Sperberacris muriciensis Matiotti

Costa, Maria Kátia Matiotti Da, Fernandes, Anelise, Acosta, Riuler Corrêa & Zefa, Edison, 2023, Sperberacris, a new Neotropical genus of Gomphocerinae (Orthoptera: Acridoidea Acrididae) from State of Alagoas, Brazil with chromosome complement, Zootaxa 5228 (1), pp. 73-80 : 75-77

Sperberacris muriciensis Matiotti da Costa, n. sp.

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the type locality: (Murici = muriciensis ), a conservation area located in the municipality of Murici, State of Alagoas, Brazil.

Male. Body color dark brown.The head, thorax, and abdomen laterally marked by a broad dark brown band. Head with a median dorsal dark brown band and two lateral pale bands, one on each side. Face dark brown. Fastigium of the vertex with dark brown spots. Scape, pedicel, and antennal flagellum dark brown. Pronotum with broader median dark brown band and two narrower lateral pales bands. Each tegmen bisected by a broad brown dark and a pale band. Lateral lobes are slightly sinuous, with the upper two thirds dark brown and the lower third ivory. Hind femur smooth without darker bands. Legs I and II green; femora III orange; tibiae III orange and the final third black; hind knees dorsally orange; lunules genicular orange; spines of legs III black. Abdomen dark brown, yellowish dorsally and ventrally. The lateral regions of the 3–5 abdomen tergites are black.

Female. Similar in color to males, larger in size (Body length 25mm). Head with fastigium more prominent and wider than in males; eyes more prominent. Wings narrower. The ovipositor valves are strong and short in lateral view; without serrulated margins; the dorsal valve of the ovipositor is robust and the apical tooth of the external ventral valve of ovipositor is little prominent ( Fig. 11 ).

Measurements in mm. 5 Males / 2 Females, respectively: BL., 16.9 (15.7–17)/ 24.5 (23.1–25.4); PL., 3.1 (2.8– 3.3)/ 4.3 (4.0–4.6); FL3, 10.4 (9.1–10.7)/ 13.2 (12.5–13.7); TL, 2.5 (3.3–4.0)/ 5.1 (4.1–6.2).

Type material. Holotype ♁: Brazil, State of Alagoas, municipality of Murici, Station Serrado Ouro (9°14'7.50" S – 35°50'10.40"W), 19–23.i. 2013, Zefa, E.; Pereira, M.; Reḑ, D. leg./ ( MCT) . Holotype condition: genitalia were extracted, and maintained in holotype's vial. Paratypes: same data of Holotype (4 ♁, 2♀, MCTP) .

Genus Distribution. Brazil, Alagoas (Murici) ( Fig. 17 ).

Habitat. Individuals were found in shrubs and grasses on the banks of a dirt road crossing a stretch of Atlantic Forest.

Chromosomes ( Figs. 12–16 ). A diploid number of 2n=23, X0 for males, and 2n=24, XX for females; all chromosomes telo/acrotelocentric, grouped in two pairs large (L 1–2), two medium-large ( ML 3–4), four medium (M 5– 8), and three small (S 9–11) ( Fig. 12 ); the X chromosome belongs to the ML group, showing positive heteropyknosis until initial diplotene ( Fig. 14 ), and negative heteropyknosis along the terminal diplotene to metaphase I ( Figs. 15–16 ); in the initial diplotene, bivalents show the pericentromeric regions in positive heteropyknosis ( Fig. 13 ); zero or one dot-like B chromosome may occur.

Figures

FIGURE 17. Map of geographical distribution of Sperberacris muriciensis n. sp. in Brazil.

FIGURES 7–11. (7) Cerci of Sperberacris muriciensis n. sp., holotype, lateral view; (8) Phallic complex, lateral view; (9) same, dorsal, view; (10) Epiphallus, dorsal view; (11) Ovipositor valves, female, lateral, view.

FIGURES 12–16. Meiotic chromosomes of Sperberacris muriciensis n. sp. (12) Metaphase I; (13) Initial diplotene; (14) Diplotene; (15) Metaphase I; (16) Anaphase II.