Grylloblatta chintimini, Marshall, Christopher J. & Lytle, David A., 2015

Marshall, Christopher J. & Lytle, David A., 2015, Two new species of Grylloblatta Walker, 1914 (Grylloblattodea: Grylloblattidae) from western North America, and a neotype designation for G. rothi Gurney 1953, Zootaxa 3949 (3), pp. 408-418 : 412-414

Grylloblatta chintimini , n. sp.

( Figs. 2 A–F)

Material examined. Holotype male, OSAC #0000583178, with label “ OR. Benton Co. Marys Peak; on snow bank just below summit; 1m. snow. 2 IV 2006 1200 m.; D. Lytle; 44º30’15” N 123º33’18’’W ”; separate label with code number “2009” written in pen; separate label with “ HOLOTYPE ” written in pen. Specimen in ethanol, deposited at OSAC. Extracted genomic DNA OSAC #0000583178: DNA:01. Five paratypes (4 females, 1 male), Oregon, Benton County, Marys Peak, on snow bank just below summit, 44º30’15” N 123º33’18’’W, elevation 1200 m, 31 III 2006, D. Lytle and C. Marshall, colls. Specimen codes: allotype female, OSAC #0000583179//2012 ( OSAC); three females, OSAC #0000583181//2010 ( USNM), OSAC #0000583180//2011 ( CAS), and OSAC #0000583182// 2013 ( OSAC); one male, OSAC #0000583183//2014 ( USNM). Four specimens with label data same as holotype: two males, OSAC #0000583187//2008 ( CAS), OSAC #0000583189//2007 ( OSAC); two females, OSAC #0000583188//2015 ( OSAC), OSAC #0000583190//2016 ( OSAC). Three specimens, Oregon, Benton County, Marys Peak on snow, above top parking lot, 2 April 2006, D. A. Lytle, coll., all deposited in OSAC: two males, OSAC #0000583184//2004, OSAC #0000583185//2005; one female, OSAC #0000583186//2006.

Description: Neotype 14.6 mm long (measurements taken on ethanol-preserved specimen). Antenna with 33 segments on both left and right. Abdominal tergites and sternites dark, approximately Dresden brown to mummy brown; abdominal sternites finely pubescent, with larger porect setae evenly and prominently distributed across surface; abdominal tergites finely pubescent, with several erect setae along posterior margins. Cerci 9-segmented, shorter than abdomen; left cercus length 4.8 mm. Head width 2.8 mm, length 2.6 mm. Pronotum length 2.4 mm, width 2.3 mm. Interocular distance 2.0 mm, eye width 0.4 mm. Left hind femur length 4.4 mm, width 0.8 mm. Left hind tibia length 4.6 mm.

Supra-anal plate borne asymmetrically, right posterior apical corner less acute; bearing several major setae on surface and lateral edges; right posterolateral angle (angle formed by the right anterolateral edge of supra-anal plate and a line tangent to the curve formed between the right and left posterolateral lobes) obtuse, approximately 100º. Right gonocoxite with fine pubescence; single larger seta on ventral edge; anterodorsally with distinct notch anterior of dorsal finger ( Fig 2 B). Gonostyli borne laterally on basal half, bearing three or four major setae on posterolateral edge; longest setae exceeding width of gonostyli.

Primary copulatory structure with apical beak stout and with posterior face not expanded into a prominent dorsal flange ( Fig. 2 D). The secondary accessory sclerite of right phallomere ( Fig 2 E,F) distinctly quadrate, appearing chisel-, or tooth-shaped.

Size small for genus. Antennal segment counts on specimens range from 31 to 33. Female with similar body coloration to male but generally larger in size. Ovipositor approximately three-fourths the length of cerci; dorsal valvulae slightly longer than ventral valvulae ( Fig 2 A).

Diagnosis. Although currently G. chintimini is only known from the type locality at Marys Peak in the Oregon Coast Range, this species is similar to G. ro t h i and G. newberryensis from the Oregon Cascades, which would all be identified as G. ro t h i using the key published in Storozhenko (1988), given that they share similar antennal segmentation, relatively short cerci and a strongly asymmetrical male supra-anal plate. However, the species are quite distinct; in addition to having different COII mtDNA ( Table 1 ), G. chintimini has a darker brown, less reddish body coloration and a relatively narrower head and prothorax than either G. rothi or G. newberryensis . The terminus of the male primary copulatory sclerite in G. chintimini differs from that of G. rothi in lacking an expanded apicaldorsal flange, which is also present in G. newberryensis although less pronounced than in G. ro t h i. The secondary accessory sclerite of the right phallomere is also distinct in comparison to both G. ro t h i and G. newberryensis . The cerci and dorsal valvulae of the ovipositor of G. chintimini are comparatively similar to those of G. ro t h i and noticeably shorter than those of G. newberryensis .

The only known locality for G. chintimini is Marys Peak (often erroneously referred to as Mary’s Peak). This peak, about 15 miles WSW of Corvallis, Oregon, is the highest point in the Oregon Coast Range. Snow is not uncommon in Oregon’s coast range, but Marys Peak is one of relatively few places high enough in elevation to reliably accumulate snowpack that lasts from fall until spring. Several collecting trips to nearby peaks of lower elevation that might provide suitable grylloblattid habitat have yielded no specimens, so it remains to be seen if G. chintimini is endemic to Marys Peak or has a more widespread distribution.

Etymology. The word chintimini is a version of T’cha teemanwi, the Kalapuya tribe place name for Marys Peak ( McArthur 2003).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Grylloblatta chintimini n. sp. A, female, lateral view of ovipositor and cercus showing the dorsal valvula (dv); B, male, lateral view of right gonocoxa (gcx-r) and right gonostylus (gst-r), showing distinct notch anterior of dorsal finger (arrow); C, male, lateral view of left gonocoxa (gcx-l) and left gonostylus (gst-l); D, male, anterior view of primary copulatory sclerite (pcs), showing posterior face lacking prominent dorsal flange (arrow); E, male, anterodorsal view of primary copulatory sclerite and secondary accessory sclerite (sas); F, male, anterodorsal view, detail of distinctly-quadrate secondary accessory sclerite.