on inner than on outer side; two dorsal carinae and carinate part of ventral margins armed with numerous spines. Abdomen.— Tenth abdominal tergite shield-like and broad with evenly curved posterior margin, conspicuous yellow with green margin in living insect ( Fig. 5 , Fig. 7 B). Tergites of abdomen 1–9 green, sternites white. Paraprocts with conical process prolonged at tip into a curved flap. Cerci short-conical with subacute tip, in apical half with a long dorsoventrally compressed process, nearly parallel-sided, at tip with proximal angle rounded, distal angle triangular, little prolonged ( Fig. 8 G). Subgenital plate elongated, divided into two posteriorly up-curved lobes with short styli ( Fig. 7 D). Titillators in basal area broad band-shaped, subhyalinous, diverging, later parallel-sided with apices conical, black, little granular and carrying a small, compressed hook; subapical with very long, brown, sinuate process with obtuse apex carrying a minute black denticle; with a pair of large baso-lateral sclerites and a pair of simple dorso-apical sclerites ( Fig. 8 H).

Female.—General habitus and colour pattern as male with long and stout ovipositor, moderately up-curved ( Fig. 6 ). Subgenital plate broad, medially incurved at posterior margin (Fig. 11). Posterior margin of last abdominal tergite straight (Fig. 11). Cerci roundish inflated at base and thin and slender in last third (Fig. 11).

Measurements, males (mm) (N = 4). Body length 22–26. Length of pronotum 8.2–8.6. Length of hind femur 13.5–14.

Measurements, females (mm) (N = 4). Body length 22–28.5. Length of pronotum 7.0–7.7. Length of hind femur 14–15. Length of ovipositor 10–12.

Diagnosis.—Easily distinguished from all other Afroanthracites species by its vivid green colouration and the yellow 10th abdominal tergite in both sexes. All other Afroanthracites species are either green without yellow ( A. jagoi n. sp.) or green mixed with a brown 10th abdominal tergite. Morphologically A. viridis n. sp. differs from all other species by the 10th abdominal tergite being broadly rounded ( Fig. 7 B, C) while in all other Afroanthracites species it is either more elongated, incised posteriorly and divided into two lobes ( A. uluguruensis n. sp. ( Fig. 7 F, G), A. discolor n. sp. ( Fig. 7 J, K), A. montium ( Fig. 7 N, O), A. jagoi n. sp. ( Fig. 7 V, W) or elongated and narrow ( A. usambaricus , Fig. 7 R, S). The male cerci are differentiated into a stout basal part and an elongated flattened apical part ( Fig. 8 G). In A. discolor n. sp. the cerci are trispinose bearing three well developed teeth ( Fig. 8 A), while in A. montium , A. usambaricus and A. jagoi n. sp. the male cerci have slender apical parts ending in two apices of which the outer apex is longer than the more blunt inner part ( Fig. 8 C, E, K) and with two equal long tips in A. uluguruensis n. sp. and an additional spine midway ( Fig. 8 I). For diagnosis of female see diagnosis A. discolor n. sp.

Distribution: Tanzania; East Usambara Mountains.

Song: (Long) series of syllables, mostly in the ultrasonic range.

Ecology & Biology: Active at night; forages on other insects but also feeds on plants and fruits.

Habitat: On branches of bushes and trees and herbaceous vegetation in lowland evergreen and submontane forest.

Remarks: In Hemp (2002) Afroanthracites usambaricus is erronously listed for the East Usambara Mountains. However, A. usambaricus seems to be restricted to the West Usambara Mountains occurring syntopically with A. discolor n. sp. and A. jagoi n. sp.

FIGURE 11. Subgenital plates and 10th tergites with left cercus of female Afroanthracites species.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Afroanthracites viridis n. sp., male, caught at night along the Zigi Trail in undergrowth vegetation at 450 m a. s. l.

FIGURE 6. Female Afroanthracites viridis n. sp., same locality as male in FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7. Morphological details of male Afroanthracites species. A – D. Afroanthracites viridis n. sp. E – H. Afroanthracites uluguruensis n. sp. I – L. Afroanthracites discolor n. sp. M – P. A. montium Sjöstedt, 1909. Q – T. A. usambaricus Sjöstedt, 1913. U – X. A. jagoi n. sp. A, E, I, M, Q, U. Face. B, F, J, N, R, V. Dorsal view on abdominal apex. C, G, K, O, S, W. Lateral view on abdominal apex. D, H, L, P, T, X. Subgenital plate.

FIGURE 8. Morphological details of Afroanthracites species. A. Lateral view on male left cercus of A. discolor n. sp. C, E, G, I. Dorsal view on male abdominal apex with stretched out cerci of A. montium (C), A. usambaricus (E), A. viridis n. sp. (G) and A. uluguruensis n. sp. (I). K. Dissected left cercus of A. jagoi n. sp. B, D, F, H, J, L. Titillators of A. discolor n. sp. (B), A. montium (D), A. usambaricus (F), A. viridis n. sp. (H), A. uluguruensis n. sp. (J) and A. jagoi n. sp. (L).

FIGURE 9. Left cercus of male Afroanthracites species.

FIGURE 10. Stridulatory files of Afroanthracites discolor n. sp. (A), A. montium (B), A. usambaricus (C) and A. viridis n. sp. (D).