Paramanduria, Hennemann, 2021

Hennemann, Frank H., 2021, Stick insects of Sulawesi, Peleng and the Sula Islands, Indonesia- a review including checklists of species and descriptions of new taxa (Insecta: Phasmatodea), Zootaxa 5073 (1), pp. 1-189 : 63-65

Genus Paramanduria n. gen.

( Figs. 25–26 )

Type-species: Neopromachus celebensis Günther, 1935: 14 , pl. 2: 10, by present designation.

Neopromachus, Günther, 1935: 14 , pl. 2: 10 (♀).

Günther, 1938: 58 (in part).

Hennemann, 1998: 120.

Zompro, 2005: 258.

Diagnosis: ♀ ( Fig. 25 ). Fairly small (body length 70.0 mm) and stocky Lonchodinae ( Figs. 25A–B ) with a birdbeak like ovipositor (figs. 25C–D). General colour brown. Entire body granulose and tuberculose to a variable degree and with a blunt longitudinal median keel along most of dorsal body surface. Head distinctly longer than wide, roundly rectangular in dorsal aspect, the vertex flattened ( Fig. 25E ) and with an impressed coronal line; between eyes with a pair of blunt swellings. Antennae slender, reaching to abdominal segment II and conisting of about 40 antennomeres; scapus compressed dorsoventrally and somewhat deflexed laterally, pedicellus cylindrical, IV–XXX increasing in length, the apical ten antennomeres much shorter. Antennomere XIV with a shiny, knob-like sub-basal dorsal swelling. Pronotum with a prominent, impressed transverse sulcus and at least two enlarged median tubercles at anterior margin. Mesothorax about 4.5x longer than prothorax and almost uniform in width; mesonotum with a variable number of enlarged blunt spiniform tubercles near lateral margins. Metanotum roughly 1/3 the length of mesonotum and almost 2x longer than median segment. Meso- and metapleurae with several enlarged spiniform tubercles; sterna less densely granulose or tuberculose than terga. Abdomen longer than head and thorax combined. Median segment roughly quadrate. Segments II–VI very slightly increasing in length and parallel-sided, II quadrate and VI about 1.3x longer than wide. VII slightly longer than all previous and gently gradually narrowing towards the posterior. Sternum VII with a prominent Preopercular organ that is formed by a scale-like median projection at posterior margin ( Fig. 25C ). Terga VI–IX with a posteromedian hump, which is indistinct on VI but forming a prominent, rounded bi-dentate projection on IX. Anal segment strongly narrowed and declining in lateral aspect, the apex strongly elongated into a lanceolate projection that is somewhat narrowed medially and pointed apically ( Fig. 25D ). Cerci very small and hidden under anal segment. Epiproct very small and also hidden under apical projection of anal segment. Subgenital plate moderately convex, keeled longitudinally with apex elongated, sub-angular and reaching about half way along apical projection of anal segment ( Fig. 25C ). Legs of moderate length, profemora a little longer than mesothorax, mesofemora about equal in length to mesothorax and hind legs projecting beyond apex of abdomen. All carinae to a variable degree lobulate or bluntly dentate. Profemora curved and compressed basally. Protibiae with distinct blunt teeth dorsally. Mesofemora with large lobes on anteroventral carina ( Fig. 25B ) that increase in size towards the apex of femur and somewhat smaller but enlarged lobes on anterodorsal carina. Basitarsi about equal in length to following three tarsomeres combined, probasitarsus with dorsal carina gently raised apically.

Differential diagnosis: Apparently close to the Philippine endemic Manduria Stål, 1877 and Neomyronides n. gen. but also morphologically similar to the principally New Guinean Neopromachus Giglio-Tos, 1912 . Females, the only sex known, share most features with the Sulawesian endemic Neomyronides n. gen. but readily differ by the presence of a beak-like ovipositor that is shaped by the apically elongated and lanceolate anal segment and elongat-ed subgenital plate ( Figs. 25C–D ), as well as the just very slightly apically raised dorsal carina of the probasitarsus. The conspicuous dorsal sub-basal swelling on antennomere XIV is much more developed than in Neomyronides n. gen.. The ovipositor and prominent uni-lobate Preopercular organ on abdominal sternum VII ( Fig. 25C ) are shared with Manduria but the type-species of this new genus differs by the more stocky appearance, not longitudinally tectinate mesosternum, broadened and sub-angular apex of the subgenital plate, distinctly multi-lobate legs (only single dorsal lobes are present exclusively on the mesofemora and mesotibiae in Manduria ) and much longer tarsi. In addition to the geographic separation the prominent Preopercular organ on abdominal sternum VII in this new genus represents the main feature that distinguishes ♀♀ from Neopromachus .

Comments: Already Günther (1935) was in doubt about the generic position of this Sulawesian species. The author commented that it takes on a very isolated position within Neopromachus Giglio-Tos, 1912 and that he believed it has in fact no particularly close phylogenetic relationship to the New Guinean species of that genus and rather represents a peculiar faunistic element of the island of Sulawesi “ Wenngleich generische Unterschiede zwischen dieser merkwürdigen neuen Art und all den übrigen Species des Genus Neopromachus Giglio-Tos nicht zu finden sind, so macht sie doch unter ihnen allen einen sehr aberranten und isolierten Eindruck. [...] Aber ich glaube doch, dass die vorliegende neue Art, die ich generisch von Neopromachus nicht zu trennen vermag, phylogenetisch mit den neuguineeischen Arten nicht zusammenhängt und eine selbständige Fauneneigentümlichkeit der Insel Celebes darstellt. (Günther (1935: 15)”. Indeed, morphology of the ♀♀ rather supports close relation to the Sulawesian endemic Neomyronides n. gen. and the Philippine Manduria Stål, 1877 than to the New Guinean Neopromachus . Günther (1938: 79) described Prisomera nodosum based on a ♂ and nymph from the valley of Bone, South Sulawe-si ( Fig. 26 ). He estimated this species might represent the previously unknown ♂ of P. celebensis (Günther, 1935) and if that was the case a new genus would have to be established for incorporating these two species: “ Diese Art stellt vielleicht die ♂♂ von Neopromachus celebensis K. Gthr. 1936 dar; das würde, wenn es sich so verhält die Er-richtung einer neuen Gattung bedingen. ( Günther, 1938, 79, footnote 2)”. The presence of tooth-like lobes on both the posterodorsal and both outer ventral carinae of the mesofemora and the conspicuous sub-basal dorsal swelling on antennomere XIV suggest nodosum might be congeneric to celebensis . However, they obviously represent two distinct species and without having at hand for examination ♂♂ and ♀♀ of either species from the same locality, this hypothesis cannot be confirmed at the present state of our knowledge. Consequently, nodosum is here attributed to Paramanduria n. gen. with doubt and is not incorporated in the generic description presented above. Any broader discussion, differentiation and incorporation of the ♂♂ in the generic description must await availability of additional material and the still unknown eggs.

Etymology: The name refers to the strong visual resemblance and assumed close relation to the Philippine genus Manduria Stål, 1877 . Feminine.

Distribution: Sulawesi (endemic).

Species included:

Figures

FIGURE 25. Paramanduria celebensis (Günther, 1935) n. gen., n. comb. ♀, holotype [MNHU]: A. Habitus, dorso-lateral view; B. Habitus, dorsal view; C. Terminal abdominal segments seen ventrally; D. Lateral aspect of terminal abdominal segments; E. Head and prothorax in lateral aspect.

FIGURE 26. Paramanduria nodosum (Günther, 1935) n. gen., n. comb. ♂, holotype [NHMB]: A. Habitus, dorso-lateral view; B. Habitus, dorsal view; C. Terminal abdominal segments seen laterally; D. Head, pro- and mesothorax in dorsal aspect. © 2019 Natural History Museum Basel, Switzerland, S. Klopfstein.