Skejotettix kasalo, Subedi, 2023

Subedi, Madan, 2023, A new species of the genus Skejotettix (Orthoptera, Tetrigidae) from Nepal, Journal of Orthoptera Research 32 (1), pp. 81-92 : 81

Skejotettix kasalo sp. nov.

Justification of genus assignment. -

The herein-described species conforms to the typical characters of the genus Skejotettix as mentioned above in the diagnosis section.

Etymology. -

The species is named after Niko Kasalo, an emerging tetrigidologist from Croatia and a good friend of mine. The specific epitheton is a Latinized noun in apposition referring to the surname of Niko Kasalo (patronymic).

Common name. -

Bajung’s cliffhopper.

Common name etymology. -

The first part of the name is after the village of Bajung where the species was discovered. The second part of the name denotes the habitat type of the species.

Type locality. -

(Fig. 1 ) Kafleko Pakho, Bajung, Parbat, Nepal (Nepali: क ाफ्लेको प ाखो, ब ाजुङ, पर ्वत, न ेपाल) situated at an altitude of 1920 m a.s.l. with GPS coordinates, 28.27626°N, 83.69860°E. The type locality is situated at the top decile of the hill of Bajung village, which has a cool temperate climate. The area is a part of the Dhiku-Maidan community forest with sloping terrain composed of grassland and forest. The ground vegetation includes Ageratina adenophora (Spreng.) King & H. Rob., Anaphilis sp., Nephrolepis cordifolia (L.) C. Presl, Gnaphalium affine D. Don, Rubus ellipticus Sm under the cover of Symplocos theifolia D. Don, Daphniphyllum himalayense (K. Rosenthal), Rhododendron arboreum Sm., Schima wallichii (DC.) Korth, Prunus cerasoides D. Don., Eurya acuminata DC., Semecarpus anacardium L.f., Myrsine semiserrata Wall., Elaeagnus parvifolia Wall. ex Royale, and Myrica esculenta Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don. A dirt road (constructed in 2019) now runs through the locality; the road has mud walls, supporting a plethora of moss and algal growth. The holotype and several paratypes, as well as additional materials, were collected and photographed on these walls.

Material examined. -

Type material. Holotype (Fig. 5A-C ): NEPAL • ♀; Gandaki Province, Parbat District, Modi Rural Municipality, Bajung , Kafleko Pakho ; 28.27626°N, 83.69860°E; 1920 m a.s.l; 30.IX.2022; M. Subedi leg.; countryside road amid sloping grassland and forest, collected by hand, ICAG; ICAG-ORT-TETR1.

Paratypes.-(Figs 5D-L , 6 ) NEPAL • 1♂; Gandaki Province, Parbat District, Modi Rural Municipality, Bajung , Basnee Gaun ; 28.27321°N, 83.69778°E; 1880 m a.s.l; 28.IX.2022; M. Subedi leg., sloping grassland on the edge of a cliff, collected by hand, ICAG; ICAG-ORT-TETR2 • 1♀; Gandaki Province, Parbat District , Modi Rural Municipality, Bajung, Panikhola; 28.27569°N, 83.70610°E; 1665 m a.s.l; 28.IX.2022; M. Subedi leg.; stream bank; collected by hand, ICAG; ICAG-ORT-TETR3 • 1♂; Gandaki Province, Parbat District , Modi Rural Municipality, Bajung, Kafleko Pakho; 28.27626°N, 83.69860°E; 1920 m a.s.l; 30.IX.2022; M. Subedi leg.; countryside road amid sloping grassland and forest; collected by hand, ICAG; ICAG-ORT-TETR4 • 1♀; Gandaki Province, Parbat District , Modi Rural Municipality, Bajung, Kafleko Pakho; 28.27626°N, 83.69860°E; 1920 m a.s.l; 11.X.2022; M. Subedi leg.; countryside road amids sloping grassland and forest, collected by hand, ICAG; ICAG-ORT-TETR5 .

Additional material. -

Several adults and nymphs were photographed in the wild to study the characters and variations among individuals. The videos recorded are uploaded to the social media platform YouTube (YouTube channel: Nepali Grasshoppers, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp9QdbRCPSy19KZbnsPw_JQ).

Photographic material. -

The specimens of the type series in their natural habitat are shown in Fig. 4 .

Diagnosis. -

Skejotettix kasalo differs from the type species of Ergatettix Kirby, 1914, E. dorsiferus (Walker, 1871) in having a wider vertex with parallel lateral borders instead of a narrow vertex with lateral borders usually converging towards the front, with convex vertex (in frontal view) without horns instead of being concave with the presence of horns, and with the middle femora being robust instead of being slender. However, the species also share similarities: (i) presence of a notch on the scapus of the antenna; (ii) wings extending beyond the pronotum (valid in macropronotal form of S. kasalo ); (iii) antennal grooves distinctly below the ventral margins of compound eyes; and (iv) median carina (in lateral view) undulated.

Skejotettix kasalo sp. nov. can be differentiated from other species of the genus by the set of characters listed in Table 2 .

Description. -

Head: Eyes reniform. Top margin of eyes higher than vertex. Vertex low and flat between lateral carinae of vertex. Frontal costa bifurcates at around half length of compound eye from top. Facial carinae divergent, forming scutellum as wide as scapus before widening distinctly at bottom. Lateral carinae of vertex following outline of eye anteriorly; curved inward, almost straight at half-length of frontal costa from the top. Nodules distinct from top of vertex to halfway of compound eye. Paired ocelli placed at about bottom third. Top margin of antennal groove below lower margin of compound eyes. Minute hairs distributed all over face. Caudal margin of eye not in contact with anterior margin of pronotum. Vertex below top margin of eyes. Frontal costa visible as straight in front of anterior level of eyes, incurves halfway from top of compound eye, diverges into two facial carinae and runs straight down to lower margin of compound eye. Facial carinae curve outwards, forming a convex protrusion. Head exserted above general surface of pronotum, vertex approximately at level of elevation in anterior part of pronotum. Hairs present in lower half of face. Vertex at base of eyes wider than an eye, slightly narrowing anteriorly, as wide as an eye at its apex. Anterior margin of vertex in line with anterior margin of the eyes; frontal costa produced slightly ahead of anterior margin of eyes. Medial carina of vertex extending slightly beyond anterior half of vertex between eyes. Lateral carinae of vertex present in anterior half of vertex between eyes. Fossulae shallow, elongated, and present in anterior two-thirds of vertex between eyes. Posterior margin of eyes distinctly in front of anterior margin of pronotum.

Antennae. Filiform. As long as length between anterior margin of head and lateral lobes of pronotum. Scapus with a large notch in lateral view. The number of antennomeres is 16, with apical one consisting of fused segments, possibly 2 segments.

Pronotum: Brachypronotal, tip of the pronotum slightly shy of tip of abdomen. Sub rectangular. Median carina raised in anterior part of pronotum above vertex giving a tectiform appearance. Median carina sinuate, with most prominent elevation at transition between prozona and metazona; undulation gradually decreases in elevation afterwards. Prozonal carinae elevated, clearly visible. Prozona sulcated with sulci of an irregular shape. Lateral lobe sub-rectangular, sub-rounded. Ventral and tegminal sinus in shape of an obtuse angle. Humero-apical carina distinctly visible. Infrascapular area long; subrectangular in anterior half, gradually narrowing toward end. Lateral area progressively widening caudally. Small nodules present throughout the surface of pronotum. Small nodules distributed over entire surface. Anterior margin of pronotum truncated. Prozonal carinae distinct, converging caudally. Median carina continuous, reaching apex of pronotum. Lateral lobes projected downward; apex sub-rounded. Humeral angles oblique. Pronotum progressively narrowing caudally, ending in bluntly rounded apex. External lateral carina undulating. Internal lateral carina converges internally in last fifth, thereafter runs straight to tip, exposing wide lateral area. Two dark humeroapical spots present.

Wings: Alae not reaching apex of pronotum. Tegmina oval, entirely visible.

Legs: Fore legs setulose over entire length. Fore femora about 3.36 times as long as wide; dorsal margin denticulate; ventral margin erose. Fore tibia maculate; dorsal and ventral margins crenulate. Fore tarsus with first segment short (dark brown to black in color); second segment maculate, elongated, and with claws. Mid femora about 3.36 times as long as wide; dorsal margin denticulate; ventral margin erose; dorso-external and ventro-external carinae distinct; area enclosed between the ventro-external carina and ventral margin concave. Mid tibia Setose; dorsal and ventral margins erose; ventral margin with large spines. Mid tarsus with first segment short (dark brown to black in color); second segment maculate, elongated, and with claws. Hind femora robust; about 2.41 times as long as wide; its dorsal margin serrate, serrations uniform throughout length of dorsal margin before being raised into a group of closely placed 5 dents just before antegenicular tooth; ventral margin erose; antegenicular teeth arc-shaped, tip pointed. Hind tibia Smooth; ventral margin with large spines. Hind tarsus with first segment long (dark brown to black in color), having pulvilli with spinose tips; second segment small, third elongated and with claws.

Sexual dimorphism. -

No dimorphism observed between sexes except body size and terminalia. Female: Ovipositor valves widened; serrated with pointed apex. Male: Subgenital plate widened; curving upwards with blunt apex.

Notes on variability. -

Skejotettix kasalo sp. nov. is known to have two forms: macropronotal and long-winged (Figs 4J-L , 6 , video: https://youtu.be/boJsRQK9LSU), and brachypronotal and short-winged (Fig. 5 ). The undulation of the median carina in lateral view is more distinct and higher in the brachypronotal form than in the macropronotal form.

The posterior margin of the compound eyes in most of the pinned specimens, including the holotype and those photographed in nature, do not reach the anterior margin of the pronotum. However, in some cases, such as paratype 2, the eyes reach the anterior margin of the pronotum due to the position of the head during the fixation process and the way it was pinned.

Coloration. -

The coloration is cryptic, enabling the individuals to perfectly blend in with their surroundings (Fig. 7 ). For example, individuals found on the stones with lichen growths are entirely (Fig. 7A ) or partially (Fig. 7E ) blue-green in coloration, while individuals found on the muddy walls are light to rusty brown in coloration (Fig. 7B-D, F-I ). The coloration can be uniform throughout the body (Fig. 7A, B, D, F, I ), mottled, or different in the anterior and posterior halves of the body (Fig. 7C, E, G, H ).

Nymphs. -

(Fig. 8 ) The nymphs resemble the adults (Fig. 8 ) in coloration and the majority of the traits. However, the nymphs differ from adult individuals in having shorter pronotum (pronotum nearly reaches the hind knees in brachypronotal and extends beyond the hind knees in macropronotal adults), absence of wings, lack of antegenicular teeth on hind femora, poorly developed external genitalia, and the carinae being comparatively more distinctly expressed. The nymphs develop from one instar to the other by casting off the exoskeleton in the form of exuviae (Fig. 9 ) in the process of molting. Typically, the parts from the tip of the vertex to the tip of the pronotum are opened dorsally (Fig. 9B ) to let the individual tetrigid out while the other parts remain intact. The intactness of the exuvia might make them useful for some morphological studies.

Measurements. -

The key measurements of the holotype and paratypes are presented in Table 3 .

Closely found species. -

Two tetrigids, Criotettix cf. bispinosus (Fig. 10A ) and Hedotettix sp. (Fig. 10B ), were found alongside Skejotettix kasalo sp. nov. in the localities investigated.

Food source. -

The individuals of Skejotettix kasalo sp. nov. were observed feeding on food sources such as detritus (Fig. 11A ), moss (Fig. 11B ), lichens (Fig. 11C ), and algae (Fig. 11D ). Video links: A nymph feeding in the wild: https://youtu.be/6CeSekOTe4w; An adult feeding in the wild: https://youtu.be/PWYw-7Rvt3U.

Figures

Figure 1. Type locality of Skejotettix kasalo sp. nov., Kafleko Pakho, Bajung, Parbat. A. Sloping forest and grassland; B. Muddy walls alongside the dirt road through the type locality; C. Beautiful Annapurna and Mansiri Himal range seen from the type locality.

Fig. 4. The type specimens of Skejotettix kasalo sp. nov. in their natural habitat. A-C. Holotype (♀); D-E. Paratype 1 (♂); F-H. Paratype 2 (♀); I. Paratype 3 (♂); J-L. Paratype 4 (♀).

Fig. 5. Holotype (♀) of Skejotettix kasalo sp. nov. A. Lateral view; B. Frontal view; C. Dorsal view. Paratype 2 (♀) of Skejotettix kasalo sp. nov. D. Lateral view; E. Frontal view; F. Dorsal view. Paratype 1 (♂) of Skejotettix kasalo sp. nov. G. Lateral view; H. Frontal view; I. Dorsal view. Paratype 3 (♂) of Skejotettix kasalo sp. nov. J. Lateral view; K. Frontal view; L. Dorsal view. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Fig. 6. Paratype 4 (♀) of Skejotettix kasalo sp. nov. A. Lateral view; B. Frontal view; C. Dorsal view. Scale bars: 1 mm.

Fig. 7. Variability of coloration in Skejotettix kasalo sp. nov.

Fig. 8. Different nymphal instars of Skejotettix kasalo sp. nov. in natural habitat. (Note: the images are not on the same scale.)

Fig. 9. Exuviae of S. kasalo sp. nov. in natural habitat. (Note: A-C are the images of different views of the same exuvia.)

Fig. 10. Tetrigids closely found with Skejotettix kasalo sp. nov. A. Criotettix cf. bispinosus; B. Hedotettix sp.

Fig. 11. Individuals of Skejotettix kasalo sp. nov. on different food sources. A. Detritus on the muddy walls; B. Moss growth on the muddy walls; C. Lichen growth on the stones; D. Algal growth on the dirt road through the type locality (Note: A, C. Adults; B, D. Nymphs)