Amytta kilomeni, Hemp, Claudia & Heller, Klaus-Gerhard, 2017

Hemp, Claudia & Heller, Klaus-Gerhard, 2017, Revision of the genus Amytta (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae, Meconematinae) and new species from East Africa, Zootaxa 4263 (2), pp. 295-317 : 302-305

Amytta kilomeni n. sp. Hemp

( Figs. 4 , 5 A , 7 E, 8 H)

http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: Orthoptera .speciesfile.org:TaxonName:496654

Holotype male, Tanzania, North Pare Mountains , Mt Kindoroko, Kilomeni , herb layer along lower border of montane forest, 1750 m, March 2001. Depository MfN.

Paratype. 1 female, same data as holotype; Depository MfN.

Further paratype material: 19 males, 22 females, 6 female nymphs, 1 male nymph same data as holotype and February 2001, April 2001, October 2006, January 2009, January 2015, March 2015, December 2016 . 1 male, 1 female, North Pare Mountains , Kilomeni , herb layer in banana-coffee plantation, 1650 m, September 2002 ; 1 female, 1 female nymph, North Pare Mountains , lower border of montane forest, Ngofi Forest Reserve, 1600 m, October 2006 and January 2007. Collection C. Hemp.

Description. Male. General body shape and colour: Flightless, small, uniformly light yellowish-green ( Fig. 5 A ). Behind eyes only in few specimens with two lateral yellow lines, which mostly are present only at anterior half of pronotum. Eyes brown to reddish-brown. Tegmina meeting median, along the vanal area with brownish lines. Head and antennae: Fastigium of vertex smooth and conical, shallowly sulcate above; conus between eyes about half the size of first antennal segment. Antennae thin, whitish. Eyes circular, prominent. Cuticle of pronotum shiny with short scattered hairs. Tegmina shortend, tectiform with reduced venation. Stridulatory area hidden under pronotum. Alae reduced to slender lobes covered by elytra. Thorax and legs: Fore and mid tibiae with open tympanum, with 4–5 outer and inner spines, apical with a minute pair of spurs. Abdomen: Last abdominal tergite with elongated, strongly down-curved process ( Fig. 4 A, B, D). Cerci laterally expanded, shovel like with subapically blade-like expansion and slender apical acute incurved part ( Fig. 4 A–D). Subgenital plate longish with flattened roundish styli ( Fig. 4 C, 7 E).

Female. General body shape, size and colour as male. Ovipositor slender and smooth. Subgenital plate as in Fig. 8 H, broad, shield-like.

Measurements

males (n = 6)

Body length 10.0–14.2 Median length of pronotum 4.6–5.0

Length of hind femur 7.8–8.0

Visible median length of elytra 1.1–2.5

females (n = 6)

Body length 8.4–11.5 Median length of pronotum 3.9–4.2

Length of hind femur 8.1–8.7

Visible median length of elytra 1.5–2.1

Length of ovipositor 8.2–9.5 Habitat. Herb layer along forest edge, ruderal vegetation and coffee-banana plantations, collected between 1650 and 1750 m.

Distribution. Tanzania, North Pare Mountains.

Diagnosis. The only Amytta species at present with shortened tegmina and a long down-curved process of the last abdominal tergite. The process at the posterior margin of male A. savannae n. sp. is shorter and differently shaped ( Fig. 12 B).

Etymology. Named after the village Kilomeni in the North Pare Mountains where this species was first collected.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Detail images of male abdominal apex of Amytta kilomeni n. sp. A. Lateral view B. Rear view C. Subgenital plate D. Dorsal view.

FIGURE 5. A. Male Amytta kilomeni n. sp, North Pare Mountains, Mt Kindoroko, lower border of montane forest 1750 m B. Female Amytta judithae n. sp., North Pare Mountains, Mt Kindoroko, forest clearing, 1800 m.

FIGURE 7. Subgenital plates of Amytta species. A. A. digitata n. sp. B. A. meruensis n. sp. C. A. hanangensis n. sp. D. A. merumontana n. sp. E. A. kilomeni n. sp. F. A. judithae n. sp. Scale bars 1 mm.

FIGURE 8. Subgenital plates of female Amytta species. A. A. digitata n. sp. B. A. pellucida C. A. olindo D. A. meruensis n. sp. E. A. hanangensis n. sp. F. A. kilimandjarica G. A. merumontana n. sp. H. A. kilomeni n. sp. I. A. judithae n. sp.

FIGURE 12. Morphological details of Amytta savannae n. sp. A. Head, pronotum and shortened tegmina of male B. Abdominal apex of male, dorsal view C. Ventral view with subgenital plate D. Female ovipositor.