Hebardidora kasaloi 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 : 60-65

Hebardidora kasaloi Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares , sp. nov.

( Figs. 35E, F , 36 – 39 , Map 4)

Type material. Holotype. Male. COSTA RICA, Puntarenas, District of Golfito, Guaycará, La Gamba Biological Station . 8°42’2.49”N, 83°12’7.79”W. 80 m, IV.2018. F. Etl. ( CAUD) . Paratype. Female, same data as holotype ( CAUD) .

Description. Male. Tiny-size (5.1 mm). Body robust and rugose ( Fig. 36 ). Coloration. Body mostly dark brown, with black stripes running along the legs and pronotum; fore and mid tibiae and tarsomeres completely black ( Fig. 36 ). Head taller than wide, eyes occupying a quarter of the cephalic capsule, medial carina slightly protruding upward in the middle of the eyes, forming a small and conical prolongation ( Fig. 37A ); moderately widened in lateral view ( Fig. 37B ); lateral carinae moderately elevated, slightly protruding beside the eyes in frontal view ( Fig. 37A ), dorsal margin curved down, connecting with the base of the medial carina; scutellum wide; fascial carinae diverging into curved carinae in its entire length, outlining the scutellum and giving it an oblong shape; lateral ocelli rounded, located near the expansion of the frontal costa; medial ocellus inconspicuous, situated in the middle of the distal section of the fascial carinae ( Fig. 37A ). Thorax. Anterior margin of the pronotum moderately projected over the head ( Figs. 36A , 37B ); prozonal carinae developed ( Fig. 36B , 37C ); pronotal apex thin and pointed ( Fig. 36B ). Median carinae cristate, not forming a hump, progressively curving upward, slightly undulating in the middle, then descending in a straight line, ending in a point ( Fig. 36A ). Lateral lobes triangular-shaped, lower margin rounded anteriorly and pointed at apex in dorsal view ( Figs. 36B , 37C ). Legs. Fore femur ovoid and moderately expanded, dorsal margin with two rounded prolongations, and the ventral margin with three rounded prolongations of similar size. Mid femur rectangular, dorsal margin almost straight, undulating near the apex; ventral margin with three subtriangular prolongations of similar shape and size, equidistant from each other ( Fig. 37D ). Hind femur robust, the median external area with two small lappets, and antegenicular and genicular teeth well-developed; hind tibia armed with five small spines on each dorsal margin. Abdomen unmodified. Cerci conical and short, with penultimate sternite conspicuous; in ventral view, subgenital plate triangular shaped.

Female. Similar to the male ( Figs. 38 , 39 ), but differs in the following characteristics: Dark brown coloration with abundant ocher stripes and spots on the pronotum and legs; median carina of pronotum cristate, curving regularly, with two undulations of similar elevation in the anterior half of the pronotal disc ( Figs. 35F , 38A , 39B ); fore and mid femora with a wavy dorsal margin and ventral margin with a similar shape to that of the male ( Figs. 38A , 39B, E ); antegenicular and genicular teeth more pronounced than those of the male; subgenital plate semi-circular in shape, with rounded posterior edge ( Fig. 39D ); ovipositor with moderately thickened and denticulate valves.

Measurements (in mm) male / female. CFP: 5.1 / 7.2. PL: 4.2 / 6.2. PLB: 3.2 / 4.0. FF: 1.2 / 1.5. FL: 1.3 / 1.7. MFL: 1.5 / 1.6. MTL: 1.4 / 1.5. HL: 3.0 / 3.5. HW: 1.8 / 1.9. HTL: 2.7 / 3.0.

Comparison. This new species can be confused with H. panamae comb. nov., due to the shape of the lateral lobes of the pronotum ( Figs. 35C, E ). However, they differ in other characteristics, such as the medial carinae of H. panamae comb. nov. which is notably more projected in lateral view, resembling more H. harroweri comb. nov. On the other hand, in H. kasaloi sp. nov., the medial carina is less elongated and almost covered by the eyes in lateral view. H. panamae comb. nov. have two humps, one in the anterior section of the pronotum, and another in the posterior section, with a large concavity in the middle of these two ( Fig. 35D ). In contrast, the new species does not have a hump as such; on the contrary, the medial carina of the pronotum is wavy and cristate ( Fig. 35F ).

Remarks. Specimens identified as Metrodora panamae by Kasalo et al. (2023b) correspond to this new species. Therefore, color variation is evident ( Fig. 41 ), with the one most similar to the female paratype described here corresponding to the record on iNaturalist (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/48071095) from Osa, Puntarenas, Costa Rica ( Fig. 41A ), another female from La Gamba, Costa Rica (in the vicinity of the type locality of the new species), exhibits similar coloration to the female paratype ( Fig. 41B ), but the anterior margin of the pronotum and lateral lobes are conspicuously delineated in ocher color (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/109138953). Additional females may have the entire anterior section of the pronotum in ocher color ( Figs. 41C, D ) (https:// www.inaturalist.org/observations/45975152, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/75406245, and https://www. inaturalist.org/observations/144480295), as seen in the records from Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary, La Gamba and Golfito, closet o Parque Nacional Corcovado respectively ( Fig. 41D ). Other specimens may have a conspicuous dorsal ocher stripe, covering most of the pronotal disk, and the distal half of the hind femur ocher (https://www. inaturalist.org/observations/92962831, and https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/72848917) also ocher, as seen in specimens from Parque Nacional Piedras Blancas and Drake Bay respectively ( Figs. 41E, F ). The coloration is not regional.As can be observed in the records indicated here, one color form can be recorded in different locations, and different color forms can coexist in the same locality.

Etymology. Dedicated to the Croatian orthopterist Niko Kasalo in recognition of his contributions to the Tetrigidae .

Figures

FIGURE 35. Hebardidora species (females). A–B. H. harroweri (Hebard, 1924) comb. nov. A. Posterior margin of lateral lobe. B. Pronotum, lateral outline. C–D. H. panamae (Hebard, 1924) comb. nov. C. Posterior margin of the lateral lobe. D. Pronotum, lateral outline. E–F. H. kasaloi sp. nov. E. Posterior margin of the lateral lobe. F. Pronotum, lateral outline.

FIGURE 36. Hebardidora kasaloi Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares sp. nov. Male holotype habitus A. Lateral and B. Dorsal views.

FIGURE 37. Hebardidora kasaloi Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares sp. nov. Male holotype. A. Frons. B. Head and thorax in lateral and, C. Dorsal views. D. Mid femur.

FIGURE 38. Hebardidora kasaloi Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares sp. nov. Female paratype habitus A. Lateral and B. Dorsal views.

FIGURE 39. Hebardidora kasaloi Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares sp. nov. Female paratype. A. Frons. B. Head and thorax in lateral and, C. Dorsal views. D. Terminalia in ventral view. E. Mid femur.

FIGURE 41. Hebardidora kasaloi Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares sp. nov. A. From Puntarenas. Photo: Laurent Hesemans. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/48071095. B. From La Gamba. Photo: Sebastian Ploner. https://www.inaturalist.org/ observations/109138953. C. From Puntarenas, Alturas Wildlife Sanctuary. Photo: Laurent Hesemans. https://www.inaturalist. org/observations/45975152. D. From Carate Wildlife. Photo: Mason S. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/144480295. E. From Natural Park Piedras Blancas, Puntarenas. Photo: golfodulceretreat. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/92962831. F. From Drake Bay, Costa Rica. Photo: Gianfranco Gomez. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/72848917. All localities from Costa Rica. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED.