Eurycotis armasi, Gutiérrez, 2025

Gutiérrez, Esteban, 2025, A new species of the genus Eurycotis Stål (Blattodea: Blattidae) from the eastern region of Cuba, Zootaxa 5563 (1), pp. 388-395 : 390-392

Eurycotis armasi sp. nov.

( Figs. 1–10 , 14–18 )

Type material. Holotype: male 13.2161, Cuba: La Gran Piedra , Santiago de Cuba Province, 11/VI/2001, L.M. Díaz & J.A. Genaro ( MNHNCu) . Paratypes: males, 13.249 (dissected), Cuba: La Gran Piedra , Santiago de Cuba Province, VII/1990, L.F. de Armas, 1100 masl; 4 males 13.3577–13.3580, Cuba: La Gran Piedra , Santiago de Cuba Province, 21–22/VII/2007, L.M. Díaz & A. Cádiz; 13.3588, Cuba: La Gran Piedra , Santiago de Cuba Province, North slope of the ETECSA tower , 18/III/2007, L.M. Díaz & A. Cádiz (under stone). Females: 13.2168 Cuba: La Gran Piedra , Santiago de Cuba Province, XII/2002, A. González; 13.251, Cuba: La Isabelica, La Gran Piedra , Santiago de Cuba Province, 3/VIII/1989, E. Alfaro, 1180 masl (in bromeliad); 6 females 13.3581 –13.3586, Cuba: La Gran Piedra , Santiago de Cuba Province, 21–22/VII/2007, L.M. Díaz & A. Cádiz. All specimens deposited in MNHNCu .

Additional material examined.

— Eurycotis galeoides Rehn & Hebard : Male holotype, “La Union, Monte Libano, Oriente Province, Cuba. March 23, 1913. (C. T. Ramsden; under stones in deep woods)” ( ANSP, Type No. 5364); male 13.397 (dissected), “La Hembrita”, Meseta del Guaso, El Salvador Municipality , Guantánamo Province, Cuba 13/VI/1990, E. Alfaro, (in bromeliad) (MNHNCu).

— Eurycotis ferumequinum Rehn & Hebard : Male holotype, “ La Union, Monte Libano, Oriente Province , Cuba. May 18, 1913. (C. T. Ramsden; under stones in woods)” ( ANSP, Type No. 5363); male 13.063 (dissected), “El Cuzco, Guantánamo Province, Cuba 15/VI/1990, E. Gutiérrez ” (in bromeliad) (MNHNCu).

— Eurycotis flavipennis Saussure & Zehntner : Female type “620 88, Cuba, Mr. Poey ”, number “MHNG-ARTO-20735” (in Hollier et al. 2023) ( MHNG); 3 females, Corralillo, Villa Clara Province, VII/1991, J.L. Mederos-A. Prieto ” (MNHNCu); male 13.2320 and 3 females 13.2321 –13.2323, Cuba, Sierra de Cubitas, Camagüey Province, 16/IX/2002, E. Gutiérrez ” (MNHNCu).

— Eurycotis opaca (Brunner von Wattenwyl) : Male, “620 88, Cuba, Mr. Poey ” ( MHNG); male 13.156 and female 13.172, “Cuba, El Rincón, Matanzas Province, 22/V/1990, E. Alfaro ” .

Diagnosis. Eurycotis armasi sp. nov. is closer to E. galeoides and E. ferrumequinum by sharing all the tergites with dark transverse bands that contrast with the light background of the abdomen ( Fig. 1 ); E. armasi sp. nov. differs from the remaining species with transverse abdominal bands, in that they have, the end of the abdomen uniformly dark (from tergites 6–7 to 10). The new species differs from E. galeoides in presenting contrasting black spots with the light background of the pronotum disk ( Fig 2 ), absent in galeoides , and from E. ferrumequinum in the shape and color pattern of the supra-anal plate of the male ( Fig. 5 E . armasi; Fig. 11 E . ferrumequinum). The three species differ in the shape of the male genital sclerite R1 of the right phallomere ( Figs. 7–8 E . armasi; Fig. 12 E . ferrumequinum; Fig. 13 E . galeoides).

Description. Male holotype. Dorsal surface of the body smooth, sparsely impresso·punctate. Body length 20.3, width 9.2. Head narrowly exposed, distance between antennal sockets slightly less than interocular space (1.7 x 2.2). Pronotum subparabolic with the hind margin truncated ( Fig. 2 ). Tegmina subrectangular, separated, transparent, wider at the base with rounded inner margin, reaching the posterior margin of the mesonotum on both sides ( Figs. 1, 3 ). Wings absent. Fore femur with a row of stout spines, terminating in two heavier elongate distal spines (Type A 2); hind tibia not enlarged ( Fig. 4 ); pulvilli on 4 proximal tarsomeres, tarsal claws symmetrical, simple, arolia well developed. Supra-anal plate (sap) transverse subrectangulate, lateral margins subsigmoid, caudal margin with slight median notch, rounded ( Fig. 5 ). Subgenital plate (sgp) moderately asymmetrical, interstylar margin rounded, styli long and slightly curved ( Fig. 6 ). Genitalia with the sclerites R1 and R2 of the right phallomere as in Figs. 7–8 . Color. Bicolored. General coloration with a pale yellowish background (almost whitish in specimens alive, Figs.14–15 ) that contrasts with drawings on the disc of pronotum, transverse bands on pro-, meso-, and metanotum, abdominal tergites and apical marks on the femora that range from black to brown with a reddish tinge ( Figs. 1–2 ). Legs and abdomen yellowish (whitish in specimens alive, Figs. 14–15 ), head yellowish with a transversal black band between the eyes in the vertex.

Female. Differs from male in the shape of the supra-anal plate ( Fig. 9 ) and subgenital plate ( Fig. 10 ). Color. Bicolored, similar to the male, with a lighter background in live specimens, and some of them, may present a longitudinal midline from the mesonotum to the end of the abdomen, well defined or diffuse ( Figs. 16–17 ).

Measurements. Average in brackets. Males (n=7): Body length x width 19.1–22.1 [20.3] x 8.8–9.7 [9.2]; pronotum length x width 6.0–6.1 [6.0] x 7.8–9.1 [8.2]; tegmen length x width 3.7–4.6 [4.0] x 3.0–3.5 [3.2]; interocular width 2.2 [2.2]; interantennal sockets width 1.7–1.8 [1.7]

Females (n=8): Body length x width 19.7–22.8 [21.5] x 9.2–11.2 [10.3]; pronotum length x width 5.8–7.0 [6.5] x 8.1–9.7 [9.0]; tegmen length x width 4.0–4.9 [4.4] x 3.0–3.7 [3.4]; interocular width 2.1–2.5 [2.4]; interantennal sockets width 1.7–2.0 [1.8]

Distribution. To date, the new species is known only from the type locality, “La Gran Piedra, Santiago de Cuba Province, Cuba ”.

Etymology. The proposed name is a patronym in honour of the professor, colleague and friend Luis F. de Armas, a prominent Cuban arachnologist, entomologist and naturalist, “prolific researcher, author of most known Caribbean arachnids, except spiders” ( Pérez-Gelabert & Young 2014), collector of the first male specimen of the new species and of many blatids of inestimable value for studies in the Americas. With this species we celebrate the 80th birthday of this illustrious scientist.

Natural history. Eurycotis armasi sp. nov. was observed in its type locality hiding during the day in bromeliad plants, under stones and fallen tree trunks on the ground. At night it was observed feeding on leaves, flowers and fruits of ornamental plants and fruit trees ( Figs. 14–17 ).

Figures

FIGURES 1–13. Eurycotis spp. 1–10) Eurycotis armasi sp. nov., 1–8) male holotype (MNHNCu 13.2161), 9–10) female paratype (MNHNCu 13.2168). 1) habitus, dorsal view; 2) pronotum, dorsal; 3) left tegmen, dorsal; 4) hind tibia, dorsal; 5) supra-anal plate, dorsal; 6) subgenital plate and styli, ventral; 7) genital sclerites R1 and R2 of the right phallomere, dorsal; 8) same as the previous figure, ventral; 9) supra-anal plate, dorsal; 10) subgenital plate, ventral. 11–12) Eurycotis ferrumequinum Rehn & Hebard. 11) male holotype (ANSP 5363), supra-anal plate, dorsal (redrawn from Pl. 13, Fig. 4 of Rehn & Hebard 1927); 12) male 13.063 (MNHNCu), genital sclerites R1 and R2 of the right phallomere, ventral. 13) Eurycotis galeoides Rehn & Hebard, male 13.397 (MNHNCu), same sclerite as figure 12.

FIGURES 14–17. Living specimens of E. armasi sp. nov., associated with plants in the type locality (La Gran Piedra) at night. 14–15) an adult male feeding on Canna sp. (Cannaceae). 16–17) an adult female perched on guava tree (Myrtaceae). Photos were taken by Rolando Teruel.

FIGURE 18. Distribution of Cuban Eurycotis species based on type localities in Table 1, with the exception of the species E. flavipennis and E. opaca from specimens in the MNHNCu and Gundlach (1890–91).