Afroanthracites discolor, Hemp, Claudia, 2013

Hemp, Claudia, 2013, Annotated list of Tettigoniidae (Orthoptera) from the East Usambara Mountains Tanzania and new Tettigoniidae species from East Africa, Zootaxa 3737 (4), pp. 301-350 : 308

Genus Afroanthracites Hemp & Ingrisch, 2013

http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: Orthoptera .speciesfile.org:TaxonName:94415

The genus Afroanthracites was erected on Anthracites montium Sjöstedt from Mt Kilimanjaro by Hemp & Ingrisch (Hemp 2013a). The genus contains two species, A. montium (Sjöstedt, 1909) from Mts Kilimanjaro and Meru and A. usambaricus (Sjöstedt, 1913) occurring in the West Usambara Mountains. Here another four species are described as new, occurring in the West and East Usambara and Uluguru Mountains of Tanzania.

The genus Afroanthracites is characterized by a short fastigium verticis that is conical, slightly laterally compressed and shorter than the scapus. The frons is broad and has a shiny surface. The pronotum is rugose, rounded, and the posterior part in area of metazona is slightly inflated. The males of all species are micropterous, with reduced tegmina which are short rounded lobes completely covered by the pronotum. The tenth abdominal tergite in males is shield-like and broad with an evenly curved posterior margin or broad at its base and posteriorly elongated and curved downwards. The posterior margin is rounded or differentiated into lobes. The male cerci are fully hidden under the tenth abdominal tergite.

The basic shape of the titillators is simple ( Fig. 8 B, D, F, H, J, L), subhyalinous with huge and specifically modified apical expansions. The most basic shape so far known is in A. discolor n. sp., in which the apical expansion is rather short and about hand-shaped with four acute teeth, of which one (in situ the ventral) tooth is more spaced from the other three ( Fig. 8 B). In A. montium ( Fig. 8 D) and A. usambaricus ( Fig. 8 F) there is a single large hood-shaped acute process at the tip and a wide and long projection that might be homologous to the spaced tooth in A. discolor n. sp. In A. viridis n. sp. ( Fig. 8 H) the apical process is short and blunt while the ventral projection is extremely prolonged, band-shaped, sinuate and with little modified tip. There are also large basolateral sclerites and less conspicuous simple dorso-apical sclerites.

The titillators of A. usambaricus ( Fig. 8 F) are nearly identical to those of A. montium ( Fig. 8 D) except for the apical hood-shaped process being wider. As also the male cerci are very similar ( Fig. 8 C, E), a very close relationship between both taxa can be supposed. Apart from the differences in the shape of the tenth abdominal tergite, both taxa also differ in the number and densitiy of the stridulatory teeth on the underside of the left tegmen, which are much denser in A. usambaricus (248±8 teeth at 2.6 mm) than in A. montium (155±2 teeth at 2.6 mm) ( Fig. 10 B, C). That supports the recognition of two distinct species.

The females are similar to the males, with a long and stout ovipositor that is moderately up-curved.

Figures

FIGURE 8. Morphological details of Afroanthracites species. A. Lateral view on male left cercus of A. discolor n. sp. C, E, G, I. Dorsal view on male abdominal apex with stretched out cerci of A. montium (C), A. usambaricus (E), A. viridis n. sp. (G) and A. uluguruensis n. sp. (I). K. Dissected left cercus of A. jagoi n. sp. B, D, F, H, J, L. Titillators of A. discolor n. sp. (B), A. montium (D), A. usambaricus (F), A. viridis n. sp. (H), A. uluguruensis n. sp. (J) and A. jagoi n. sp. (L).

FIGURE 10. Stridulatory files of Afroanthracites discolor n. sp. (A), A. montium (B), A. usambaricus (C) and A. viridis n. sp. (D).