Lichenodraculus, Braun, Holger, 2011

Braun, Holger, 2011, The Little Lichen Dragon — an extraordinary katydid from the Ecuadorian Andes (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae, Phaneropterinae, Dysoniini), Zootaxa 3032, pp. 33-39 : 34

Lichenodraculus gen. nov.

Type species: L. matti sp. nov., described below; in Dysoniini .

Etymology. Latin draculus (little dragon) is the translation of the German name given by its discoverer F. Matt to the first encountered individual, a pale and tiny nymph with bizarre spines on its back, lichen refers to camouflage style, microhabitat and diet. Spanish pronunciation spelling: Liquenodráculus.

Diagnosis. Habitus and coloration pattern very similar to the ten described species of the genera Markia , Machima , Machimoides and Apolinaria , but distinguished by the following unique combination of characters: Delicate to medium-sized insects sporting a prominent pointed process on the vertex and a prominent pointed process at the anterior margin of the pronotum; hind femora bearing long and basally broadened ventral spines which stick out conspicuously with especially the external ones being partly curved beyond the dorsal margin of the femora; hind tibia with long and delicate dorsal spines, internal and external ones originating alternately; all genicular lobes elongated into long spines; male cerci long, sickle-shaped, with internal tooth at the thicker base; female ovipositor fairly broad, strongly upcurved with parallel margins, and broadly rounded finely serrate tip.

Additional taxonomic notes. The genus is closest to Apolinaria , erected in Rehn’s (1950) revision of the tribe for a single species from Colombia, with precise locality details unknown. It was originally described under Machima , and apparently has similarly short tegmina as Lichenodraculus (the tips are broken off in the unique male type specimen), but no process on the pronotum, and much more compact male cerci without the slender falciform elongation. The three species of Machima have long and slender male cerci, quite comparable to Lichenodraculus , but no processes on vertex and pronotum. The three described species of Machimoides have short processes on the vertex, but their spines on hind legs and male cerci are very different, and as in Machima their tegmina are much longer. The three considerably more robust species of Markia have in addition to the anterior process of the pronotum a very large one on the rear margin. The group is currently under revision by Oscar Cadena Castañeda, who confirmed the validity of this new genus, and will hopefully soon clarify the possible phylogenetic relationship between the genera and their proper taxonomic organization.