Dellia melici, Yong, 2018

Yong, Sheyla, 2018, Revision of the genus Dellia Stål, 1878 (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Part 1. Two redescriptions and seven new species from Cuba, Ecologica Montenegrina 16, pp. 58-107 : 86-88

Dellia melici new species

Figs. 13 , 16-24 , 25j–k , 26c . Table I

Type. Cuba : Cienfuegos Province: Cumanayagua Municipality: Boca Ambuila (21°57'43"N - 80°20'14"W, 15 m a.s.l.); nocturnal search, on the vegetation; 19/August/2015; T. M. Rodríguez-Cabrera.; one adult female holotype ( SY, in ethanol 80%) .

Diagnosis (based on a single female). Size medium for the genus (19 mm). 1) Coloration predominantly pinkish brown, without lateral stripes, pronotum almost entirely green, with anterior and posterior margins sharply outlined in bright white, posterior corners with a conspicuous bright white spot, epimera I–II without conspicuous spots, abdominal tergites with posterior margin annulated with three thin stripes (dark blue/black/white), sternites pinkish brown, hind femur pinkish brown with external surface light olivaceous green and small dark spots along transversal ridges, hind knees yellowish brown with dorsoexternal ridge black. 2) Tegmina very short and digitiform, reaching slightly anterior margin of abdominal tergite I. 3) Supra-anal plate of the female medium-sized, paraboloid, longer than wide and sparsely setose; median sulcus complete, deep and broad, flanked by a pair of low, coarse, subparallel ridges.

Etymology. The specific epithet is a patronym honoring Antonio Melic (manager of the Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa and editor-in-chief of its two journals: Boletín de la S.E.A. and Revista Ibérica de Aracnología), for his continuous support to the development of young researchers (especially from the developing countries) through these well-known and respected journals.

Description (adult female holotype). Size medium for the genus (total length 19.2 mm). Coloration. Head pinkish brown, except as follows: antennae dark brown with whitish tips, scapus, pedicel and basal half of flagellum pale yellowish brown; eyes pale creamy yellow, with irregular dark spots and six thin, parallel, vertical, conspicuously darker stripes. Pronotum complexly patterned: basically olivaceous green, dorsomedially pinkish brown, anterior and posterior margins pale yellow, anterior and posterior corners of pronotum with a conspicuous bright white spot, lateral margins subtly infuscate. Mesonotum and metanotum pinkish brown, immaculate. Epimera I pinkish brown, immaculate; epimera II pinkish brown, with a bright yellowish shade. Tegmina whitish, with coarse blackish punctures. Fore and mid legs of same color: coxa and trochanter medium brown, femur pinkish brown with apex and base vivid yellowish, tibia and tarsomeres pinkish brown with irregular infuscation; hind legs with coxa and trochanter medium brown, femur vivid pinkish brown with external surface light olivaceous green with small dark blue to blackish spots along transversal ridges, hind knees vivid yellowish brown with dorsoexternal ridge black, tibia vivid pinkish brown, spines pink with darker tips, tarsomeres pale pinkish. Abdomen: tergites bright pinkish brown, posterior margin of each tergite annulated with three thin stripes (dark grayish-blue/black/bright white), lateral margins immaculate yellowish; sternites pinkish brown, immaculate. See figure 13 and table I.

Head (figs. 16–18). Moderately large, wider than long (ratio = 1.4). Tegument shiny, but sparsely and coarsely punctate, essentially glabrous. Vertex convex in lateral view, subtriangular in dorsal view; fastigium prominent, paraboloid in dorsal view, semicircular in lateral view and strongly compressed in frontal view. Eyes very large, suboval and prominent; ocelli minute. Costa frontalis weakly marked and inverted horseshoe-shaped. Genae moderately convex in frontal view. Frons weakly and sparsely punctate. Antennae standard for Acrididae in size and shape, with 11/18 flagellomeres (right antennae broken); scapus subcylindrical, wider than long (ratio = 1.1), oval in cross-section, mostly glabrous; pedicel clearly of more than half the length of scapus.

Thorax (figs. 19–20). Tegument shiny but densely and coarsely punctate, mostly glabrous but with some scattered setae. Pronotum trapezoidal in dorsal view, wider than long (ratio = 1.1) produced and strongly tapering anteriorly; anterior margin bilobed and sinuose, posterior margin coarsely crenulate and medially shallowly incised, lateral margins convex and sinuose; median keel finely costate, lateral keels coarsely crenulate and deeply incised by the three transverse grooves. Metanotum wider than long (ratio = 3.0) and shorter than abdominal segment I (ratio = 0.8), trapezoidal in dorsal view with tegument smooth and shiny. Tegmina very short (hardly reaching anterior margin of abdominal tergite I), narrow and digitiform, i.e., costal and anal margin shallowly convex and tip convex.

Legs (fig. 13). Covered all over by thin setae. Profemur slender, cylindrical and unarmed; protibia shorter than profemur (ratio = 1.2), very slender and straight, ventral surface with 4:4 / 4:5 subapical spines and two small apical spurs. Mid legs very similar to forelegs, but mesotibia with 5:7 / 7:4 subapical spines. Metafemur robust, larger than metatibia (ratio = 1.1), oval in cross-section; metatibia with 6:8 / 8:8 subapical spines and five inward-curved apical spurs: two small-sized laterodorsals, two medium-sized laterals, and one large ventral.

Abdomen. Large and slender (conspicuously narrower than pronotum), subcylindrical and evenly tapering posteriorly. Tegument shiny and smooth, with small scattered setae and abdominal segments with median carina very well marked. Tympanic organ large, rounded, located laterally on segment I. Supra-anal plate (fig. 21) medium-sized, paraboloid, longer than wide (ratio = 1.1) and sparsely setose; median sulcus complete, deep and broad, flanked by a pair of low, coarse, subparallel ridges. Cerci very short, conical and densely covered by thin setae, almost reaching the posterior margin of the Supra-anal plate and not surpassing apex of abdomen. Subgenital plate (fig. 23), wider than long (ratio = 1.1), paraboloid; anterior margin shallowly concave, lateral margins shallowly convex, posterior margin convex. Ovipositor in lateral view: each valve of the dorsal and ventral pair with dorsal surface convex, with several indistinct, low crenulations, dorsal pair apically curved upwards, ventral pair apically curved downwards. See figures 13, 21–23 and table I.

Male: Unknown.

Comparisons. D. melici n. sp. is easy to distinguish from the other 17 members of the genus by its unique coloration pattern: predominantly pinkish brown without any longitudinal stripes, with pronotum and hind femur mostly green (figs. 13, 25j–k).

Distribution (fig. 24). This species is known only from the type locality, in the southern coast of the Guamuhaya Mountain.

Ecological notes. The single specimen known was found during a nocturnal search with standard white-LED headlamps (about 00:22 h Eastern Daylight Time), sleeping on a twig of a bush less than 1.5 m above the ground.

The collecting site is a coastal semicaducifolious forest, on a karstic limestone terrace (fig. 4b).

Figures

Fig. 13. Adult female holotype of Dellia melici n. sp., full-body views: a) dorsal; b) lateral; c) ventral. Scale bar in millimeters.

Fig. 16. Dorsal close-up of head and anterior margin of pronotum of all Cuban Dellia recognized in the present revision.

Fig. 17. Lateral close-up of head and anterior margin of pronotum of all Cuban Dellia recognized in the present revision.

Fig. 18. Frontal close-up of head of all Cuban Dellia recognized in the present revision.

Fig. 19. Dorsal close-up of thorax and abdominal segment I of all Cuban Dellia recognized in the present revision.

Fig. 20. Lateral close-up of thorax and abdominal segment I of all Cuban Dellia recognized in the present revision.

Fig. 21. Dorsal close-up of abdominal apex of all Cuban Dellia recognized in the present revision.

Fig. 22. Lateral close-up of abdominal apex of all Cuban Dellia recognized in the present revision.

Fig. 23. Ventral close-up of abdominal apex of all Cuban Dellia recognized in the present revision.

Fig. 24. Geographical distribution of all Cuban Dellia recognized in the present revision. Note three nearby localities for D. atrostriata n. sp. and precise occurrence still wanting for D. insulana. The upper left inset (frame equals to 150 x 75 km) depicts the single precise locality known for D. multicolor stat. resurr. (red symbol), superimposed to all sites visited by Saussure in 1855 (yellow symbols), from left to right: Havana, Guanabacoa, Santa María del Rosario, Matanzas and Limonar.

Fig. 25. Live habitus of: a) Dellia albida n. sp., adult male holotype, in captivity; b–c) Dellia atrostriata n. sp., adult male from El Cojo, in nature; d) Dellia brauni n. sp., adult male holotype, in nature; e–f) Dellia multicolor stat. resurr., adult male topotype, in nature; g–i) Dellia megalapida n. sp., adult male holotype (g), adult male and adult female paratypes while mating (h), subadult female paratype (i), all in nature; j–k) Dellia melici n. sp., adult female holotype, in nature; l) Dellia zephyra n. sp., adult female holotype, in nature. Photos courtesy Rayner Núñez (b, c), Rubén Marrero (d), and Tomás M. Rodríguez (j, k, l).

Fig. 26. Habitat at the exact collecting site of: a) Dellia albida n. sp; b) Dellia atrostriata n. sp.; c) Dellia brauni n. sp.; d) Dellia megalapida n. sp., with the author and her collaborator Rolando Teruel while photographing some of the type specimens; e) Dellia melici n. sp.; f) Dellia multicolor stat. resurr.; g) Dellia siboney n. sp.; h) Dellia zephyra n. sp., note the vegetated pits (micro-dolines or large skylights) all along Las Perlas cave, the holotype was found in the dark passage connecting two of these pits. Photos courtesy Rolando Teruel (b, f, h), Tomás M. Rodríguez (c, e), and Luis A. Casanella (d).