Gonatoxia maculata Karsch, 1889

Hemp, Claudia, Heller, Klaus-Gerhard, Warchalowska-Śliwa, Elzbieta & Hemp, Andreas, 2016, Spotted males, uniform females and the lowest chromosome number in Tettigoniids recorded: Review of the genus Gonatoxia Karsch (Orthoptera, Phaneropterinae), Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 63 (2), pp. 271-286 : 272-274

Gonatoxia maculata Karsch, 1889

Gonatoxia maculata Karsch 1889 [ 1888]. Berlin Ent. Z. 32:442.

Material studied.

Аll Tanzania, 1 male, Mt Kilimanjaro, southern slopes, Msaranga valley, submontane riverine forest relicts, 1300 m, April 2011; 4 females, Mt Kilimanjaro, western slopes, Sanja Juu, 1300 m, savanna woodland May 2013; 3 males, 3 females, Mt Kilimanjaro, southern slopes, Rau forest near Moshi, lowland wet forest, 800 m, March, July, August, December 2014 and July 2015; 3 males, 4 females, North Pare Mountains, southern slopes, Lembeni, dry deciduous woodland, 1250 m, March, May, August 2013, May, November 2014 and July 2015; 1 female, Mt Kilimanjaro, southern slopes, Mabungu Hill, savanna woodland, 910 m, December 2013; 2 females, Mt Kilimanjaro, eastern slopes, Kirua, submontane savanna woodland 1300 m, July 2014; 1 female, Mt Kilimanjaro, eastern slopes, Holili, savanna woodland, 1300 m, June 2013 (collection C. Hemp).

Further material studied.

1 male, Somalia, Afgoi, Feb-March 1978, coll. A. Simonetta, B.M. 1979-543; 1 male, Kenya, Mombasa, coll. W. L. Sclater, 1911-7. Depository NHML.

Description.

Male. Males are characterized by a median deeply incised subgenital plate. The styli are long and slender and about 1.5 times longer than the median incision (Fig. 3C). The cerci are stout, the tips wear a sclerotized ridge with numerous teeth (Fig. 3A, B). On the tegmina 2-6 white to ivory white patches are usually present which vary in number and size between the individuals (compare Fig. 2A). Teeth of stridulatory file at underside of left tegmen increase gradually in size (Fig. 4A) towards the anal end. Mirror area as in Fig. 5A, B.

Female. General habitus and colour. Predominantly green with broad oval tegmina and strongly up-curved ovipositor. Venation of tegmina often light green and often with tiny white dots scattered over tegmina, thus resembling a leaf perfectly. Whitish dots also on pronotum and legs. A pair of yellowish to whitish lines often present starting in upper part of compound eye and running over head and pronotum. Abdominal tergite bright yellow (2 B), tarsi whitish. Head and antennae. Antennae thin and whitish, surpassing tegmina. Eyes round, except for yellowish-whitish upper part green or brown-green. Thorax. Pronotal disc flat, longer posteriorly than pro notal lobes which are evenly rounded at lower part, with acute edge at insertion of tegmina and wings. Tegmina broad with leaf-like pattern of veins, truncate at tips, alae surpassing tegmina. Alae hyaline except for tips which are of same green colour than tegmina. Stridulatory teeth on the right tegmen for female response to male calling song as in Fig. 6A. Legs. As in male. Fore femora with 3-4 outer spines, mid femora with 1-2 outer spines. Hind femora with 6-8 inner spines long whole length, outer side with 4-5 smaller spines at distal end of femur. Hind tibiae about length of hind femora, stout, in diameter almost tri-angular, curved. Abdomen. Plump abdomen with ovipositor strongly up-curved, valves at posterior third weakly sclerotized and serrated (Fig. 7A). Bowl-like structure lateral at base of ovipositor with strongly elevated lower margin, densely hairy in this region (Fig. 7A, 8A). Subgenital plate narrowly tri-angular (Fig. 9A). Cerci unmodified with stout base and slender elongated tip, strongly setose (Fig. 7A).

Nymphs. Nymphs similar to adults (Fig. 10A). When hatching recognized by curved hind tibiae (Fig. 11). Eggs are laid in rows glued to leaf tissue or along twigs (Fig. 12A, B).

Measurements (mm).

Females (n = 5): Total length of body: 21.5-28.8; median length of pronotum: 6.1-6.3; length of hind femur: 26.2-27; length of tegmina: 41.8-44.7. Width of tegmina: 13.3-14.6; ovipositor: 5.3-5.8.

Since only data for the holotype male of Gonatoxia maculata are available at present, we provide more measurement data.

Males (n = 8): Total length of body: 23-28 (holotype 30); median length of pronotum: 6.1-6.6 (holotype: 7); length of hind femur: 25-27 (holotype 25); length of tegmina: 41-43.7 (holotype 41); width of tegmina: 10.3-14 (holotype 11.5).

Biology.

A pair from Kilimanjaro mated on the 19th of November 2014. Mating only took a couple of minutes. A spermatophore containing a two-parted spermatophylax was transferred to the female (Fig. 13). Two days later the female laid 26 eggs into the tissue or on the margin of a broad leaf (Fig. 12A). When offered leaves and dried twigs, females usually laid eggs in series on twigs (Fig. 12B). First eggs from a further female (mating was not recorded) hatched on the 31st of July 2015 (Fig. 11) and the first adult moulted on the 11th of October 2015. Thus development of nymphs takes about 2.5 months (laboratory conditions).

In two matings (one male, two females; interval about two months) of culture-reared specimens the male weighed 1584 and 1590 mg and the females 1950 and 1830 mg (all before mating) and the two-parted spermatophores 214 and 169 mg (each value mean of male weight loss and female weight gain).

Habitat.

Savanna woodlands and deciduous dry forest up to submontane elevations.

Distribution.

Tanzania, Kenya, Somalia.