Batrachidea brevis ( Hancock, 1909 ), 2019

Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J., Mendes, Diego Matheus De Mello, Silva, Daniela Santos Martins, Granda, Juan Manuel Cardona, García, Alexander García & Tumbrinck, Josef, 2019, Systematics and biogeography of the genus Scaria Bolívar, 1887 (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae: Batrachideinae), Zootaxa 4675 (1), pp. 1-65 : 16-17

Batrachidea brevis ( Hancock, 1909) comb. nov.

Figs. 6 , 7 , 30

Scaria brevis Hancock, 1909: 426 .

Batrachidea inermis Hebard, 1923: 174 , syn. nov.

Type specimens. ECUADOR, Cachabi , circ. 500 ft. xi 96 Rosenberg. M. Burr Collection. Pres. 1903 by M.B. Type ORTH: 752 (1♂) ( UMO) ( Scaria brevis Holotype) . COLOMBIA, Andagoya, Antioquia ( Chocó ), April 22, 1918 (M.A. Carrikeri Jr.) Type: 878 (1♀) ( ANSP) ( Batrachidea inermis Holotype) .

Other specimens examined. Ecuador, Esmeraldas prov. Montalvo, La Mayronga , 95m., 0°53’27.2’’N, 79°13’2.5’’W 14/ 17.XI.2004, lg F.M.B & G. Carotti (determined as B. inermis ) (1♂ 1♀) ( FMB) . Ecuador, Esmer- aldas prov., San Lorenzo, S. Francisco de Bogotá , 9/ 10.XII.2004, lg G. Carotti (determined as B. inermis ) (1♀) ( FMB) .

Photographic records. (1♂ 1♀) Colombia, Chocó , Bahía Solano. (1♂ 1♀) 77°22'4.73"W 6°19'32.21"N (Juan Manuel Cardona) .

Comments. In some genera of Batrachideinae and other genera of other subfamilies, limits are not clear, and it is usual that species in closely-related genera have been placed here, but they clearly not belong when reviewed more closely. This was the case, for instance, when Hancock (1909), descry Scaria brevis based on a male specimen from Cachabi, Ecuador ( Fig. 6A and 6B ); and then Hebard (1923) described Batrachidea inermis based on a female specimen ( Fig. 7A and 7B ) from Andagoya, Antioquia, Colombia (currently this location is within the borders of Chocó department).

In all specimens reviewed of the genus Scaria no brachypronotal form was ever found, so we consider that in this genus, only macropronotal forms exist. On the other hand, in Batrachidea it is usual to find both macro and brachypronotal forms (sometimes in the same location along each other), which can give rise to confusions, as the macropronotal forms of Batrachidea , can superficially resemble Scaria and the brachypronotal ones could be mistaken for Rehnidium .

As for Hebard (1923), females of S. brevis were unknown, he described B. inermis with females, but males of the same locality he unknowingly determined as S. brevis , not realizing that they are the same species. In Batra- chidea males and females are quite different from each other and it is often necessary to collect two in order to be certain of the association, unlike Scaria where males and females are very much alike. Hebard’s confusion spread up to the contributions of Grant (1956a, 1962), who notes that the males of B. inermis remained unknown, but in the Scaria section of his thesis, he redescribes S. brevis mentioning also the lack of female specimens and adds the record of two additional males, one from, Muzo, Boyacá, Colombia, and other from Tingo Maria, Peru. It is worth mentioning that in Muzo and surrounding locales the only species of the family is Batrachidea flavonotata Bolívar, 1887 (as per field observations and collecting efforts by O. J. Cadena-Castañeda).

With this panorama expounded so far, it is suggested that Batrachidea inermis ( Hebard, 1923) syn. nov., is a synonym and conspecific female for Batrachidea brevis ( Hancock, 1909) comb. nov., and these latter fits charac- ters of Batrachidea better, not those of Scaria . These nomenclatural acts are performed upon reviewing the type specimens and additional ones collected, observed and photographed in the field ( Cardona, 2012, pags. 114, 115 determined as Scaria sp.) and the collection of Filippo Maria Buzzetti as quoted by Buzzetti & Devriese (2007).

Figures

FIGURE 6. Scaria brevis Hancock 1909 type (=Batrachidea brevis comb. nov.) A. Habitus in lateral view and labels. B. Habitus in dorsal view. (Photos: Hope Entomological Collections).

FIGURE 7. Batrachidea inermis Hebard, 1923 syn. nov. Type (=Batrachidea brevis comb. nov.) A. Habitus in lateral view and. B. dorsal view respectively.

FIGURE 30. Living specimens of Batrachidea brevis comb. nov. (macropronotal form) A. male. B. female. Examples from Bahia Solano, Chocó, Colombia.