Bolivaridora parisae Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares, 2025

Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J., Quintana-Arias, Ronald Fernando, Infante, Ivette Coque, Silva, Daniela Santos Martins & Tavares, Gustavo Costa, 2025, Studies on pygmy grasshoppers: On the current Metrodorinae sensu lato classification (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) with emphasis on American and Malagasy taxa, Zootaxa 5597 (1), pp. 1-265 : 85-90

Bolivaridora parisae Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares , sp. nov.

( Figs. 56–57, Maps 1 and 2)

Type material. Holotype. Female. COLOMBIA, Putumayo, Mocoa, Vda. Caliyaco, Jardín Botanico, Tropical Amazónico ; 3°30’48.7”S 70°15’21.2”W. [584 m.]; 18 IX.2015; L. Perez leg. ( CAUD).

Description. Female. In addition to the characters of the genus. Small-size (9 mm). Coloration. Predominantly dark grey, with light brown and grayish stripes ( Fig. 56). Head dark brown, except for the medial, lateral, fascial, and frontal carinae, which are outlined in yellowish brown. Scape and pedicel dark brown, with light brown distal margins; most flagellomeres light brown except for the last four segments, which are dark brown ( Fig. 57A). Clypeus, labrum, and palpi dark brown, with light brown outer margins ( Fig. 57A). Fore femur and tibia light brown, with the upper half blurred dark brown; middle femur and tibia dark brown with light brown inner face ( Figs. 57D, E); hind femur with upper half light grayish brown, lower half and much of the external dorsal area and knee dark brown; hind tibia dark brown, with base and apex slightly stained with yellowish brown ( Fig. 56A); all tarsomeres light brown, with the distal section of the last tarsomere dark brown. Head taller than wide, eyes occupying a third of the cephalic capsule; space between the eyes as wide as the width of an eye ( Fig. 57A); medial carina moderately protruding in the middle of the eyes in lateral view, exceeding (the front and above) about a fifth of the length of the eyes ( Fig. 57B); scutellum narrow, slightly widened; fascial carinae little divergent and parallel, protruding in lateral view and almost rounded; lateral ocelli located near the fork of the frontal costa ( Fig. 57A). Antennae with 15 unmodified segments ( Figs. 57A, C). Thorax. Anterior margin of the pronotum little produced in the middle ( Fig. 57C); prozonal carinae developed, pronotal apex pointed in dorsal and lateral view ( Fig. 56B). Median carina subelevated; internal lateral carinae almost straight in dorsal view; external lateral carinae finely denticulated and curved ( Fig. 56B); infrascapular area narrower in lateral view compared to B. lutosa comb. nov. ( Fig. 56A). Lower margin of lateral lobes triangular-shaped and sharp, projecting like a lateral spine; posterior margin rounded ( Fig. 57C). Legs. Fore and mid femora rectangular, dorsal and ventral margins slightly wavy ( Figs. 57D, E); hind femur with the antegenicular and genicular teeth well-developed ( Fig. 56A); hind tibia armed with five small spines on each dorsal margin. Abdomen unmodified. Tenth tergite constricted; cerci conical tapering towards the distal section and diverge at sides ( Fig. 57F). Ovipositor valves with normal development and covered with bristles ( Fig. 57F). Subgenital plate rectangular and longer than wide, with posterior margin rounded and unmodified ( Fig. 57G).

Male. Unknown.

Measurements (in mm). CFP: 9.0. PL: 7.5. PLB: 4.2. FF: 2.2. FL: 2.0. MFL: 2.5. MTL: 2.8. HL: 4.2. HW: 1.6. HTL: 5.0.

Comparison. B. parisae sp. nov. differs from congeners in the lateral lobes of the pronotum with the lower margin in the form of a conspicuous spine projecting sideways ( Fig. 57C). The closest species is B. lutosa comb. nov., with a similar shape and development of the fastigium; these are the species with the shortest fastigium compared to the other known species ( Fig. 55A). The hind femur of B. paraensis sp. nov. and B. cipolai sp. nov. have the ventral external area black, in contrast, the hind femur of B. parisae sp. nov. has the upper half light grayish brown, the lower half, much of the external ventral area, and the knee dark brown ( Fig. 56A).

Etymology. This species is dedicated to Mercedes París in recognition and gratitude for her timely help in developing several of our contributions, opportunely sharing data and photographs of the entomological collection of MNCN, Madrid, Spain.

Genus Morseidora Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares , gen. nov.

Type species: Metrodora acuta Günther, 1939 , here designated.

Description. Body moderately granulated and robust ( Fig. 58). Head little exserted. In frontal view: vertex wider than twice the width of an eye; medial carinae well-produced, with posterior margin of the vertex also projects rectangularly, but in the middle of these, the medial carina protrudes; frontal costa bifurcation located at the middle of the eyes; scutellum wide; fascial carinae mid-sized and concave, with ramification rounded; antennae situated lower than the ventral margin of the eyes, in the middle length of each branch of the fascial carinae (type without segments of the antennal flagellum), lateral ocelli between the inferior part of the eyes, near the base from where each branch of the fascial carinae diverges; medial ocellus near the ventral margin of the scutellum; palpi narrow, the apical segments moderately depressed. In lateral view: carinae of the vertex rounded and strongly produced, protruding between the eyes; fastigio-fascial angle not convex in front, progressively upcurved; fascial carinae slightly emerging between the antennae and almost straight, not sinuated; eyes subglobose, with rounded dorsal surface ( Fig. 58A). Thorax. Pronotum moderately elongated, surpassing the tip of hind femora ( Figs. 58A, B). Pronotal disc anteriorly slightly projected over the head, and posterior apex pointed; crest formed by the raised median carina, moderately flattened laterally, projecting to the apex of the pronotal disc ( Fig. 58A). Angles of the lateral lobes flattened and projected to the sides, triangularly and acute apex; posterior margin of lateral lobe with an undulation on mid-length ( Fig. 58C). Infra-scapular area wide and short, ending at the sixth or seventh abdominal segment level ( Fig. 58B). Lateral area narrow and poorly developed, originating from the upper distal section of the infra-scapular area, and with a similar width from the base to the apex in lateral view ( Fig. 58A). Pronotum apex curving slightly upwards in lateral view ( Fig. 58B). Wings absent. Legs stout and slightly elongated. Fore and mid-femora compressed, dorsal and ventral margins wavy, forming small projections on ventral margin of fore-femur ( Fig. 58B). Hind femora with ante-genicular tooth well-developed, genicular tooth triangular and with acute apex ( Fig. 58A). Hind tibia scarcely ampliated near the apex; the first and third segments of the hind tarsi equal in length ( Fig. 58C). Abdomen. Last segments moderately constricted; cerci conical and reduced; penultimate sternite mid-sized, almost as long as subgenital plate, and nearly straight; subgenital plate triangular-shaped in ventral view, upcurved and apex rounded.

Female. Unknown.

Species included. Morseidora acuta ( Günther, 1939) , comb. nov. only.

Distribution. Only known from Loja, Ecuadorian Andes (Maps 1 and 2).

Comparison. Morseidora gen. nov. differs from the other genera of the subtribe by its peculiar pronotum, which has a crest formed by the elevated and moderately flattened median carina, projecting to the apex of the pronotal disc, which exceeds the apex of the abdomen and hind femora. Only some species of Tylotettix stat. resurr. vaguely resemble the pronotum structure, but it does not elevate in the same way as in the new genus, and neither the anterior margin of the pronotum as hook-like projection over the head as it does in the new genus. The shape of the lateral lobe of the pronotum of Morseidora gen. nov. is similar to B. parisae sp. nov., projecting into a sharp spine, just like the black coloration of the ventral half of the hind femur.

Remarks. It is the only genus known from the continental area where the anterior pronotal edge projects moderately towards the front. It recalls a similar pronotal structure as that of the Antillean genus Sierratettix Perez-Gelabert Hierro & Otte, 1998 . It is the only Metrodorina stat. nov. representatives that inhabit the highlands of the northern Andes.

Etymology. This genus is dedicated to the memory of the illustrious orthopterist Albert P. Morse, who extensively studied tetrigids from different world regions. The ending - dora, which comes from the genus Metrodora , is added. The gender of the name is feminine.