Dendrobia Hemp & Ingrisch, 2017

Hemp, Claudia, Ingrisch, Sigfrid & Heller, Klaus-Gerhard, 2017, A new genus and other new species of Agraeciini from the Eastern Arc Mountains, East Africa (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae; Conocephalinae; Agraeciini), Zootaxa 4311 (1), pp. 1-22 : 2-4

Dendrobia Hemp & Ingrisch n. gen.

urn:lsid: Orthoptera .speciesfile.org:TaxonName:497463

Type species: Dendrobia amanienis n. sp.

Included species: Dendrobia amanienis n. sp., Dendrobia octopunctata n. sp., Dendrobia sp. (Nguru Mts., known only from females).

Description. Fastigium verticis blunt conical to almost rectangular, shorter than scapus ( Fig. 1 ). Scapus without spine. Frons broad with shiny surface. Antennae thick, longer than insect. Pronotum shield-like with shiny smooth surface. Lateral lobes narrow evenly running into elongated broadly rounded posterior margin. A varying number of black dots or patches on anterior part of pronotum arranged in pairs. Tegmina and wings somewhat reduced, nearly covering abdomen. Hind wings hyaline, as long as tegmina. Pro-, meso- and metasterna unarmed, more than 3 times as broad as long with extended lappet-like anterior corners ( Fig. 15 B). Fore coxa with well developed long and curved spine. Fore and mid femora with few stout spines on ventro-external margin only, hind femora with numerous spines on ventro-external margin, with 1–2 stout spines on ventro-internal margin near knees. Genicular lobes of all femora with a pair of acute stout spines. Tenth abdominal tergite in male broad, undifferentiated. Subgenital plate undifferentiated, broad with short styli.

Male phallus. As in both other genera of East African Agraeciini (compare e.g. Hemp 2013a), the phallus is provided with three pairs of sclerites or semi-sclerotized modifications: 1) a pair of baso-central, distinct sclerites, which are rather simple, elongate or roughly triangular with prolonged tip, stiff and colourless, subhyaline or white, (2) latero-apical extensions that are connected to but not fully fused with the basal sclerites, either sclerotised and of complex structure ( Afroanthracites ), or flexible, semi-sclerotised, and their surface appearing streaky from fine hairs ( Afroagraecia ) or flexible and with a rough surface and covered with very fine, delicate hairs ( Dendrobia ); and (3) a pair of lateral sclerites at the lateral areas of the epiphallus that are convex ( Afroanthracites ), band-shaped and wavy ( Dendrobia ) or elongate stiff ( Afroagraecia ).

Females with long and stout ovipositor, moderately up-curved, valves shiny and smooth ( Fig. 2 ).

Diagnosis. The new genus Dendrobia differs from the other two East African genera of Agraeciini by the blunt conical to almost rectangular fastigium verticis with indentated apex while it is acute to conical in Afroanthracites and Afroagraecia . The tegmina in the new genus are very broad, leaf-like, hiding and barely surpassing the tip of abdomen while Afroanthracites species are micropterous and Afroagraecia includes micropterous to fully winged species with brown to tawny tegmina with parallel-sided margins. The genicular lobes of the fore and mid femora carry a pair of stout, acute spines in Dendrobia while they are smoothly rounded in Afroanthracites and Afroagraecia . The hind genicular lobes of both Dendrobia and Afroanthracites are spined, but those of Afroanthracites are shorter and less acute than those of Dendrobia .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Fastigium verticis (A) Dorsal view and (B) ventral view; female Dendrobia sp. (Nguru Mountains).

FIGURE 2. Lateral view on female ovipositor being sclerotized and very smooth (Dendrobia sp., Nguru Mountains).

FIGURE 15. A. Abdominal apex of male D. octopunctata n. sp. with bulb-like bases of cerci and finger-like apices. B. Ventral side with unarmed pro-, meso- and metasterna.