Odontoxiphidium apalachicolae, Woo, 2024

Woo, Brandon, 2024, A new species of Meadow Katydid (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Conocephalini) from the Apalachicola River Basin of Florida, USA, Zootaxa 5523 (1), pp. 100-112 : 105-110

Odontoxiphidium apalachicolae , n. sp. Figs. 1 (A–C), 2, 3, 4, 6 (A–C)

Etymology. Named for the Apalachicola National Forest, the major stronghold of this species.

Proposed Common Name. Apalachicola Meadow Katydid

Material examined. Holotype: USA • ♂; Florida: Liberty County: Apalachicola NF, County Road 379, 1 mi N Sumatra: 30.033228, -84.994613; 11 July 2023; B. Woo leg.; dry pinned specimen . Allotype: USA • ♀; Florida: Liberty County, same information as holotype; dry pinned specimen . Paratypes: USA • 3 ♂, Florida: Liberty County: same location as holotype; 23 July 2022; B. Woo and L. Chen leg.; specimens in ethanol • 8 ♂, Florida: Liberty County: same information as holotype; 2 specimens in ethanol and 6 dry pinned specimens • 2 ♂, Florida: Franklin County: Tate’s Hell SF, FR-165: 30.010506, -84.935287; 11 July 2023; B. Woo leg.; wet savannah; dry pinned specimens .

Diagnosis. The form of the male cerci, with two subapical teeth, and the shorter length of the male tegmina relative to the pronotum, distinguishes this species from all but O. apterum . It can be easily separated from that species by the distinctive coloration in life, the male calling song, and the overall more robust morphology, as well as the shape of the female ovipositor.

Measurements (mm). Body (head to end of abdomen): ♂, 11–15.4; ♀, 15.9; pronotum: ♂, 3.5–5; ♀, 4.5 mm; tegmen: ♂, 3.1–4.1; hind femur: ♂, 10.7–12.1; ♀, 11.8 mm; ovipositor: ♀, 10.6 mm.

Description. Male. Overall morphology similar to O. apterum . Eyes and head proportionately larger than in O. apterum : interocular space ¾ length of fastigium. Pronotum lacking lateral carinae; posterior margin of lateral lobe very slightly convex, lacking sinuosity as seen in O. apterum . Exposed portion of tegmina ⅔ as long as pronotum. Hind femora stout, almost bulbous at base. Cerci straight and evenly tapering, slightly shorter in length than the last two segments on the dorsum; lateral, inwardly directed tooth ⅔ as long as apex of cercus and borne at base of distal third; stem of cercus bearing an additional small tooth about midway between the lateral tooth and the base. Supraanal plate bilobed, not quadrate. Subgenital plate longer than its width, emarginate at apex, bearing two short styli. Titillator sclerite elongated, gently curving; apices slightly expanded and bearing small dark teeth.

Female. Similar to male in overall structure. Tegmina and wings absent. Cerci simple conical, strongly tapered at tip (more so than in O. apterum ). Ovipositor gently curving upward (gently downcurved in O. apterum ). Subgenital plate broadly rounded, bilobed, with lobes forming a rounded notch at apex.

Coloration in life ( Fig. 1 ). Male. Head light yellow-orange overall with dark speckling on the face. Eyes dull bluish grey. Burnt rusty orange stripe on fastigium bordered on each side by two greenish yellow stripes. Pronotum dorsally burnt rusty orange, with two narrow longitudinal stripes of a brilliant turquoise; lateral lobes orange but grading into yellow-green, with minute black speckling. All limbs with dense dark maculation (much more so than in O. apterum ); femora pale orange; tibiae and tarsi greenish; hind knees black. Tegmina pale orange and shiny. Abdomen burgundy with cream edges to tergites, which form spots laterally before disappearing dorsally; last two abdominal segments dark maroon. Cerci yellow-orange with dark apices.

Female. Pattern similar to male, but darker brown overall. Head greenish brown; antennal bases dull green. Eyes bluish grey. Rusty brown stripe on fastigium bordered on each side by two yellowish green stripes. Pronotum dorsally very dark rusty, with two narrow longitudinal stripes of a bright malachite color; lateral lobes dull green, edged with brown. All limbs with dense dark maculation; femora light brown with greenish tinge; tibiae and tarsi light brown; hind knees black. Abdomen dark brown dorsally, light brown laterally, two creamy dorsal stripes extend from pronotum to cerci. Cerci yellow-brown; ovipositor reddish brown, paler yellow in middle portion.

Song. The male calling song ( Fig. 6A–C ) consists of a series of one to four short, high-pitched buzzes with three seconds between each set of buzzes. The song is quite consistent and easily distinguished from that of other katydids, including O. apterum , in the field. Among seven singing males that were recorded, carrier frequencies ranged between 18318 to 23723 Hz, but the song has several additional harmonics; for one male, these were at 54031 and 68786 Hz. In the field, males sang during the day in full sunlight; in the lab, most singing was again conducted during the day, with only intermittent singing at night.

Habitat. All known specimens have been taken in seasonally flooded savannahs with pitcher plants ( Fig. 2A ). Surrounding habitat is primarily longleaf pine woods or dense cypress swamps, where the songs of these katydids were not heard. Typical flora at the type locality included pondcypress ( Taxodium ascendens ), ten-angled pipewort ( Eriocaulon decangulare ), coastal plain St. John’s Wort ( Hypericum brachyphyllum ), Carolina redroot ( Lachnanthes caroliana ) sandswamp whitetop sedge ( Rhynchospora latifolia ), cross-leaved milkwort ( Polygala cruciata ), grassleaf Barbara’s-Buttons ( Marshallia graminifolia ), and pink sundew ( Drosera capillaris ). Other orthopterans present at the type locality and represented by voucher specimens in the TAMUIC include: Dichromorpha viridis (Scudder 1862) , Dichromorpha elegans (Morse 1896) , Chortophaga australior Rehn & Hebard 1911 , Aptenopedes appalachee Hebard 1936 , Eotettix pusillus Morse 1904 , Gymnoscirtetes rex Hill 2022 , and Paroxya atlantica Scudder 1877 . The Franklin county locality is a powerline cut, with similar floral composition to the type locality.

Interestingly, both O. apterum and the new species were present at the type locality, but clearly segregated by habitat. O. apterum occurred along the grassy road margins, while O. apalachicolae dominated in the wet savannah just a few feet away. Neither species was seen or heard in the domain of the other.

Additional photo records. Photographs of katydids from the counties bordering the Apalachicola River and posted to iNaturalist and BugGuide were examined in search of any additional records of the new species. Three images were found that seem to represent nymphs of this species based on overall morphology and coloration (matching that of nymphs collected at the type locality and reared to adulthood), as well as presumed habitat. The data for these records is as follows:

USA • 1 ♂ nymph, Florida: Liberty County: 3 km E intersection of Co. Rd. 379 and NF Rd 115: 30.0831027778, -85.0032583333; 04 September 2020; L. Gaudette; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/61146233 ; 1 nymph, 500 m E intersection of Co. Rd. 379 and NF Rd 123: 30.0584, -85.0156111167; 21 April 2024; K. Guin; https:// www.inaturalist.org/observations/208984007 ; 1 nymph, Apalachicola National Forest (general locality pin); 21 April 2024; P. and K. Connolly; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/210346580

Mating trials. Following are descriptions of the behavior of adult male and females of O. apterum and O. apalachicolae when placed together.

O. apterum male with O. apterum female: The pair immediately began antennating and tremulating, and the male began to sing a broken version of the normal song (presumably a courtship song). Within five minutes, they attempted pairing and were separated.

O. apalachicolae male with O. apalachicolae female: The male and female stayed on opposite sides of the cage after first being introduced, apparently not noticing each other. The female approached the male after 30 minutes, who upon contact immediately began tremulating and singing a courtship song. Although the female seemed to become receptive more slowly than in the case of the conspecific pairing of O. apterum , they did attempt pairing and were then separated.

O. apterum male with O apalachicolae female: Upon contact, the pair antennated briefly and then moved to opposite sides of the cage. After 20 minutes, the male O. apterum began singing a typical calling song. After another 30 minutes had passed with no interactions, the pair were separated.

O apalachicolae male with O. apterum female: Upon contact, the pair began antennating and tremulating. The male did not sing at all throughout. After two minutes, the male O. apalachicolae began attempting to approach the female and occasionally curved his abdomen as if to mate, but the female O. apterum seemed generally unresponsive and continuously moved away from him. Fifteen minutes later, the male managed to nearly attempt a pairing before being separated.

O. apalachicolae male with O. apterum male: For two minutes, both males sat unmoving on opposite sides of the cage. The O. apalachicolae male eventually approached the O. apterum male and seemed to actively pursue him in an aggressive manner. After five minutes of this behavior, the O. apterum male dropped to the bottom of the cage and began to feed on carrot, while the O. apalachicolae male climbed to the top of the cage and began to sing a short, harsh series of buzzes (presumably an aggression call, as it was quite different from the typical calling song as well as the presumed courtship song heard in a prior trial). Ten minutes later, the O. apterum male began to climb upwards and re-encountered the O. apalachicolae male, who immediately commenced pursuit again. The O. apalachicolae male continuously oriented towards and walked quickly in the direction of the O. apterum male, all while tremulating vigorously and uttering the aggression call. The pair was separated after 30 minutes.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habitus images of live adult individuals of Odontoxiphidium spp.A-C, O. apalachicolae. A) and B), color variations of male; C) female. D-G, O. apterum. D and E, color variations of male; F and G, color variations of female.

FIGURE 2. Habitat and live nymph photos of Odontoxiphidium apalachicolae. A) Seasonally flooded savannah habitat at the type locality (Liberty County, FL). B) Nymph male. C) Nymph female.

FIGURE 6. Calling songs of Odontoxiphidium. A-C, O. apalachicolae. A) Spectrogram of an echeme sequence. B) Waveform of same. C) Power spectrum. D-F, O. apterum. D) Spectrogram of an echeme sequence. E) Waveform of same. F) Power spectrum.