Anarytropteris fallax Uvarov, 1924

http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: Orthoptera .speciesfile.org:TaxonName:463525

(Figs. 20 A–J, 48J–L)

Diagnostic remarks. An agile and skittish katydid, with brachypterous males and apterous females (Figs. 20I, J), identifiable by the combination of the pronotum with a characteristic hourglass pattern of lateral carinae (Fig. 20F), the shape of the cerci (Fig. 20B), paired titillators (Figs. 20C, D), and a long, nearly straight ovipositor in the female (Fig. 20J). From the closely related A. chirinda it differs in the shape of the cercus, the shape of the tegmen (Figs. 20G, H), which is distinctly flatter and less coriaceous, and the pattern of the male’s call (Figs. 48 J–L).

Bioacoustics. Males call at night from dense bushes, from close to the ground to about 3 m above, and are incredibly wary, jumping away at the slightest disturbance. The call is a continuous train of syllables produced at the rate of 7 syllables/s (at 25°C); mean syllable duration is 0.007308 (SD=0.0009306, n=37); the call is broad spectrum, with most energy within 16.4–37.5 kHz (Figs. 48 J–L). The call, produced by males only at night, is audible to the human ear from several meters.

Distribution and natural history. A. fallax has been recorded from Malawi and eastern Zimbabwe (Uvarov 1924), and populations of this species have now been found in the Mozambican section of Chimanimani Mountains, and in Gorongosa National Park. These insects are found most often in shaded, humid understory of closed-canopy forests at elevations ranging from the lowlands to over 1100 m on the slopes of Mt. Gorongosa . Occasionally they can be seen in more open terrain, such as the edges of montane meadows on Mt. Gorongosa . They are primarily predaceous although nymphs have been seen feeding on the generative parts of grasses.

Measurements (2 males, 4 females). — body: male 24–26 (251.4), female 25–32 (28.73.5); pronotum: male 10–11 (10.5.7), female 11–13 (11.81); tegmen: male 4–5 (4.5.7); hind femur: male 19–22 (20.52.1), female 24–27 (25.31.3); ovipositor: 18–23 (202.2) mm.

Material examined (15 specimens). Malawi: Nyasaland, 1912, coll. Dr. Stannus— 1 male (holotype) (BMNH); Mozambique: Manica, Sussundenga, Moribane Forest, Ndzou Camp, elev. 593 m (-19.734695, 33.336130), 4.vii.2018, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female; Sofala, Gorongosa, GNP, Mt. Gorongosa, campsite above Murombodzi Waterfall, elev. 943 m (-18.482953, 34.044936), 27.viii.2018, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female, 1 nymph male (EOWL); GNP, Mt. Gorongosa, lower slopes, elev. 1105 m (-18.46556, 34.05202), 21–22.vii.2015, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female, 1 male (MCZ); GNP, Mt. Gorongosa, lower slopes, banks of Murombodzi River, elev. 1011 m (-18.469176, 34.048156), 30.iii.2018, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 male; GNP, Murombodzi Waterfall, elev. 879 m (-18.48295, 34.044967), 21.iv.2018, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 male; GNP, Murombodzi Waterfall, nr. Mt. Gorongosa, elev. 842 m (- 18.483361, 34.042944), 21–22.v.2015, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female (MCZ); Pungue River, elev. 48 m (-18.992917, 34.352917), 1–10.vii.2016, coll. M. Castene—1 nymph female, 1 nymph male (EOWL); Zimbabwe: Manicaland, Mutare, Vumba Mts, Hivu Nursery, (-19.115682, 32.773204), 7.vii.2015, coll. J. Guyton— 2 females, 1 male (MCZ); Mashonaland, Umtali, (-18.9666667, 32.6666667), 1900— 1 male (paralectotype) (BMNH).