Pharmacus cochleatus rawhiti, Hegg & Morgan-Richards & Trewick, 2022

Hegg, Danilo, Morgan-Richards, Mary & Trewick, Steven A., 2022, High alpine sorcerers: revision of the cave wētā genus Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae: Macropathinae), with the description of six new species and three new subspecies, European Journal of Taxonomy 808 (1), pp. 1-58 : 34-35

Pharmacus cochleatus rawhiti subsp. nov.

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:BE259438-D4DD-467F-BE72-27526E2D6B53

Figs 1–2 , 6 , 8E , 9C , 10F , 14E , 16D , 18B

Diagnosis

A mid-sized cave wētā found in the mountains either side of Lake Wakatipu and south of the Greenstone and Kawarau Rivers, at elevations greater than 1300 m. Body colour is chequered light brown/dark brown, with reddish legs and antennae. A prolateral apical spine is often present on the fore femur, and occasionally on the mid femur also. Hind legs longer than in P. cochleatus cochleatus .

The sympatric Pharmacus notabilis sp. nov. is mainly found at lower elevations and is easily identified by its turquoise/grey tergites, as well as its unique male terminalia. Two other species of Rhaphidophoridae share the habitat with P. cochleatus rawhiti subsp. nov., these are Talitropsis chopardi and Macropathus sp. . The former has shorter legs and fewer, larger spines on the hind tibiae, and unarmed hind tarsi; the latter has uniform brown colour and much longer legs, which give the insect a very slender appearance.

Etymology

‘ Rāwhiti ’ is Te Reo for ‘eastern’ – this subspecies inhabits mountain ranges east of the Southern Alps.

Unaware of the fact that it belongs to the same species as his ‘black tumbling cave wētā’, Crowe (2002) refers to this insect as ‘Remarkables cave wētā’. We discourage the use of this common name, since there are at least four species of cave wētā found in The Remarkables, including two species of Pharmacus . The range of Pharmacus cochleatus rawhiti subsp. nov. extends well beyond The Remarkables, as far south as the Garvie and Umbrella Mountains, and west to the Livingstone Mountains.

Material examined (see also Supp. file 1: Table S5)

Holotype NEW ZEALAND • ♂, adult; Central Otago (CO), Mt Tūwhakarōria, Hector Mountains ; 45.12771° S, 168.82939° E; 2000 m a.s.l.; 25 Apr. 2019; D. Hegg leg.; on large boulder; night search + insect net; NMNZ AI.052290 (prev. MPN CW4429).

Paratype NEW ZEALAND • 1 ♀, adult; Central Otago (CO), James Peak, Hector Mountains ; 45.26417° S, 168.81555° E; 1600 m a.s.l.; 17 Feb. 2018; D. Hegg leg.; in cracks in rock tor; night search + insect net; NMNZ AI.052291 (prev. MPN CW3833) .

Other material

NEW ZEALAND – Central Otago ( CO) • 2 ♂♂; same collection data as for paratype; GenBank: OM293704 , OM293706 ; MPN CW3769 , CW3838 • 2 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, 1 nymph; same collection data as for paratype; MPN CW3770 , CW3832 , CW3834 to CW3837 • 1 ♀; Gem Lake, Umbrella Mountains ; 45.57097° S, 169.10525° E; 1300 m a.s.l.; 13 Apr. 2019; D. Hegg leg.; in boulder field; night search + insect net; GenBank OM293720 ; MPN CW4465 • 5 ♂♂, 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; MPN CW4466 to CW4471 • 1 ♀; Blue Lake Creek, Garvie Mountains ; 45.46778° S, 168.95290° E; 1280 m a.s.l.; 21 Apr. 2019; D. Hegg leg.; on rock tors; night search + insect net; GenBank: OM293719 ; MPN CW4425 • 6 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, 3 nymphs; same collection data as for preceding; MPN CW4424 , CW4426 , CW4427 , CW4458 to CW4464 , CW4510 , CW4511 • 1 ♀; same collection data as for holotype; GenBank: OM293717 ; MPN CW4395 • 3 ♂♂, 1 ♀; same collection data as for holotype; MPN CW4396 , CW4428 , CW4430 , CW4431 • 2 ♂♂, 1 ♀; Lake Alta, The Remarkables ; 45.06176° S, 168.81096° E; 1820 m a.s.l.; 26 Mar. 2021; D. Hegg leg.; on large boulder; night search + insect net; MPN CW5219 to CW5221 . – Otago Lakes ( OL) • 1 nymph; Cerberus, Livingstone Mountains ; 45.28570° S, 168.14069° E; 1460 m a.s.l.; 26 Jun. 2020; D. Hegg leg.; on rocky outcrop; night search; GenBank: OM293730 ; MPN CW4895 • 1 ♀; Mt Turnbull, Thomson Mountains ; 45.13566° S, 168.32134° E; 1600 m a.s.l.; 15 Jan. 2021; D. Hegg leg.; on rock bluffs; night search + insect net; GenBank: OM293737 ; MPN CW5193 • 8 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀; same collection data as for preceding; MPN CW5184 to CW5192 , CW5194 .

Description

MEASUREMENTS. See Table 1.

HEAD. As per generic description. Eyes grey/green. Antennae red-brown.

THORAX. As per generic description.

LEGS. Longer than in P. cochleatus cochleatus ; approx. same length as in P. montanus . The hind tibiae are on average 5% longer than body in females and 20% longer than body in males. Fore femora often armed with one prolateral spine at the apex. Mid femora always armed with one retrolateral spine and occasionally with one prolateral spine at the apex. The first hind tarsus segment is armed with a variable number of dorsal linear spines above.

ABDOMEN. Tergites sparsely tomentose. A thin, pale median line along the whole length of the insect may or may not be present. The colour of the tergites is mostly chequered light/dark red-brown or brown ( Fig. 8E ). Nymphs may be uniform brown.

MALE TERMINALIA. Same as in P. cochleatus cochleatus .

FEMALE TERMINALIA. Same as in P. cochleatus cochleatus . Ovipositor only marginally shorter.

Figures

Fig. 1. A. Genetic relationships of cave wētā support monophyly of the genus Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893. Gene tree from mtDNA sequences (~1500 bp of COI) using Maximum Likelihood with 1000 bootstraps and Macropathus filifer Walker, 1869 to root the tree. B. Map of South Island of New Zealand, showing locations of Pharmacus specimens used in phylogenetic analyses (Figs 1A, 2). Colours correspond to different species. Two letter codes indicate the New Zealand entomological regions (Crosby et al. 1998). These codes are reported in the Material examined section for each species.

Fig. 2. Gene tree for the eight morphologically identified species of Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893 using Maximum Likelihood analysis of ~850 bp of mtDNA (COI) from 60 specimens ofPharmacus.

Fig. 6. Known distribution of cave wētā in the genus Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893 in the south of the South Island, New Zealand.

Fig. 8. Dorsal views of adult ♂ cave wētā in the genus Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893. Notice loss of natural pigmentation of pale body parts due to preservation in ethanol. A–B. Pharmacus montanus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893 A. Mt Annette, Sealy Range, Mt Cook (MPN CW3302). B. Lake Anna, Mt Franklin, Arthur’s Pass (MPN CW3989). C. Pharmacus senex sp. nov., Old Woman Range, Central Otago (MPN CW4387). D. Pharmacus cochleatus cochleatus (Karny, 1935) comb. nov., Topheavy, Mt Brewster, Haast Pass (MPN CW3324). E. Pharmacus cochleatus rawhiti subsp. nov., Mt Tūwhakarōria, Hector Mountains (NMNZ AI.052290). F. Pharmacus cristatus sp. nov., Skippers Range, South Westland (MPN CW4562). G. Pharmacus vallestris sp. nov., Matukituki River West Branch (MPN CW3700). H. Pharmacus notabilis sp. nov., Remarkables ski-field access road (NMNZ AI.052296). I. Pharmacus concinnus sp. nov., Eyre Peak, Eyre Mountains (MPN CW4482). J. Pharmacus perfidus sp. nov., Spence Peak, Takitimu Mountains (MPN CW4494). Scale bar = 10 mm.

Fig. 9. Left hind tibia of adult ♂ cave wētā in the genus Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893, dorsal view. A. Pharmacus montanus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893, Lake Anna, Mt Franklin, Arthur’s Pass (MPN CW3989). B. Pharmacus cochleatus cochleatus (Karny, 1935) comb. nov., Gertrude Saddle, Darran Mountains (MPN CW3413). C. Pharmacus cochleatus rawhiti subsp. nov., Mt Tūwhakarōria, Hector Mountains (MPN CW4431). D. Pharmacus cristatus sp. nov., Skippers Range, South Westland (NMNZ AI.052292). E. Pharmacus notabilis sp. nov., Remarkables ski-field access road (NMNZ AI.052296). F. Pharmacus senex sp. nov., Obelisk, Old Man Range (NMNZ AI.052294). G. Pharmacus concinnus sp. nov., Eyre Peak, Eyre Mountains (MPN CW4480). H. Pharmacus perfidus sp. nov., Spence Peak, Takitimu Mountains (NMNZ AI.052300). I. Pharmacus vallestris sp. nov., Matukituki River West Branch (MPN CW3700). Scale bar = 5 mm.

Fig. 10. Adult male terminalia of cave wētā in the genus Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893. Left column: dorsal view; central column: ventral view (subgenital plate); right column: lateral view. A–C. Pharmacus montanus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893, Mueller Hut Track, Sealy Range, Mt Cook (MPN CW3532). D–F. Pharmacus cochleatus (Karny, 1935) comb. nov. D–E. Humboldt Mountains (MPN CW3698). F. Blue Lake Creek, Garvie Mountains (MPN CW4462). G–I. Pharmacus cristatus sp. nov., Skippers Range High Point, South Westland (NMNZ AI.052292). J–L. Pharmacus notabilis sp. nov., Remarkables Ski-field access road (NMNZ AI.052296). Scale bars = 1 mm.

Fig. 14. Live Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893 in their natural environments. A–B. Pharmacus montanus Pictet& de Saussure, 1893.A.Adult ♂, with dark coloration typicalof high elevationspecimens. Mt Annette, Sealy Range, Mt Cook, 2200 m a.s.l. (MPN CW3302). B. Adult ♂, with coloration typical of low elevation specimens. Mueller Hut Track, Sealy Range, Mt Cook, 1500 m a.s.l. C–D. Pharmacus cochleatus cochleatus (Karny, 1935) comb. nov. C. Adult ♀, with yellow / black chequered coloration that is most typical for the species, parasitized by red mites (Order Trombidiformes). Luna Basin, Major Peak, Wakatipu, 1470 m a.s.l. D. Adult ♂, with dark coloration typical of high elevation specimens. Mt Edgar Thomson, Ben Ōhau Range, 2350 m a.s.l. (MPN CW3278). E. Pharmacus cochleatus rawhiti subsp. nov. Adult ♂, Blue Lake Creek, Garvie Mountains, 1280 m a.s.l. F. Pharmacus cristatus sp. nov. Adult ♀, Skippers Range High Point, South Westland, 1520 m a.s.l.

Fig. 16. Habitat of Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893.A. Sealy Range, Mount Cook.a–b. Collection localities of Pharmacus montanus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893. a. Mueller Hut Track, 1500 m a.s.l. (MPN CW3299, CW3300, CW3532–3535). b. Mount Annette, 2200 m a.s.l. (MPN CW3302, CW3303, CW3323). c. Mount Edgar Thomson, Ben Ohau Range, 2350 m a.s.l., collection locality of P. cochleatus cochleatus (Karny, 1935) comb. nov. (MPN CW3278). B. Lochnagar, Richardson Mountains. d. Rock bluffs at 2080 m a.s.l., collection locality of P. cochleatus cochleatus (Karny, 1935) comb. nov. (MPN CW4590). C. Matukituki River West Branch. e–f. Collection localities of P. vallestris sp. nov. e. Valley floor, dry creek bed at 1000 m a.s.l. (MPN CW3430, CW3700). f. French Ridge, 1650 m a.s.l. (MPN CW5145, CW5146, CW5213–5215). g–h. Collection localities of P. cochleatus cochleatus (Karny, 1935) comb. nov. g. French Ridge, 1800 m a.s.l. (MPN CW5207, CW5208). h. Bevan Col, 1850 m a.s.l. (OMNZ IV7927 and MPN CW5178 to 5180). D. The Remarkables, Queenstown. i–j. Collection localities of Pharmacus notabilis sp. nov. i. Remarkables Ski-field Access Road, 1220 m a.s.l. (NMNZ AI.052296). j. The Remarkables North ridge, 1600 m a.s.l. (MPN CW2588 – 2594). k. Lake Alta, 1820 m a.s.l., collection locality of Pharmacus cochleatus rawhiti subsp. nov. (MPN CW5219 – 5221).

Fig. 18. Map of South Island, New Zealand, showing the known distribution of cave wētā in the genus Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893. A–B. Solid shapes indicate material collected as part of this study; empty circles indicate additional locations of material examined by Richards (1972). B. Shapes represent different subspecies: dark blue circle = Pharmacus cochleatus cochleatus; light blue circle = Pharmacus cochleatus nauclerus subsp. nov.; diamond = Pharmacus cochleatus fiordensis subsp. nov.; triangle = Pharmacus cochleatus rawhiti subsp. nov.