Anarytropteris fallax Uvarov, 1924

Naskrecki, Piotr & Guta, Ricardo, 2019, Katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) of Gorongosa National Park and Central Mozambique, Zootaxa 4682 (1), pp. 1-119 : 46-48

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4682.1.1

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:430B98EF-BFCB-4608-A562-DEFA9539C8B2

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5629497

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03D8878E-FC5C-D914-CCFE-52CAFAAA3003

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Anarytropteris fallax Uvarov, 1924
status

 

Anarytropteris fallax Uvarov, 1924 View in CoL

http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: Orthoptera .speciesfile.org:TaxonName:463525

( Figs. 20 View FIGURE 20 A–J, 48J–L)

Diagnostic remarks. An agile and skittish katydid, with brachypterous males and apterous females ( Figs. 20I, J View FIGURE 20 ), identifiable by the combination of the pronotum with a characteristic hourglass pattern of lateral carinae ( Fig. 20F View FIGURE 20 ), the shape of the cerci ( Fig. 20B View FIGURE 20 ), paired titillators ( Figs. 20C, D View FIGURE 20 ), and a long, nearly straight ovipositor in the female ( Fig. 20J View FIGURE 20 ). From the closely related A. chirinda it differs in the shape of the cercus, the shape of the tegmen ( Figs. 20G, H View FIGURE 20 ), which is distinctly flatter and less coriaceous, and the pattern of the male’s call ( Figs. 48 View FIGURE 48 J–L).

Bioacoustics. Males call at night from dense bushes, from close to the ground to about 3 m above, and are incredibly wary, jumping away at the slightest disturbance. The call is a continuous train of syllables produced at the rate of 7 syllables/s (at 25°C); mean syllable duration is 0.007308 (SD=0.0009306, n=37); the call is broad spectrum, with most energy within 16.4–37.5 kHz ( Figs. 48 View FIGURE 48 J–L). The call, produced by males only at night, is audible to the human ear from several meters.

Distribution and natural history. A. fallax has been recorded from Malawi and eastern Zimbabwe ( Uvarov 1924), and populations of this species have now been found in the Mozambican section of Chimanimani Mountains, and in Gorongosa National Park. These insects are found most often in shaded, humid understory of closed-canopy forests at elevations ranging from the lowlands to over 1100 m on the slopes of Mt. Gorongosa . Occasionally they can be seen in more open terrain, such as the edges of montane meadows on Mt. Gorongosa . They are primarily predaceous although nymphs have been seen feeding on the generative parts of grasses.

Measurements (2 males, 4 females). — body: male 24–26 (251.4), female 25–32 (28.73.5); pronotum: male 10–11 (10.5.7), female 11–13 (11.81); tegmen: male 4–5 (4.5.7); hind femur: male 19–22 (20.52.1), female 24–27 (25.31.3); ovipositor: 18–23 (202.2) mm.

Material examined (15 specimens). Malawi: Nyasaland, 1912, coll. Dr. Stannus— 1 male (holotype) ( BMNH); Mozambique: Manica, Sussundenga, Moribane Forest, Ndzou Camp, elev. 593 m (-19.734695, 33.336130), 4.vii.2018, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female; Sofala, Gorongosa , GNP, Mt. Gorongosa , campsite above Murombodzi Waterfall, elev. 943 m (-18.482953, 34.044936), 27.viii.2018, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female, 1 nymph male ( EOWL); GNP, Mt. Gorongosa , lower slopes, elev. 1105 m (-18.46556, 34.05202), 21–22.vii.2015, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female, 1 male ( MCZ); GNP, Mt. Gorongosa , lower slopes, banks of Murombodzi River, elev. 1011 m (-18.469176, 34.048156), 30.iii.2018, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 male; GNP, Murombodzi Waterfall, elev. 879 m (-18.48295, 34.044967), 21.iv.2018, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 male; GNP, Murombodzi Waterfall, nr. Mt. Gorongosa , elev. 842 m (- 18.483361, 34.042944), 21–22.v.2015, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female ( MCZ); Pungue River, elev. 48 m (-18.992917, 34.352917), 1–10.vii.2016, coll. M. Castene—1 nymph female, 1 nymph male ( EOWL); Zimbabwe: Manicaland, Mutare, Vumba Mts, Hivu Nursery, (-19.115682, 32.773204), 7.vii.2015, coll. J. Guyton— 2 females, 1 male ( MCZ); Mashonaland, Umtali, (-18.9666667, 32.6666667), 1900— 1 male (paralectotype) ( BMNH).

MCZ

Museum of Comparative Zoology

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