Pachyphymus samwaysi, Bazelet, Corinna S. & Naskrecki, Piotr, 2014

Bazelet, Corinna S. & Naskrecki, Piotr, 2014, Taxonomic revision of the southern African genus Pachyphymus Uvarov, 1922 (Orthoptera: Acridoidea: Euryphyminae), Zootaxa 5, pp. 401-420 : 411-415

Pachyphymus samwaysi n. sp.

Figs. 4 , 5S–T, 6L

Type locality. South Africa: Western Cape, 10 miles N Brandvlei (-30.4649, 20.4815), 1.iii.1969 —male holotype, ( SANC)

Diagnostic description (male, except where specified). General. Body small, slightly rugose and tuberculate; hair sparse.

Head. Integument slightly rugose. Antennae 19–22 segments, rather thick, filiform, as long as head and pronotum together. Fastigium of vertex broad, slightly sloping towards frontal ridge, slightly concave; lateral carinulae of fastigium of vertex distinct, converging towards frontal ridge ( Figs. 4 A,C). Fastigial foveolae represented by shallow indistinct punctures ( Figs. 4 B,D). Frontal ridge above ocellus wide with parallel carinae, flat and rugulose; frontal ridge below ocellus narrow with parallel carinulae, concave; frontal ridge lateral carinulae moderately high, converging with lateral carinulae of fastigium. Facial carinae distinct, unbranched near eye. Facial integument smooth or shallowly punctured ( Figs. 4 B,D). Eyes large, oval.

Thorax. Pronotum slightly rugose and tuberculate. Pronotal crests flat, low, barely raised ( Figs. 4 B,D); lateral carinae of pronotum present as defined ridges in all zones; metazona with very slight inflation when viewed laterally, sometimes represented by longitudinal carina instead of elevation. Metazona relative to rest of pronotum of equal length, diverging regularly posteriorally in extension from prozona ( Figs. 4 A,C). Posterior margin of pronotum obtuse angular with no median projection; lateral margin of pronotum with white spot, ranging from sinuate to straight. Prosternal process pointed, erect; mesosternal interspace open, wide, with gently rounded lobes; metasternal interspaces open, narrow, with gently rounded lobes.

FIGURE 5. ♂ cercus, ventral (A, C, E, G, I, K, M, O, Q, S) and lateral view (B, D, F, H, J, L, N, P, R, T): P. carinatus (A–B), and from Tankwa Karoo (C–D); P. cristulifer (E–F), from Touwsrivier (G–H), from Leipoldtville (I–J), and from Oudtshoorn (K–L); P. namaquensis (M–P), and from Bushmanland (Q–R); P. samwaysi (S–T).

Legs. Hind femur not compressed, surpassing abdomen; hind femur interior dark brown or black, with cream spot near apex; ventral surface of hind femur yellowish-brown; dorsal margin of hind femur with three dark spots, one central, one apical and one proximal. Hind tibia with one proximal dark spot; tibial spines 9 interior, 6 to 8 exterior, cream colored with dark tips.

Wings. Tegmen surpassing end of abdomen. Hind wing infumation pale, indistinct, incomplete band at center of wing, far removed from wing apex; hind wing interior pale pink ( Fig. 6 L).

Abdomen. Posterior margin of last abdominal tergite darkly sclerotized, rugose with medial spine. Supraanal plate transverse, with a longitudinal concavity in the middle, lateral margins upcurved; posterior margin of supraanal plate with two lateral and one small median projection; supraanal plate with pair of small central tubercles widely separated in basal half ( Fig. 4 E). Cercus, when viewed laterally, short, robust, and folded to form right angle between apex and base when viewed laterally; apex from acute to blunt; basal surface of cercus with large posterior bulge (Figs. 5S,T).

Phallic complex. Epiphallus with very short ancorae, and very broad lobiform lophi with apical projection ( Fig. 4 H). Aedeagus zygoma of cingulum thin, apodemes long ( Figs. 4 I–J).

Females. Ovipositor short, robust, with curved valves. Subgenital plate trilobate, with a small median lobe; indentations between lobes subtle and obtuse ( Figs. 4 F–G).

Coloration. Color pattern mottled light to medium brown.

Measurements. (♂ n=2, ♀ n=2)—body: ♂ 19.0, ♀ 21.3–28.3; pronotum: ♂ 3.0–3.7, ♀ 3.3–4.0; tegmen: ♂ 14.5–14.8, ♀ 16.2–17.7; femur: ♂ 7.7–8.5, ♀ 9.5–10.5 mm.

Material examined. South Africa: Eastern Cape: 32 mi NW Aberdeen (-32.4761, 24.0627) 19.i.1963 —1♀ ( SANC); Northern Cape: 10 mi N Brandvlei (-30.4649, 20.4815) 1.iii.1969 —5♀, 1♂ ( SANC); Western Cape: Leeu-Gamka (-32.7639, 21.9686) 28.ii.1974 — 1♂ ( SANC).

Etymology. Named for Prof. Michael J. Samways, eminent insect conservationist and President of the Orthopterists’ Society from 2013–2017, in honor of his contribution to South African Orthopterology.

Remarks. P. samwaysi is morphologically distinct from other species of the genus. It can be distinguished by the reduced degree of infumation of the hind wing ( Fig. 6 L), low pronotal crests ( Fig. 4 B), and the shape of the pronotum whose lateral margins diverge regularly posteriorly as opposed to those of the other species in which the metazona is strongly inflated in the posterior part ( Fig. 4 A vs. 3A). The male cercus is also notably distinct in that its apex forms a right angle with the base (Fig. 5T), and the male supraanal plate is wider than that of the other three species, with its two basal tubercles more distantly spaced from one another ( Fig. 4 E).

Of the four species, P. samwaysi is the least represented in museum collections and has a geographic distribution which overlaps that of the other species, particularly in the Karoo. Perhaps its rarity led previous researchers to doubt whether it was a distinct species or just an extreme phenotypic variant of one of the described species. On the basis of our examination of 8 specimens from South African museum collections, we feel confident that the morphological characters, especially sexually selected characters (e.g. male cercus and supraanal plate), are distinct enough in comparison with the other species, and well enough conserved within the species, to designate it as a new species.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Pachyphymus samwaysi n. sp.: ♂ head, dorsal (A) and lateral view (B); ♀ head, dorsal (C) and lateral view (D); ♂ supraanal plate (E); ♀ subgenital plate (F) and (G); epiphallus (H); phallic complex, ectophallic membrane removed, dorsal (I) and lateral view (J). Black scale bar refers to two phallic complex illustrations (I – J); dotted scale bar refers to epiphallus and supraanal plate (E, H); white scale bar refers to head images (A – D).

FIGURE 6. Map showing geographic variation in degree of infumation and color of hind wing for species and populations as follows: P. namaquensis (A – B), from Bushmanland (C) and from Hondeklipbaai (D); P. cristulifer from Leipoldtville (E – G), from Touwsrivier (H), and from Seekoegat (representative of most common wing morph) (I); P. carinatus from Tankwa Karoo (J) and from De Aar (representative of most common wing morph) (K); P. samwaysi (L).