Catoptropteryx cf. naevia Huxley, 1970

Heller, Klaus-Gerhard, 2019, Provisional checklist of the Tettigonioidea (Insecta: Orthoptera) from São Tomé & Príncipe with taxonomic remarks, bioacoustical data and the description of new taxa, Zootaxa 4563 (1), pp. 41-66 : 44-45

Catoptropteryx cf. naevia Huxley, 1970

( Fig. 3 , 4 )

New record for the island of São Tomé and the state São Tomé and Príncipe

2 first instar nymphs, SAO TOME & PRINCIPE: São Tomé, Praia Inhame Eco Lodge (0°01'N, 6°30'E), 20 m a.s.l., 1–2 v 2018, leg. Martina Heller & Marianne Volleth; one female ( CH 8569) became adult.

According to the morphological characters, mainly the strongly reduced ovipositor ( Fig. 3 A ), the female at hand belongs to the tribe Catoptropterigini , established by Massa (2016), and here to the genus Catoptropteryx Karsch. This genus was revised by Huxley (1970). Using the information presented there the specimen may belong to the West African ( Sierra Leone to Ghana) species C. naevia . Black markings along the edges of the pronotum ( Fig. 4 A ) are found only in a few species; nana Huxley 1970 , capreola (Karsch) , naevia Huxley, 1970 , ambigua Huxley, 1970 , punctulata (Karsch) , extensipes (Karsch) and capreola . Our specimen differs from C. nana in size, from ambigua and extensipes in coloration and from punctulata in shape of the ovipositor. In the coloration of the spinules of the hind femora the female ( Fig. 3 B ) from São Tomé is clearly more similar to C. naevia than to the widespread capreola . It is also slightly larger than capreola . Both species can easily be separated by the number of teeth in the male stridulatory file. So for final clarification—if it is one of these two or a separate species—the study of male specimens is necessary.

The female bears only one strong stridulatory vein on the upper side of the right wing ( Fig. 3 C ), uncommon in Phaneropterinae , but found e.g., in Parapyrrhicia ( Hemp et al. 2017) and some Anaulacomera ( Heller et al. 2019) . In all other Catoptropteryx species the state of this character is unknown. In. C. aurita Huxley, 1970 , however, the right tegmen of the female has about ten stridulatory veins (photos by C. Hemp).

Interestingly the small nymphs of this species showed unexpected black and colorful blue-green markings, especially at the head ( Fig. 4 B, C ). Such markings are at the moment known only from nymphs of Debrona cervina Walker (Hemp, in prep.), another species (and genus) with a strongly reduced ovipositor, currently placed in Otiaphysini . In further nymphal stages these markings become weaker and disappear nearly completely. The black color of paranota in the nymphs is reduced to a dark line in (sub)subadults ( Fig. 4 D, E ). Otherwise the nymphs are nearly completely green.

Measurements (in mm). Length of pronotum 4.5, hind femora 22, tegmina 31, ovipositor 2.6, width of tegmina 6.5.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Morphological details of Catoptropteryx cf. naevia. A ovipositor, B spines in lower side of hind femur, C stridulatory vein (arrow) on right tegmen.

FIGURE 4. Catoptropteryx cf. naevia, habitus. A adult, B 1 st instar nymph, C 2 nd instar nymph, D subsubadult nymph, E subadult nymph.