Peropyrrhicia attilioi Massa & Felix

Felix, Rob P. W. H. & Massa, Bruno, 2016, Orthoptera (Insecta: Tettigonioidea, Pyrgomorphoidea, Acridoidea) of Kafa Biosphere Reserve, Bale Mountains National Park and other areas of conservation interest in Ethiopia, Zootaxa 4189 (1), pp. 1-59 : 18-20

Peropyrrhicia attilioi Massa & Felix n. sp.

http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: Orthoptera .speciesfile.org:TaxonName:492579 Figures 11 , 14, 18–21 , 23 , 24

Material examined. ETHIOPIA: SNNPR, Keffa, Komba Forest (1990 m) , 23.IV.2015, A. Carapezza (1Ƌ holotype, 1♀ allotype, 1♀ paratype); Keffa , Komba Forest (1860 m) 17.IV.2015, B. Massa & R. Felix (1♀ paratype, 1♀ nymph); Keffa, Boka Forest (2510 m) , 15.IV.2015, A. Carapezza (1♀ paratype) (BMPC); Keffa , Komba Forest (1860 m) 17.IV.2015, B. Massa & R. Felix (1♀ paratype) ( NHM) .

Distribution. Endemic to Ethiopia.

Description. Habitus ( Figure 24 ). Male. Head, pronotum and abdomen covered by short yellow hairs. Antennae long, at least three times the body length. First antennal segment larger than fastigium of vertex, as large as the eyes, which are prominent. Face smooth. Pronotum saddle-shaped, very rugose, posterior angle broadly rounded, posterior margin slightly excised, anterior margin straight ( Figure 14). Head, pronotum and abdomen hairy. Tegmina longer than pronotum, hardly reaching the 3rd abdominal tergite, their apical external angle 90°, rounded ( Figure 14).

Coxae unarmed, fore and mid femora unarmed; hind femora with 6 spines on ventral margins. Fore tibiae with open tympanum on both sides, 4–5 spines on ventral margins + 2 apical spurs on each side (1 on ventral and 1 on dorsal side), mid tibiae with ventral 3–4 spines + 2 apical spurs and another on dorsal inner side, hind tibiae with 4– 5 spines on ventral margins + 2 apical spurs and another one dorsally. Ventral genicular lobes of femora with a spine.

The appendage of the last tergite widened towards the apex, more or less straight with acute lateral angles; spine under appendage absent. At the base of the appendage, the 9th tergite is modified as an inflated extrusion that ends with a concavity. Cerci short, strongly curved and pointed. Subgenital plate very large, basal part transverse with a broad round emargination posteriorly; the branches are divergent, laterally compressed and converge under the apex of the appendage of the 10th tergite, at the apex they are enlarged ( Figures 18–21 ).

Female. Same characters as the male with the exception of the following: Pronotum flat, not saddle-shaped, hind margin slightly excised. Tegmina short, reaching the 2nd abdominal tergite, overlapping, their apical external angle about 45°, rounded ( Figure 14). Ovipositor sharply bent upwards near the base with small denticles on both apices. Subgenital plate similar to that of P. antinorii , with a wide base, converging apically and ending with a concavity. At the center of the plate a longitudinal keel is evident ( Figure 23 ).

Colour. General appearance spotted rather mottled ( Figure 24 ). Head, lateral lobes of pronotum, metanotum, tegmina, coxae, tibiae and basal part of appendage brownish, anterior margin of tegmina yellow, disc of pronotum, femora and abdomen green. Hind tibiae with brownish rings. Antennae with 1st and 2nd segments black below, others brown or brownish with yellow rings at the base. Apical appendage cream, sternites black ( Figure 24 ). This species differs from all others of the genus Peropyrrhicia by the male genitalia; the female is the sole Peropyrrhicia with overlapping tegmina.

Measurements. See Table 3 .

Habitat. Collected on palm leaves of the genus Phoenix , and on lichens and ferns growing on trees inside high altitude primary forest ( Figure 25 ).

Etymology. This species is dedicated to our friend hemipterologist Attilio Carapezza ( Figure 26 ), who collected four specimens of this interesting and peculiar species.

Figures

FIGURE 11. Stridulatory file of Peropyrrhicia. The short prominence on the right tegmen, to which the file is rubbing during song, is shown (bottom right).

FIGURE 18. Dorsal view of the 10 th tergite of males Peropyrrhicia

FIGURE 19. Lateral view of the 10 th tergite of males Peropyrrhicia.

FIGURE 20. Posterior view of the 10 th tergite of males Peropyrrhicia

FIGURE 23. Ovipositor and subgenital plate of females Peropyrrhicia – continued

FIGURE 24. Habitus of male (holotype) and female (paratype) Peropyrrhicia attilioi n. sp., Komba Forest (1990 m), Ethiopia. Scale bar represents 1 cm.

FIGURE 25. Habitats of Peropyrrhicia attilioi n. sp., Komba Forest (1990 m), Ethiopia. The specimens were collected on lichens and on leaves of Phoenix palms up to three meters high.

FIGURE 26. Attilio Carapezza (right) and Daniel Wiersbowsky (left) collecting insects on light, Sheko, Ethiopia.