Phaneroptera parva Ragge, 1956

Naskrecki, Piotr & Guta, Ricardo, 2019, Katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) of Gorongosa National Park and Central Mozambique, Zootaxa 4682 (1), pp. 1-119 : 60

Phaneroptera parva Ragge, 1956

http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: Orthoptera .speciesfile.org:TaxonName:8231

( Figs. 25 G–I, 51G–I)

Diagnostic remarks. One of the smallest katydids in Mozambique, P. parva can be distinguished from other members of the genus by the shape of the male cerci ( Fig. 25H ) and a distinctly shorter tegmen in comparison to the length of the hind wing ( Fig. 25I ).

Bioacoustics. The call of P. sparsa consists of a series of single syllables produced at the rate of approximately 0.2/s; mean syllable duration is 0.10966 s (SD=0.02159, n=6); the peak frequency of the call is 42.7–50.4 kHz ( Figs. 51 G–I). This species is the only katydid in Gorongosa other than Gorongosa carri known to produce a purely ultrasonic call.

Distribution and natural history. P. parva has so far been known only from its type specimens collected in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Malawi ( Ragge 1956a), and this is its first record from Mozambique. Based on the known distribution of this species it is likely that it occurs throughout the sub-Saharan Africa. In Gorongosa P. parva is a rarely encountered species, found in open, grassy habitats, where it has been seen feeding on flowers of grasses.

Measurements (1 male, 1 female). body w/wings: male 22.5, female 19; body w/o wings: male 9.6, female 9; pronotum: male 2.4, female 3; tegmen: male 10.7, female 12; hind femur: male 12.3, female 14; ovipositor: 4 mm.

Material examined (8 specimens). Mozambique: Sofala, Gorongosa , Chitengo, E.O. Wilson Laboratory, elev. 42 m (-18.97775, 34.35130), 1–15.x.2017, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female ; GNP, Chitengo, E.O. Wilson Laboratory, elev. 48 m (-18.977722, 34.351333), 15–30.ix.2017, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 male; GNP, Chitengo, Wilson Laboratory, elev. 48 m (-18.977722, 34.351333), 1–15.i.2018, coll. P. Naskrecki & N. Vicente— 1 male; GNP, JAG Exclosure 15, (-18.89506, 34.44695), 10.vi.2017, coll. J. Guyton— 1 female, 1 male ( EOWL) ; Gorongosa Dist., GNP, nr. Lion House, (-18.915186, 34.370425), 27.v.2013, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female ( MCZ) .

Figures

FIGURE 25. Mozambican Phaneropterinae: A. Phaneroptera sparsa, base of male tegmina, dorsal view; B. ditto, male cerci; C. ditto, male, lateral view; D. P. nigropunctata, base of male tegmina, dorsal view; E. ditto, male cerci; F. ditto, male, lateral view; G. P. parva, base of male tegmina, dorsal view; H. ditto, male cerci; I. ditto, female, lateral view; J. Tylopsis continua, male cerci; K. ditto, male, lateral view; L. Tylopsis bilineolata, male cerci; M. ditto, male, lateral view.

FIGURE 51. Oscillograms and power spectra of Mozambican Phaneropterinae: A–C. Eulioptera carolli; D–F. E. reticulata leptomorpha; G–I. Phaneroptera parva; J–L. P. sparsa.