Phyllophorella Karny 1924

Rentz, Dcf, Su, You Ning & Ueshima, Norihiro, 2009, Studies in Australian Tettigoniidae: The Phyllophorinae (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae; Phyllophorinae), Zootaxa 2075, pp. 55-68 : 60-68

Phyllophorella Karny 1924

Karny. H. H. 1924. Treubia 5(Suppl.):21, 109–110. Type species: Phyllophorella salomonis Karny , by original designation.

Phyllophorella queenslandica 1 Rentz, Su, Ueshima sp. nov. Figs. 4 B, 4C, 7–13; Table 1, Map 1

ANIC number Phyllophorella sp. 1

Holotype male. 1. “ 16°48’S. 145°38’E. (GPS) Kuranda, (Top of the Range), 19 Butler Dr, 335m, 15–31 January 2004 DCF Rentz”. 2. “D. C. F. Rentz Cytol. prep. 2004-10 ”. Holotype deposited in ANIC. Type locality. The type locality is a simple to complex mesophyll to notophyll

vine forest on moderately to poorly drained metamorphics (Regional Ecosystem 7.11.1 EPA, 2007).

1. Named with reference to Queensland where the species occurs.

Male. General. Easily distinguished as a phyllophorine on the basis of the shape of the head and pronotum and the absence of tegminal stridulatory file. Size moderate to large.

Head. Head broad ( Fig. 9 ); eyes widely separated; fastigium of vertex low, broad, undulating; frons and genae evenly rugose, without frontal costa. Antennae with scape short, quadrate, about as long as depth of eye, pedicel about half as long as scape; flagellum thin, threadlike, extending only slightly beyond apex of tegmen at rest.

Thorax. Pronotum distinctive ( Figs. 8 , 9 B, C); prozona short with lateral carinae bearing 4 tubercles on each side ascending in size anterior to posterior; mesozona with 3 tubercles the last if which is larger than the others; metanotum with many tubercles of equal lengths along the margin and with a single larger tubercle or spine in the middle; apex truncate and not tuberculate; surface of disk evenly rugose. Prosternum unarmed; meso- and metasterna with flange-like, cordate plates, the latter of which are armed with series of 8–9 widely spaced tubercles on the outer margin.

Wings. Tegmen ( Fig. 4 B, C) with costal region expanded with 9–12 diagonal veins, costa not distinguished; Sc & R are closely approximated; Radius branched with 3 principal veins extending to the posterior margin; MA vein faint and irregular. Wing with 3 oblique cross veins as indicated by Ragge (1955: 96).

Legs. Fore femur subcylindrical, rarely unarmed, armed on the ventral surface with 4 small teeth on the anterior margin in the distal one-third and 2–3 teeth on posterior margin; tibia quadrate, densely hirsute, auditory structure closed, linear on both sides, dorsal surface unarmed except with a minute apical spine on each side, ventral surface with 7 minute spines on both margins, one apical in position on each margin. Middle femur subcylindrical, ventral surface armed on anterior margin with 4–5 minute teeth, posterior margin unarmed; tibia quadrate, sparsely hirsute, armed dorsally with a series of 7 minute spines on posterior margin including minute apical spine, anterior margin unarmed except for minute apical spine, ventral surface armed on anterior margin with 8 minute spines, one apical in position, posterior margin with 6 spines, one apical in position. Hind femur elongate, slender, armed ventrally with 8 large teeth on external margin, internal margin with 4 much smaller teeth, concentrated in apical one-quarter. Genicular lobes of all femora armed with a short, stout spine on each side.

Abdomen. Relatively short compared to size of insect, slender. Tenth tergite with a narrow median incision; supra-anal plate short, cordate, margins slightly raised; paraprocts not developed but each bearing a minute, erect spine on each side of base of supra-anal plate; cercus ( Fig. 11 A) with base swollen, with short, stout setae ( Fig. 11 B, C), apical portion slender, directed upward, apically with a minute spine ( Fig. 11 C); subgenital plate ( Fig. 11 A) very elongate, narrowed distad of the middle, with shallow V-shaped median incision, sides not modified in any way; styles short, robust. Concealed genitalia without any sclerotised portions.

Female. Very similar to male in size and shape. Thorax with meso- and metasternal plates similar to those of male and bearing stridulatory tubercles. Abdomen with tenth tergite with apex irregular; supra-anal plate elongate, triangular, apex upcurved; subgenital plate broader than long, with shallow, V-shaped median incision ( Fig. 10 C). Ovipositor elongate ( Table 1), gently upcurved, unarmed.

Eggs. The egg is elongate ( Fig. 12 A) with one end blunt ( Fig. 12 B), the other attenuate; surface with small swellings on one side arranged in rows with the entire surface minutely and evenly tuberculate; the reverse side bears a prominent longitudinal sulcus ( Fig. 12 C).

Colour. Uniformly green except irregular marks on tegmen brown to whitish yellow ( Fig. 7 ) and tips of spines black. Ventral surface light green, median sclerites slightly darker.

Nymph. A captive female laid eggs in soil. The first instars are very distinctive ( Fig. 9 A). They are quadrate in outline and have very broad heads with the fastigium of the vertex very broad. They sit motionless on grass stems during the day in a typical stance with the antennae directed posteriorly and positioned on the inside of the hind femora.

Geographic variation. The Cape York population is decidedly smaller than the Kuranda population ( Table 1). It also differs in the armature of the lateral margins of the pronotum. Most of the Cape York specimens, males and females, have variable denticles on each side of the prozona. In the small sample of the Kuranda population we have studied, there are always 3. However, there are individuals from Cape York with 3 denticles on one side and 2 on the other, but 3 seems to be normal from that area. In other respects, except for size, the Cape York series is identical to that from Kuranda. The male and female genitalia show no detectable geographic variation.

Individual variation. There is variation not based on locality in the presence or absence of the markings on the tegmina. About 50% of the specimens before us have no markings at all. In the others, the marks, which seem to resemble holes in leaves, are usually, but not always, in the same place on the tegmen and they are bilaterally symmetrical.

Species Length Length Width Length Length Length Body Pronotum Pronotum Tegmen Hind femur Ovipositor

Siliquofera grandis

Holotype 128 25.3 55.3

female

Males

Specimens examined: Paratypes. Queensland: 16°48’S. 145°38’E. (GPS) Kuranda, (Top of the Range), 19 Butler Dr, 335m, 1–15.iv.2003 (1 male, ANIC); same locality and collector, 1–15.vi.2004 (1 male ANIC); same locality and collector, 1–15.viii.2003 (DCF Rentz, 1 female, ANIC); same locality and collector, 1–15.i.2004 (DCF Rentz, 1 male; D. C. F. Rentz Cytol. prep. 2004-1, ANIC); same locality and collector, 16–29.ii.2004 (2 males, Cytol. preps. 2004-5, 34); same locality and collector, 16–31.iii.2004 (1 male, ANIC); same locality and collector, 16–28.ii.2005 (1 male, ANIC; same locality and collector, 1–15.ii.2006 (1 male, ANIC); same locality and collector, 1–15.iii.2007 (1 female, ANIC); same locality and collector, 30.i.2009 (1 male ANIC). 16°48’S. 145°38’E. Kuranda, (Top of the Range), 6 Victor Pl, 23.ii.2008 (1 female, DCF Rentz, M. Moulds, AMUS). 142O45’E. 11O40’S., Dividing Range, 15 km W. of Captain Billy Creek, 5–12.ii.1976 (GB Monteith, 1 last instar female QMUS); same locality and collector, 4–9.vii.1975 (1 second last instar female, QMUS). Bamaga, 18–25.iii.1987 (GB Monteith, 1 male, 3 females, QMUS). Lockerbie area, 13–27.iv.1973 (GB Monteith, 1 male, 1 female, QMUS).

Specimen not considered as a paratype. 10°10.2’S. 148°18.1’ Moa Island, 15955, 80 m, 31.iii.2008 (K. Aland, 1 female, QMUS).

Cytology. This is the first record of chromosome observations on any member of the Phyllophorinae (see Hewitt, 1979). Mention should be made of the testes of P. queenslandica . In most tettigoniids we have studied, the testes are small ovoid or globular structures. In this species they are very large, quadrate masses that occupy almost the entire dorsal surface of the abdominal cavity. They are comparatively very large in relation to the size of the specimen. The “specimens examined” refer to the specimens listed above in the “Cytol. prep.” category.

Figure 13 A depicts the karyotype of this species where 2n=23 (6m + 16t +Xm). Specimens examined: 2004-10 (holotype), 2004-1, -5, -34.

The karyotype consists of three pairs of metacentrics (two pairs of large metacentrics and one pair of small submetacentrics), 8 pairs of small telocentrics and a large metacentric X ( Fig. 13 a, b). At diakinesis, there are 11 autosomal entities and a heterochromatic X ( Fig. 13 c). The first metaphase present 11 autosomes and X ( Fig. 13 d). At the first anaphase the X moves to one pole with autosome halves ( Fig. 13 e) as usual.

The chromosome system of P. queenslandica is unique for the Tettigoniidae , reflecting the odd position of the subfamily in general, in that there are 3 metacentrics, particularly 2 large pairs and a large metacentric X. Ueshima (unpublished) has studied the chromosomes of a great many Australian Tettigoniidae , yet this type of karyotype is found only in this species. We need to study the karyotypes of other Phyllophorella species and other genera, such as Siliquofera .

MAP 1. Known distribution of Australian Phyllophorinae., Phyllophorella queenslandica Rentz, Su & Ueshima , new species;, Siliquofera grandis Blanchard.

Discussion. We have used as our Fig. 1 the drawing presented by Caudell (1912, Fig. 11 ) in his review of the subfamily. “a” represents the coxa and “b”, the metacoxal plate) He illustrated a species, P. woodfordi (Kirby) , which is now included in Phyllophorella . If this old illustration is accurate, P. w o o d f o rd i bears a series of serrations on the metacoxal plate ( Fig. 1 b), whereas our new species bears 8–9 tubercles along the outer margin of the metasternal lobe. Of geographic interest is the female recorded from Moa Island. It may represent a different species. Aside from its large size ( Table 1) it bears 9–10 tubercles on the metanotal lobe. In other respects, it is identical to this species.

J. & S. Hasenpusch report (in litt.) that the nymphs of this species devastated the leaves of Alphitonia sp. when placed on the plant. In nature, DCFR has found individuals resting on gingers and Fan palms, Licuala ramsayii , and several other rainforest species but have never observed them feeding.

This species has not been attracted to lights.

Figures

FIGURE 1. The coxal-mesosternal stridulatory mechanism distinctive of the Phyllophorinae. Hyperhomala = Phyllophorella woodfordi (Kirby). From Caudell (1911).

FIGURE 4. Left tegmina, Scale: 10 mm. A, S. grandis, adult female; B, Phyllophorella queenslandica Rentz, Su, Ueshima sp. nov., paratopotypes, adult male; C, P. queenslandica Rentz, Su, Ueshima sp. nov., adult male, Bamaga, Qld.

FIGURE 7. Phyllophorella queenslandica Rentz, Su, Ueshima sp. nov., adult male paratopotype.

FIGURE 8. Phyllophorella queenslandica Rentz, Su, Ueshima sp. nov., adult female. (Gary Wilson photo).

FIGURE 9. Phyllophorella queenslandica Rentz, Su, Ueshima sp. nov. A, first instar nymph. Note juxtaposition on grass; B, mid instar nymph, note white tip of abdomen (S. & J. Hasenpusch photo); same specimen, note dentition of margins of pronotum (S. & J. Hasenpusch photo).

FIGURE 10. Phyllophorella queenslandica Rentz, Su, Ueshima sp. nov. A, ventral view thorax showing meso- and metasternal plates, note stridulatory striae on hind coxa; C B, head and pronotum, adult male, note armature and sculpturing; ventral view end of abdomen, adult female, note shape of subgenital plate.

FIGURE 11. Phyllophorella queenslandica Rentz, Su, Ueshima sp. nov., scanning electron micrographs. A, ventral view end of abdomen, paratopotype male; B, style at tip of subgenital plate, scale: 0. 1 mm; C, unusual sensory structures near tip of cercus, scale 0.01 mm; D, tip of cercus, note spine and unusual sensory structures, scale: 0.1 mm.

FIGURE 12. Phyllophorella queenslandica Rentz, Su, Ueshima sp. nov. Scanning electron micrographs of egg. A, note shape and sculpture, scale: 1 mm. B, microstructure of blunt end; note microstructure, scale: 0.01 mm. C, obverse side, note longitudinal sulcus, scale: 1.0 mm.

FIGURE 13. Karyotype of Phyllophorella queenslandica Rentz, Su, Ueshima sp. nov. a, karyotype; b, spermatogonial metaphase; c, diakinesis; d, first metaphase; e, first anaphase.