Nocticola gonzalezi Lucanas & Lit

Lucanas, Cristian C. & Lit, Ireneo L., 2016, Cockroaches (Insecta, Blattodea) from caves of Polillo Island (Philippines), with description of a new species, Subterranean Biology 19, pp. 51-64 : 53-54

Taxon classification Animalia Blattodea Nocticolidae

Nocticola gonzalezi Lucanas & Lit sp. n. Figure 1

Material examined.

Holotype: male, slide-mounted. Original label: "Philippines: Polillo Island (Quezon Province): Cave 5, Sitio Puting Bato, Barangay Aluyon, Burdeos, 13.v.2013 CC Lucañas” "UPLBMNH BLA-00220", "HOLOTYPE / Nocticola gonzalezi Lucañas & Lit [laser printed on red slide label]"

Paratypes: 1 male, 1 female, 5 nymphs, same locality as holotype but 10.x.2013: (CC Lucañas, UPLBMNH BLA-00221, ♀ (slide); -00222, ♂; -00223, nymph (slide); -00224a-d, 4 nymphs). "PARATYPE / Nocticola gonzalezi Lucañas & Lit [laser printed on blue slide label or handwritten on blue label]".

Type locality.

Philippines: Polillo Island (Quezon Province): Cave 5, Sitio Puting Bato, Barangay Aluyon, Burdeos, on calcite rubble with insectivorous bat guano.

Diagnosis.

Male brachypterous; female apterous. Compound eyes reduced, much smaller in female. Femur Type C1. Tarsi simple, symmetrical. Tergal gland absent ( simoni -species group). Accessory hook-like phallomere (L2d) dagger-like.

Roth (1988) noted the difficulty in separating nocticolid genera. Although Chopard (1945, 1966), being unable to differentiate Nocticola from Alluaudellina Chopard, 1932 noted the possibility of the two being synonyms, Nocticola differs from the latter by the absence of styles. Aside from Nocticola , only Cardacus Strand, 1928 lacks style in the family. The former is distinguished from the latter by the absence of ocelli and exposed vertex. Following such dichotomy, this new species is placed under Nocticola .

This species can be distinguished from other troglobiotic Nocticola by the presence of an accessory hook-like phallomere which was only reported from two epigean species, Nocticola scytala Andersen & Kjærandsen and Nocticola clavata Andersen & Kjærandsen from Ghana, West Africa ( Andersen and Kjærandsen 1995).

This species is similar to Nocticola simoni and Nocticola caeca in terms of coloration but differs in terms of size, Nocticola gonzalezi being smaller. Unfortunately, the male genitalia of Nocticola simoni and the male of Nocticola caeca was not described by Bolivar (1892) and the location of the type specimens are unknown ( Paris 1993).

Many Nocticola species are narrow endemics even among caves within a contiguous area (e.g. Nocticola simoni was collected from a cave in San Mateo, Rizal Province and Nocticola caeca from nearby Antipolo, also in Rizal Province). Considering this, as well as the morphological characteristics and the isolation of Cave 5 in Puting Bato, Burdeos, Polillo Island, we iterate the distinctness of Nocticola gonzalezi .

Description.

Size (mm): ♂, TL: 2.36 ± 0.13 mm; Pn: 0.50 ± 0.10 × 0.93 ± 0.05 mm; Tg: 1.13 ± 0.2. ♀ TL: 2.5 mm; Pn: 0.50 × 0.95 mm.

Male. (Fig. 1A,G). Yellowish brown throughout except for light brown pronotum and tegmina. Vertex of head slightly exposed; eyes reduced but larger than those of female (Fig. 1C); ocelli absent. Pronotum wider than long. Forewing reduced, venation simple indicated by spinules, rounded at apex; hind wing highly reduced, triangular with single vein. Legs very long, forefemur Type C1 (Fig. 1D); mid- and hind femur with apical spines; mid- and hind tibia with several minute spines on outer aspect; hind metatarsi longer than the rest; pulvilli and arolia absent, tarsal claw simple, symmetrical. Abdominal tergal gland absent ( simoni -species-group ( Roth 1988)). Supra-anal plate symmetrical. Style absent. Genitalia as illustrated (Fig. 1E), genital hook (L3) conspicuous, extending well beyond subgenital plate. Accessory hook-like phallomere (L2d) dagger-like.

Female. (Fig. 1B,H) Larger than male. Opaque yellow throughout except for lateral thoracic margins. Apterous. Supra-anal plate triangular. Subgenital plate broad basally, valvular.

Nymphs. Similar to female. Opaque white. Eyes reduced to 3-4 distinct facets.

Etymology.

The species is named after Dr. Juan Carlos T. Gonzalez, the current director of the UPLB-MNH, in recognition of his pioneering efforts toward biodiversity documentation and conservation in the Polillos, a group of islands, east of Luzon and politically a part of Quezon Province.

Distribution.

Philippines: Polillo Island.

Ecology.

Collected only from a single cave in Burdeos, Polillo Island, Quezon. The cave is deposited with porous calcite rocks and thin guano deposits from periodical roost of insectivorous bats, Hipposideros coronatus (Peters, 1871) and Miniopterus schreibersii (Kuhl, 1817). The site is relatively dry and rocky compared to the damp and sticky clay that is found throughout the rest of the cave, especially during the rainy season. They are quite fast and usually hide among the holes in the calcite rocks. They are found among and probably serve as prey for nymphs of whipspiders ( Arachnida: Amblypygi ), whipscorpions (Thelyphonida) and adult short-tailed whipscorpion ( Schizomida ).

Conservation status.

Due to the narrow distribution of this species, it is suggested that the species be considered “Vulnerable” and that the cave from which it was collected be protected from further anthropogenic disturbances.

Remarks.

Because of its morphological characteristics, this species can be classified as a true cave-dweller or troglobiotic.