Aclodes paz Cadena-Castañeda & Castellanos-Morales, 2022

Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J., Quintana-Arias, Ronald Fernando, Rodríguez, Diana Marcela Tru- Jillo, Sarmiento, Juan Pablo Prias & Castellanos-Morales, Cesar A., 2022, Studies on Neotropical crickets: Aclodes paz n. sp. a new phalangopsid cricket (Orthoptera: Phalangopsidae) from the Santander caves, Colombia, Zootaxa 5141 (6), pp. 568-580 : 571-576

Aclodes paz Cadena-Castañeda & Castellanos-Morales n. sp.

( Figs. 1–6 )

http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid:Orthoptera.speciesfile.org:TaxonName:518317

Type material. Holotytpe. Male. Colombia, Santander, La Paz, Vda San Pablo, La Cuchara 2 (spoon—2 cave), 6°11’12.91”N, 73°34’1.37”W. elev. 1.880 m. 28 oct. 2015. C. Castellanos-Morales .

Paratypes. La Cuchara —2 (“spoon cave—1”), Vda. San Pablo , 6°11’12.91”N, 73°34’1.37”W. elev. 1.880 m. 28 oct. 2015. C. Castellanos-Morales leg. 2 male and 2 female , La Cuchara —1 (“spoon cave—1”), Vda. San Pablo , 06°10’46,5”N, 73°34’30,4”W. elev. 1.836 m. 27 oct. 2015. C. Castellanos-Morales leg. 4 male, 4 females, 1 female subadult, and 3 immatures La Remolina —1 cave (“ Swirl cave —1”), Vda. Casas Blancas , 06°07’23.3”N, 73°34’35.4”W. elev. 1.890 m. 8 Feb. 2016. C. Castellanos-Morales leg. 1 female adult and 2 female subadult, 4 males. Melchor Cave, Vda. El Tigre , 06°08’38”N, 73°35’43,7”W. elev 1.867 m. 5 Feb. 2016. C. Castellanos-Morales leg. 3 male, 1 male immature, 7 female immature, 2 female subadults. El Tigre cave (“ Tiger cave ”), Vda. El Tigre , 06°08’32,8”N, 73°35’19,6”W. elev 1.959 m. 6 Feb. 2016. C. Castellanos-Morales leg. 1 male, 1 female and 1 female subadult. El Toro cave (“ Bull cave ”), Vda. El Tigre , 06°08’12,9”N, 73°34’10,2”W. elev. 1.611 m. 14 Dec. 2015. C. Castellanos-Morales leg. 3 females . La Lajita —1 cave, Vda. El Amarillo , 06°06’58,6”N, 73°34’10,2”W. elev. 1.612 m. 1 4 may. 2016. C. Castellanos-Morales leg. 3 males . El Indio cave (“ Indian cave ”), Vda. Casas Blancas , 06°08’48,4”N, 73°37’30”W. elev 2.132 m. 20 may. 2016. C. Castellanos-Morales & L. Toro. leg. 1 female . El Molino cave (“ Mill cave ”), Vda. El Tigre , 06°08’50.7”N, 73°35’02.8”W. elev. 1767 m. 10 dec. 2015. C. Castellanos-Morales leg. 3 immatures . Hoyo Colombia (“ Colombia pit cave”), Vda. El Tigre , 06°08’13.7”N, 73°35’15.4”W. elev. 1858 31 oct. 2015. C. Castellanos-Morales leg. Gedania cave , Vda. El Amarillo , 06°08’7.9”N, 73°35’50.4”W. elev. 1870 7 Feb. 2016. C. Castellanos-Morales & L. Toro leg 2 male, 2 female and 3 immatures . Colombia, Santander, El Carmen de Chucurí , La Peña cave, 06°06´24.42”N, 073°26´38”W. 1177 m. C. Castellanos-Morales leg. 1 male and 2 females ( CAUD) .

Etymology. This species is named after the La Paz municipally (type locality). But we also want to dedicate the name of this species to the desire for peace of Colombians and many people from other countries, who have various conflicts in their territories. We keep “ paz ” as a specific epithet for the type locality, but it also means peace in Spanish, Italian and Portuguese, coming from the Latin “ Pax ”.

Description. Male. Mid-sized ( Figs. 1A,B ). Body predominantly ochre brown with dark brown and yellow stripes. Head brown with almost yellowish and grey spots and stripes; antennal scape partly light, flagellum dark brown without light spots ( Fig. 1C ). Pronotum mostly brown, pronotal disc with few yellow-brown stripes ( Fig. 2A ), lateral lobes dark brown ( Fig. 1D ). Fore and middle femora and tibiae brown spotted, with rings, to the femora with one or two rings on the mid-distal section, to the tibiae with three rings, one on the base, the next on the middle, and the last at the apex. Hind femora ochre with numerous brownish oblique lines on the outer surface and several spots on inner surface and apex, tarsi almost ochre. Tegmina brown with several yellow short hairs ( Fig. 1E ). Abdomen and terminalia dark brown with diffuse ochre spots ( Fig. 2D ). Head rounded, almost as wide as high in frontal view ( Fig. 1C ); maxillary palpi mid-sized, third and fourth subequal and cylindrical, the fifth flattened, dilated from the middle to the apex, and distally truncated ( Fig. 1D ). Thorax. Pronotal disc rather short, wider than long, anterior margin slightly concave, posterior margin straight ( Fig. 2A ), lateral margins curved and most prominent at the anterior part and upcurved to the posterior margin ( Fig. 1D ). Meso- and metanotum without glands or modifications.

Legs. Fore tibia with tympana small and ovoid, only on inner side, and armed at the apex with a small spur on each side; mid tibia armed with two mid-sized spurs at the apex on each side. Hind tibia with three inner spurs and four outer spurs dorsally, and between them with small spines; apex with three apical spurs on both sides, the mid spur of outer margin is longer than the others one; the mid and ventral spurs almost similar in length and longer than the dorsal one. First tarsomere of the hind leg, with one spine on inner side close to apex and four dorsal spines on outer side, apex armed with a spur on both sides, the inner spur longer than the outer one. Tegmina ovoid, reaching to the third abdominal tergite ( Figs. 1E , 2A ). Mirror subtriangular, wider than long, with reticulated veins; harp with four or five dividing veins; chordal with two main veins ( Fig. 2B ); lateral field with three to four veins; stridulation file with 135–148 teeth ( Fig. 2C ). Abdomen with a pair of tentorial depressions for each tergite ( Fig. 2D ). Epiproctus rectangular longer than wide with the apex almost straight ( Fig. 2E ). Subgenital plate rectangular, longer than wide, and distally with a mid-undulation. Male genitalia. Ps.s. with the distal edge wavy in dorsal view and with a notch in the center ( Fig. 3A ). Ps.a.l. cylindrical, slightly curving towards the dorsal margin and latero-laterally flattened, with a few hairs on its surface, more conspicuous at the apex ( Figs. 3A,B ). Ps.p. quadrangular, ventrally with a small hook-shaped extension; distal edge wavy and longer on the outer edge ( Fig. 3B ). Ec.f. elongated and sclerotic, thickening from the anterior to the posterior region, diverging distally and connecting with a rounded prolongation and abundant microstructures ( Fig. 3B, C ). En.s. connecting with the ec.f., and sclerosed ( Fig. 3B ). Ec.a. dorsoventrally flattened rod-shaped, connected anteriorly with endophalic cavity, and posteriorly with ps.p. ( Figs. 3B, C ). R. wide and sclerotic, internally concave ( Fig. 3B ).

Female. Similar to the male in shape and size, ocher or yellowish regions with lighter shades than the male ( Fig. 4 ), being more noticeable on the face ( Fig. 5A ). Tegmina reduced ( Fig. 5B ), located on each side and covering the mesonotum and the base of the metanotum ( Figs. 5C, D ). Tenth tergite unmodified with rounded posterior edge. Epiproctus rectangular, wider than long, with two semicircular scars dorsally ( Fig. 5E ). Subgenital plate subtriangular, with the apex truncated ( Fig. 5F ). Ovipositor almost as length to the posterior femur; apex in dorsal view flattened and with denticulations on outer edges of upper valves, lower valves protruding into middle of upper valves, and with rounded distal edge ( Fig. 5G ); in lateral view, the apex of the ovipositor is lanceolate in shape and gently widens towards the apex ( Fig. 5H ).

Variations. The main variation noted is between the two sexes; females have lighter shades than males in the yellowish and ocher areas. Some males have four or five veins dividing the harp.

Measurements (in mm.). male/female: LB: 22–25/20–27. Pr: 3.5–4/4–4.5. Teg: 6–7/1–1.5. HF: 15–18/15– 19. HT: 17–20/17–20. Ov: 12–15.

Comparison. Aclodes paz n. sp. is related to some species included in the subgenus Euacla (sensu Gorochov, 2007) . Regarding the genitalia, the closest species is Aclodes chamocoru Nischk & Otte, 2000 , which differs from the new species. Its tegmina cover the abdomen, and the harp has nine; the mirror is subovoid, wider than long, and crossed with two veins. In contrast, A. paz n. sp. has four or five veins on the harp, the mirror is subtriangular and with reticulate veins. The Ps.al. of A. chamocoru , is conical, and Ps.p. without ventral accessory extension; En.s. is tubuliform, and Ec.f. it does not expand, and difference in the connection area of these two structures.

Comments. The specimens of the type series are slightly variable in size, as has been observed for other species of the genus. But one of the males from the “Colombian Hole” is unusually small. This male has all diagnostic characteristics to be identified as A. paz n. sp., such as wing venation and genital structure. Measurements of this specimen were not included in the species measurement ranges previously provided and are included below.

Measurements (in mm.). LB: 14. Pr: 3. Teg: 6. HF: 12. HT: 13.

Ecological data from type cave. The cave La Cuchara —2 is situated around four kilometers east from the La Paz town, on the eastern side of the Colombian Andean Mountain range. An area of different sedimentary lithostratigraphic units from the Cretaceous age, which are gathered in the formations: Rosablanca, Paja, Tablazo, Simiti and Luna (Medoza-Parada et al. 2009) . The La Cuchara cave has a circular-shaped entrance of around 1.5 meters with narrow, rocky, passageways, stalagmites, and stalactites few developed were observed. Inside the cave, there is a narrow stream with shallow pools forms. The bottom of each well is rocky and contains abundant fine sediment. The water temperature was 17.9°C, the cave temperature 18.1°C, and the water pH was 6.7. The fauna is scarce; there were a few colonies of bats (cf. Carollia sp. ) inhabiting the cave ceiling. The base of the food chain is probably limited to crickets and their predators, spiders. Crickets usually occupy the middle and upper parts of rocky cave walls, where they form groups of varying sizes and different stages of development ( Fig. 6 ). This cave has not as yet been registered in any recent speleological inventory of Santander ( Castellanos-Morales & Moreno 2018, Dulcey-Ulloa & Lasso 2019).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Aclodes paz n. sp. male. A-B. Habitus in lateral and dorsal views respectively. C. Frons. D. Head and thorax in lateral view. E. Tegmina at rest.

FIGURE 2. Aclodes paz n. sp. male.A. Head and thorax in dorsal view. B. Tegmina. C. Stridulation file. D. Abdomen in dorsal view. E. Epiproctus.

FIGURE 3. Aclodes paz n. sp. male genitalia. A. Dorsal, B. ventral and C. lateral views respectively.

FIGURE 4. Aclodes paz n. sp. female. A-B. Habitus in lateral and dorsal views respectively.

FIGURE 5. Aclodes paz n. sp. female. A. Frons. B. Head and thorax in lateral and C. dorsal views. D. Tegmina detail. E. Tenth tergite and epiproctus in dorsal view. F. Subgenital plate. G. Ovipositor apex in dorsal and H. lateral views.

FIGURE 6. Aclodes paz n. sp. in live condition. A. A adult male and others specimens in different development stages. B. A female and a male subadults.