Sumba roseipennis l. Bolivar , 1912

Popov †, George B., Fishpool, Lincoln D. C. & Rowell, C. Hugh F., 2019, A review of the Acridinae s. str. (Orthoptera: Acridoidea: Acrididae) of eastern Africa with taxonomic changes and description of new taxa, Journal of Orthoptera Research 28 (2), pp. 37-105 : 49

Sumba roseipennis l. Bolivar, 1912 Figs 65, 66, 78-81

Sumba roseipennis l. Bolívar, 1912: 78.

Sumba nigrescens Miller, 1929: 67, figs 17, 18 (syn. Dirsh 1966).

Sumba longicornis Ramme, 1929 syn. n.

Material.

-Holotype female roseipennis : ZAMBIA (MRAC, Tervuren). Holotype male nigrescens : TANZANIA, Kalula (NHMUK). Paratype male longicornis : CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, Ouham River, Bozoum (NHMUK).

Further material (NHMUK, unless stated otherwise): SOUTH AFRICA: Pretoria, IV. SWAZILAND (now ESWATINI ): Mbabane. NAMIBIA: Waterberg (Nat. Mus. Nam., Windhoek). ANGOLA: Villa Luso; Quirimbo, 3 mi. N. of Santa Comba; Mt. Lubiri, 6 mi. N.W. Alto Hama. D.R. CONGO: Lubumbashi; Parc National de Garamba. ZIMBABWE: Mashonaland, Harare (as Salisbury). ZAMBIA: Mbala (Abercorn), Lake Chila; Mweru wa Ntipa; Chambosi River. TANZANIA: Plateau 5 mi. S.W. of Sumbawanga; 8 mi. S. of Chala Mission; Ushirombo Road, 16 mi. W. Kahama; 13 mi. S. Biharamulo; Katavi plains; 137 kms. Sumbawanga-Mpando. UGANDA: mile 60, Mubende-Masaka; mile 35, Mbarare-Masaka; Kampala; Mbarara; Koki; Koki-Lawanda; Kapeka; Masaka; Buhimba; Msaka-Lwango. CAMEROON: 27 km N.W. Banyo, Ngaoundéré.

Description.

-As in the key. Coloration similar to that in Rhabdoplea , in shades of stramineous and brown, occasionally in shades of grey. Greenish hues, mostly in dull olivaceous shades, occur locally and apparently represent populations from particularly wet and green habitats. Fire melanism common and may predominate in some series. Hind wings pink or yellow at base; usually somewhat infumate apically. Wing color forms often sympatric. Shade and depth of pigmentation varies, probably in relation to maturation; immature adults’ wings may be colorless.

Discussion.

-Geographical variation in S. roseipennis parallels that of Orthochtha dasycnemis (Gerstaecker). Thus, the more slender, elongate individuals with narrower wings and fastigia are from D.R. Congo (Lubumbashi), and the stouter ones, with broader wings and shorter fastigia, from South Africa and Namibia; specimens from the intermediate areas and West Africa, are of an intermediate build. Antennal length and width are also variable; stouter, more robust specimens in southern Africa have shorter antennae, while more slender ones in West Africa (the original S. longicornis ) have longer antennae. Local variability is also great in some areas (populations in some parts of Uganda and Tanzania) whose structural differences almost span the extremes of the geographical range of variation. Specimens from near Chala Mission in N.E. Tanzania are as robust as those from Swaziland (now eSwatini ), while those from near Biharamulo in N.W. Tanzania are as slender as those from Lubumbashi. The phallic structures, however, exhibit no notable differences between these populations. Table 4 gives morphometric data on roseipennis .

Distribution.

-A variable species of wide geographical distribution: TOGO to CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, CAMEROON, D.R. CONGO, UGANDA, KENYA, TANZANIA, ZAMBIA, ZIMBABWE, ANGOLA, NAMIBIA, and SOUTH AFRICA.