Nocaracris minutus Ünal, 2016

Ünal, Mustafa, 2016, Pamphagidae (Orthoptera: Acridoidea) from the Palaearctic Region: taxonomy, classification, keys to genera and a review of the tribe Nocarodeini I. Bolívar, Zootaxa 4206 (1), pp. 1-223 : 164-165

Nocaracris minutus Ünal , sp. nov.

( Figs. 536 , 577 , 677–678 , 845 )

Type locality. Turkey: Hakkari, İkiyaka Dağları. Holotype: female ( NMW).

Material examined. TURKEY: Hakiare [Hakkari], Sat-Dag [ İkiyaka Dağları ], 1♀ (Holotype) ( NMW) (det. as Nocarodes s.l.).

Description. Female (Holotype): Body ( Figs. 677, 678 ) very small and slender as for the genus, distinctly depressed dorso-ventrally. Fastigium of vertex ( Fig. 577 ) broad, sloping, very weakly depressed. Frontal ridge very slightly narrowed and incised just below the median ocellus, frontal groove weak. Vertex wide between the eyes, 1.1 times wider than vertical diameter and 1.2 times wider than transversal diameter of eye; vertex convex in lateral view, with blunt carinulae; median carinula wavy and grooved; supraocular foveola open. Eye (fig. 577) quite wide, only 1.06 times longer than wide. Antennae lost. Pronotum ( Figs. 677, 678 ) depressed dordo-ventrally, with distinct lateral carinae; median carina slightly raised with a thin but distinct longitudinal sulcus slightly wider in anterior part, slightly convex in lateral view; anterior margin slightly convex, posterior margin straight in dorsal view; pronotal carinae and tubercles blunt, not strongly raised. Prosternum swollen, anterior margin very slightly raised, weakly tridentate, with a small wide triangular median projection, pointed but not very sharp. Mesosternal interspace wide, 2.5 times wider than its length, clearly wider than mesosternal lobes. Hind femur ( Fig. 677 ) slender, 2.9 times longer than its height, dorsal margin slightly convex with indistinct small denticles, ventral margin more convex; regularly narrowing towards genicular lobes. Hind tibia with 9 inner, 8 outer spines, the outer preapical spine absent (not broken) in both legs. Mesonotum and metanotum with grooved median carinae. Abdominal tergites ( Figs. 677, 678 ) simple, not raised and not protruded posteriorly. Metanotum and the first 2 abdominal tergites with irregular lateral carinae. Tympanum ( Fig. 536 ) very distinct and large, slightly larger than the neighbour stigmal area. Subgenital plate slightly wider than long.

Male: unknown.

Coloration. Body brown with black spots and short stripes. Around lateral ocelli black. Frontal ridge 2 wide transversal black bands. Typical light band on posterior margin of paranota weak, anterior one absent; anterior margin with a series of short black stripes; both sides of median carina and pronotal surface with small black spots. Femora with irregular sparse black spots. Anterior part of abdominal tergites pale greenish-brown, posterior margins darker brown. Inner surface of hind femur mainly dark red with a large black band along the median part; inner half of ventral surface dark red, outer half yellowish; inner side of genicular lobes blackened with reddish ventral lobe. Inner surface of hind tibia bright red with inner spines, outer half of dorsal surface with outer spines yellowish. All spines with black tips. Tarsus red. Ventral surface of body strongly darkened, blackish dark brown with partly and slightly body color.

Diagnosis. This new species is easily recognizable by the small body, the large tympanum, slightly larger than the neighbour stigmal area and the widened eye, almost as wide as long. The slender body shape, the pronotum and leg structures somewhat similar to N. karadagi sp. nov., N. monticolus sp. nov. and N. van . But it is different by the presence of a large tympanum, the wide and short eye and the smaller body. N. judithae sp. nov. has also a large tympanum like this new species. But, the smaller body, 25.5 mm (very larger, 46.4–54.1 mm, in female of N. judithae ), the median carina of pronotum with a thin longitudinal sulcus (very widely grooved in N. judithae ), the shape of hind femur (dorsal margin almost straight and ventral margin strongly expanded in N. judithae ), the red hind tibia (dark bluish-green in female of N. judithae ) are very different. It is also near to N. furvus (Mistshenko) by the large tympanum. But this similarity is certainly superficial and all the other characters including the distributions (while N. furvus is found in western end of Turkey, the new species is found in the south eastern margin of Turkey) are very different.

Measurements (mm). Holotype (female): body length 25.5; pronotum length 4.9; pronotum height 5.2; pronotum width anterior 4.9; pronotum width posterior 7.2; hind femur length 9.3; hind femur height 3.2.

Etymology. This species name “ minutus ” indicates the small body size.

Remarks. İkiyaka Mountain is located by the Iraqi border of Turkey in Yüksekova district of Hakkari Province.

Figures

FIGURE 845. Distribution of the species of genus Nocaracris.

FIGURES 522 – 554. Body parts. 522 – 527 hind femur, 522 Nocaracris niethammeri, male; 523 ditto female; 524 Nocaracris crassipes, male holotype; 525 ditto female paratype; 526 Nocaracris subrubratus, male paratype; 527 Nocaracris karshitoros, female paratype. 528 – 531 pronotal carinae in female, 528 Nocaracris bicoloripes; 529 Nocaracris dilekensis, holotype; 530 Nocaracris bodenheimeri; 531 Nocaracris burri. 532 – 536 female tympanum, 532 Nocaracris tunceli, paratype; 533 Nocaracris kosswigi; 534 Nocaracris bodenheimeri, without tympanum; 535 Nocaracris judithae; 536 Nocaracris minutus. 537 – 540 longitudinal sulcus of pronotum in female, 537 Nocaracris bulgaricus; 538 Nocaracris furvus furvus; 539 Nocaracris kosswigi; 540 Nocaracris tunceli, paratype. 541 – 544 female tympanum, 541 Nocaracris furvus furvus; 542 Nocaracris furvus kazdagi, paratype; 543 Nocaracris bulgaricus; 544 Nocaracris istanbul, holotype, without tympanum (right side). 545 – 546 Nocaracris istanbul, female holotype, 545 prosternum; 546 fastigium of vertex; 547 – 548 Nocaracris bulgaricus, 547 prosternum; 548 fastigium of vertex. 549 – 552 prosternum, 549 Nocaracris furvus furvus, male; 550 ditto female; 551 Nocaracris furvus kazdagi, male paratype; 552 ditto female paratype. 553 – 554 male fastigium of vertex, 553 Nocaracris rimansonae, lectotype; 554 Nocaracris tunceli, holotype.

FIGURES 555 – 583. Body parts. 555 – 556 male head and pronotum, 555 Nocaracris cinerascens, holotype; 556 Nocaracris ponticus, holotype. 557 – 558 female head, 557 Nocaracris tauricolus, holotype; 558 Nocaracris burri, topotype. 559 – 563 female prosternum, 559 Nocaracris burri; 560 Nocaracris sureyana; 561 and 562 Nocaracris tardus, paratypes; 563 Nocaracris emirdagi, paratype. 564 – 565 typical light band on pronotum in male, 564 Nocaracris tardus, holotype; 565 Nocaracris emirdagi, holotype, without light band. 566 – 568 male fastigium of vertex, lateral view, 566 Nocaracris cejchani, holotype; 567 Nocaracris bodenheimeri; 568 Nocaracris cinerascens, holotype. 569 – 570 female pronotum, 569 Nocaracris bodenheimeri; 570 Nocaracris cinerascens. 571 – 574 longitudinal sulcus of pronotum in female, 571 Nocaracris demirsoyi; 572 Nocaracris cyanipes; 573 Nocaracris curtus, allotype; 574 Nocaracris ponticus, allotype. 575 – 576 female frons, lateral view, 575 Nocaracris cyanipes; 576 Nocaracris curtus, allotype. 577 – 579 female eye, 577 Nocaracris minutus, holotype; 578 Nocaracris karadagi, paratype; 579 Nocaracris van, paratype. 580 – 583 female prosternum, 580 Nocaracris palandoken, paratype; 581 and 582 Nocaracris karadagi, paratypes; 583 Nocaracris monticolus, paratype.

FIGURES 667 – 680. Habitus. 667 – 668 Nocaracris demirsoyi, 667 male; 668 female holotype. 669 – 670 Nocaracris cyanipes, 669 male; 670 female. 671 – 672 Nocaracris curtus, 671 male holotype; 672 female allotype. 673 – 676 Nocaracris judithae, 673 male holotype; 674 ditto dorsal; 675 female paratype; 676 ditto dorsal. 677 – 678 Nocaracris minutus, female holotype, 677 lateral view; 678 ditto dorsal. 679 – 680 Nocaracris karadagi, 679 male holotype; 680 female paratype.