Kefalia laeta, Hemp & Heller, 2019

Hemp, Claudia & Heller, Klaus-Gerhard, 2019, Orthoptera (Tettigoniidae and Acridoidea) from Miombo woodlands of Central Tanzania with the description of new taxa, Zootaxa 4671 (2), pp. 151-194 : 177-182

Kefalia laeta n. sp. Hemp C.

( Figs. 25 A , 26 A , 27 A , 28 C, D , 29 , 31 , 32 , 34 )

Holotype. Male. Tanzania, Mingali Forest Reserve, Kondoa District, Dodoma Region, montane Miombo woodlands, 1800 m, February 2019 . Paratypes: 1 male, 5 females, same data as holotype. Depository: Collection C. Hemp .

Description. Male. General habitus and colour pattern. Typical phaneropterinae with long legs and narrow wings. Pattern of black and green tegmina. Lateral sides of abdomen with creamy broad fascia bordered above by dorsal green band, below by green-brown band, venter of abdomen reddish ( Fig. 30 A ). Pronotum dorsal green, lateral with conspicuous yellow fascia. Head and antennae. Fastigium of vertex as for genus, compressed, narrower than first antennal segment, sulcate above. Eyes oval, prominent.Antennae very long and thin, about three times the length of body; of brown-reddish colour. Tegmina. Stridulatory file situated on bulge; teeth densely set, decreasing in size, strongly but evenly curved up-wards at outer side ( Fig. 25 A ). Legs and abdomen. Fore and mid femora unarmed or with 1–2 very small spinules. Tenth abdominal tergite with only slightly incurved posterior margin. Cerci round in diameter, narrowing at posterior part, slightly compressed and tips sclerotized and incurved ( Fig. 26 A ). Subgenital plate with median v-shaped indentation ( Fig. 27 A ).

Female. Predominantly green or mottled ( Fig. 30 B–D). Elytra with dark margins, also tips dark. Ovipositor as in Fig. 28 C, D . Subgenital plate narrow tri-angular ( Fig. 28 C ). Posterior margin of 10 th abdominal tergite depressed in middle; cerci round and thick, tips narrow ( Fig. 28 D ).

Measurements, males (mm) (N=1). Total length of body 12.2; Median length of pronotum 3.0; Length of hind femur 14.5; Length of elytra 14.0.

Measurements, females (mm) (N=5). Total length of body 16.5–19.2; Median length of pronotum 3.1–3.6; Length of hind femur 16.4–17.5; Length of elytra 2.4–4.1; Length of ovipositor 6.4–7.2.

Song. The typical male calling song is quite similar to the of K. omorpha (see above). It consisted of long sequences (26±4 s: range 20–32; n=10) of short syllables which increased more or less continuously in amplitude ( Fig. 31 ). In syllable repetition rate, regularly slight differences were observed within one sequence. The sequence started with periods of 49.7±4.3 ms (SRR 20.1 Hz), became faster in the middle part (35.2±1.5 ms; SRR 28.4 Hz) and slowed down at the end (47.5±2.9 ms; SRR 21.1 Hz; all T=25ºC). The last element of a sequence was invariably separated from the previous by a large interval and had the same structure as in the other Kefalia species ( Fig. 32 ). Typically after the end of the sequence four to six isolated sound elements could be observed similar in structure to syllables within the sequence ( Fig. 31 ). The spectrum of the song is broad-banded with a peak at about 15 kHz ( Fig. 34 ; no high frequency recordings available).

Biology. Mating took only a few minutes, no visible spermatophore was transferred ( Fig. 30 B ).

Habitat. Montane Miombo woodlands, on foliage of bushes and trees.

Distribution. Central Tanzania, Dodoma Region.

Etymology: From Latin:— laetus, multicoloured, since this species has a contrasting pattern of dark, green, yellow, white and red colours.

Diagnosis. The here described Kefalia species, K. grafika n. sp., K. laeta n. sp. and K. omorfa n. sp., are morphologically quite similar. Differences are seen in the general colour pattern of the males which seems to be a stable character while in females a certain variation from green to tawny or speckled specimens was found. K. omorfa n. sp. is the largest species so far, with the longest and most narrow tegmina of the three species while the other two species have a more stout appearance with more reduced tegmina and wings. Slight differences are seen in the morphology of the male cerci. In K. omorfa n. sp. the cerci are stout and round in diameter till around mid of their length and then compressed, the sclerotized tips incurved. K. laeta n. sp. has male cerci that are almost round throughout their length, narrowing at the tips while K. grafika n. sp. is intermediary in these characters, the cerci being round till about midway, then compressed—but not as strongly as in K. omorfa —with slightly twisted tips. While K. laeta n. sp. and K. omorfa n. sp. have similar stridulatory files, K. grafika n. sp. shows a clear different morphology. In the latter species the distal part is abruptly curved up-wards, forming almost a 90° corner, while in the other two species the stridulatory file is evenly curved at its outer parts (compare Fig. 25 A–C). There are also slight differences in the morphology of the subgenital plates of these three species. K. laeta n. sp. has a median v-shaped incision at the posterior end, the lobes thus formed being evenly rounded ( Fig. 27 A ). In the other two species, K. omorfa n. sp. and K. grafika n. sp., a median v-shaped incision is present as well, but the lateral lobes formed are uneven or wavy at their posterior margins ( Fig. 27 B, C ).

Females of these three species are similar in their habitus. The elytra of all three species are of light to dark brown colour with margins and tips darker or completely black. In K. omorfa n. sp. the elytra are almost entirely black, in K. grafika n. sp. the margins and tips only while in K. laeta n. sp. the margins and tips are more of a dark brown colour but not as black as in the other two species. Differences are seen also in the subgenital plates of the three species. K. grafika n. sp. has a small, tri-angular shaped subgenital plate ( Fig. 28 A ), while in K. laeta n. sp. the subgenital plate is tongue-like shaped ( Fig. 28 C ) and K. omorfa n. sp. has a tri-angular subgenital plate with a very broad base ( Fig. 28 E ). However, females of all three species are similar and best identified with associate males and their locality.

Remarks. Further Kefalia species are known from Bereku Forest Reserve near the district town Babati (4 females) and from Mt Hanang (1 male). Morphological differences suggest species status, both of the females compared to females of the three here described Kefalia species and of the male compared to the males. However, it is not clear whether the single male from Mt Hanang and the females from Bereku Forest Reserve are conspecific or not. More individuals are needed to clarify species status.

Figures

FIGURE 25. Stridulatory files of Kefalia species. A. K. laeta n. sp. B. K. omorfa n. sp. C. K. grafika n. sp.

FIGURE 26. Male apices of Kefalia species. A. K. laeta n. sp. B. K. grafika n. sp. C, D. K. omorfa n. sp.

FIGURE 27. Subgenital plates of male Kefalia species A. K. laeta n. sp. B. K. omorfa n. sp. C. K. grafika n. sp.

FIGURE 28. Subgenital plates and semilateral to dorsal view on last abdominal tergites of female Kefalia species A, B. K. grafika n. sp. C, D. K. laeta n. sp. E, F. K. omorfa n. sp.

FIGURE 29. Kefalia grafika n. sp. from Wotta Forest Reserve on the Mpwapwa plateau, male (A) and female (B).

FIGURE 30. Kefalia laeta n. sp. from Mingali Forest Reserve A. Male B. Mating pair C, D. Different colour forms of female.

FIGURE 31. Oscillograms of calling songs of Eulioptera and Kefalia species, overview. 40-s-sections.

FIGURE 32. Oscillograms of calling songs of Eulioptera and Kefalia species, overview. Details of pronounced song ending, 1-s-sections.

FIGURE 34. Power spectra of the calling song of Eulioptera and Kefalia species. In species with restricted frequency range black lines mark its end. In K. grafika n. sp., the spectrum of the long group of impulses is indicated in blue and that of the final isolated impulses in green.