Platycleis (Platycleis) galvagnii Fontana, Buzzetti, Kleukers & Odé, 2011

Fontana, Paolo, Buzzetti, Filippo M., Kleukers, Roy M. J. C. & Odé, Baudewijn, 2011, Platycleis galvagnii, a peculiar new bushcricket from Sardinia (Italy) (Insecta, Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae), Zootaxa 2784 (1), pp. 51-61 : 52-57

Platycleis (Platycleis) galvagnii Fontana, Buzzetti, Kleukers & Odé n. sp.

Figs 7–8 , 13–36

Examined material and type depository: ♂ holotype: Italy, Sardinia, Nuoro district, Bruncu Spina , near the top, 1600 m, N 40°1’23’’ E 9°18’14’’, 6.VIII.1999, leg. P. Fontana and R . Kleukers ( MSNG); Paratypes: same data as holotype (3♂ 1♀ PFC; 1♂ 1♀ FBC, 1♂ RKC); Italy, Sardinia, Nuoro district, Bruncu Spina , 1582 m, 10.IX.2002, leg. F. M. Buzzetti, G. Carotti, P. Fontana and P. Tirello (1♂ PFC; 1♀ RKC) .

Male description. Ground colour ( Fig. 13 ) light brown-grey with black markings over eyes extending from frons to fore margin of pronotum, lateral lobes of pronotum black with wide clear margin, bright white at hind margin; tegmina with typical Platycleis colour pattern; hind femora with small dark marking at the end of first basal third, right on lateral keel and lower half of outer surface darker ( Figs. 13, 14 , 15, 17 ). Abdomen clear brown, with two dorso-lateral blackish rounded spots on each tergite ( Figs. 15–16 ). Head quite stout, eyes scarcely prominent ( Figs. 19, 21 ). Fastigium as wide as the maximum eye diameter ( Fig. 21 ). Pronotum ( Figs. 19 and 21 ) with dorsal surface laterally compressed in the prozona, keeled on metazona; humeral sinus on hind margin of lateral lobes clearly detectable and placed almost at 3/4 of total pronotum length. Tegmina as long as wings, with almost parallel sides, in lateral view, with rounded apex ending a little before the tip of hind femur ( Fig. 15 ). Pars stridens gently sshaped, 1.40–1.41 mm long and with 53–54 pegs ( Fig. 30 ). Tergite X ( Fig. 23 ) widely concave in the middle forming a “V” incision on the hind margin and two pointed lateral processes directed backwards. Cerci ( Figs. 25–26 ) digitiform, more or less cylindrical, evenly tapering to the rounded apex even after inner tooth. The inner tooth is situated slightly behind middle. Subgenital plate ( Fig. 24 ) subtriangular with hind margin incised between styli and bearing two keels on posterior half in correspondence of styli. Titillators ( Figs. 29 , 32–35 ) symmetrical, thin and sharply curved (hooked) towards the apex, distal portion spinulated ventrally ( Fig. 35 ). Male measures in Table 1. Stridulatory apparatus of ex. “2” and ex. “6”: stridulatory file length in mm: 1.40–1.41; number of pegs: 53–54; pegs x mm: 35.70–35.71.

Female description. Colour pattern ( Figs. 14 , 20, 22 ) and structure of head, pronotum and tegmina ( Figs. 17 , 20, 22 ) as in the male. Tegmina reaching the tip of hind femurs ( Fig. 17 ). Last abdominal sternite ( Fig. 28 ) swollen on basal two thirds with fore margin rounded and hind margin straight. Subgenital plate ( Fig. 28 ) subtrapezoidal with hind margin “V” incised forming two lateral lobes apically rounded. Ovipositor short and gently upcurved, light coloured on basal half and black in the distal half, with white and black colour extending into distal and basal half respectively; apex weakly crenulated on lower margin ( Figs. 8 , 17 , 31 ). Female measures in table 1.

Bioacoustics. The calling song of P. galvagnii consists of an echeme, lasting 1–6 s, repeated more or less regularly with intervals of about 1–3 s (fig. 36). An echeme usually consists of a series of 4–8 microsyllables, followed by a series of 30–150 macrosyllables. Only very rarely echemes can be heard that consist of only microsyllables or echemes ending with microsyllables.

Microsyllables last only 1–3 ms and are repeated at the rate of about 25–32/s. Macrosyllables last about 60–75 s and are repeated at the rate of about 10–13/s. Oscillographic analysis shows that only an unidirectional (presumably closing) movement produces sound.

The frequency spectrum shows a maximum around 25 kHz in microsyllables and around 30 kHz in macrosyllables.

Diagnosis. Platycleis galvagnii is a small species clearly different from other Platycleis because of the following characters: the humeral excision of the pronotum is scarcely evident, more similar to that of subgenera Tessellana and Montana . The species of the subgenus Platycleis all show an evident shoulder excision. The female subgenital plate does not show a central furrow, typical of all the species of the subgenus Platycleis , but is more similar to Montana or some Metrioptera s.s.. The ovipositor looks like that of a Montana or Metrioptera s.s., which are whitish in the first half, but it is much more slender. The titillators are very characteristic, with the apical parts very hooked, different from all the known Platycleis s.s. The most similar titillators seem those of P. grisea , but these are longer and not as hooked as in P. galvagnii . The Corsican subspecies P. grisea monticola Chopard, 1923 is also small and with tegmina not exceeding the apex of the femur, but the humeral excision, subgenital plate and shape and colour of the ovipositor lie within the range of the typical Platycleis s.s. Furthermore this species is clearly bigger than the Sardinian taxon.

Bioacoustically, several species of Platycleis / Montana share the character of singing with echemes that include macro- and microsyllables (e.g. P. affinis , P. romana , P. iberica , P. falx and P. (M.). stricta ). The repetition rate of macrosyllables of P. galvagnii n. sp. falls within the range of those of P. affinis and P. falx . Yet, none of those species start their echemes with a series of microsyllables.

Habitat. Platycleis galvagnii n. sp. lives in very dry stony habitat on top of Bruncu Spina in Gennargentu mountain ( Fig. 37 ). It lives within grasses or shrubs. In the same locality and habitat we collected: Platycleis (T.) tessellata (Charpentier, 1825) , Rhacocleis baccettii Galvagni, 1976 , Euchorthippus sardous Nadig in Nadig & Nadig, 1933 and Calliptamus italicus italicus (Linnaeus, 1758) .

Etymology. We are happy and honoured to name this new species after the Italian expert orthopterologist and our mentor Antonio Galvagni (Rovereto, Italy), who intensively studied the Sardinian Orthoptera fauna.

Figures

FIGURE 37. Habitat of Platycleis galvagnii n. sp., Sardinia, Nuoro province, Gennargentu mountains, Bruncu Spina, near the top 1600 m, 30.VII.1999.

FIGURES 1–12. Dorsal view of the female subgenital plate and side view of the ovipositor of Platycleis albopunctata albopunctata (1–2), Platycleis grisea grisea (3–4), Platycleis grisea monticola (5–6), Platycleis galvagnii n. sp. (7–8), P. (M.) stricta (9–10) and P. (M.) montana (11–12).

FIGURES 13–14. Alive specimens in nature of Platycleis galvagnii n. sp., male (13) and female (14).

FIGURES 15–18. Platycleis galvagnii n. sp., in lateral and dorsal view. Male holotype (15–16) and female paratype (17–18).

FIGURES 19–22. Platycleis galvagnii n. sp., head and pronotum in dorsal and lateral view. Male holotype (19, 21) and female paratype(20, 22).

FIGURES 23–31. Platycleis galvagnii n. sp. Male apex of abdomen in dorsal view (23), male subgenital plate in ventral view (24), male left cercus in dorsal view (25), male left cercus in ventral view (26), female last abdominal tergite and subgenital plate in lateral view (27), female last abdominal tergite and subgenital plate in ventral view (28), male titillators (29), male pars stridens (30) and female ovipositor in lateral view (31).

FIGURES 32–35. Platycleis galvagnii n. sp. SEM photos of male titillators. Dorsal left lateral view (32), posterior view (33), ventral view (34) and detail of basal portion in ventral view (35).

FIGURE 36. Oscillograms of Platycleis galvagnii n. sp., A: 30s, B: 3s, C: 500ms. Two recorded specimens. 1: Bruncu Spina, Sardinia, 30.VII.1999, specimen AO, rec. 4.VIII.1999, 26 ˚C (recording BO112: 11); 2: Bruncu Spina, Sardinia, 30.VII.1999, specimen BO, rec. 5.VIII.1999, 30 ˚C (recording BO114: 3).