Liaromorpha nitida Ingrisch, 1998

Gorochov, A. V., 2020, Taxonomy of the katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) from East Asia and adjacent islands. Communication 13, Far Eastern Entomologist 400, pp. 1-36 : 7

Liaromorpha nitida Ingrisch, 1998

Figs 6, 7 , 21–25

MATERIAL. Vietnam: Lam Dong Prov., ~ 50 km N of Da Lat City, Bidoup – Nui Ba

National Park, 11–12. VI 2018, 1♂, L. Anisyutkin ( ZIN) .

DESCRIPTION. Male (novus). General appearance ( Figs 6, 7 ) more or less similar to that of all Liomorpha specimens, previously described here, but with following differences:

body distinctly smaller; coloration light brown with yellowish venter, whitish ocelli and palpi, brown head dorsum, dark brown rostral tubercle and rings around antennal cavities,

black triangular area on anterior surface of epicranium as well as lateral parts of upper half of clypeus, brown to dark brown mandibles (having light lateral parts), dark brown apices of femora and bases of tibiae, brown to dark brown areas on dorsal half of fore tibia and on distal parts of middle and hind tibiae, brownish small spots on antennae, and darkened tibial spines and longitudinal median stripe running from anterior part of pronotal disc to last tergite;

rostral tubercle barely S-shaped and with narrow distal portion in profile; pronotum without ventral denticle on anterior half of each lateral lobe and with rather long hind lobe (approximately as long as in L. bispinosa ); tegmina also as in this species, with mirror completely covered with pronotum; last tergite with a pair of small (smaller than in L. bispinosa )

posterior lobes strongly curved downwards, with posteromedian notch intermediate in width between those of L. bispinosa and L. natalicium , and with slight median concavity before this notch (Figs 21, 25); other structures of abdominal apex approximately as in L. aspinosa

Ingrisch, 1998 but with ventromedial branch of cercus arcuate (not obtusely angular) as well as more curved medially and upwards (Figs 21–23, 25). Genitalia also similar to those of L.

aspinosa but with left and right lateral sclerites located very near each other at much shorter distance (Fig. 24).

MEASUREMENTS. Length (in mm). Body: ♂ 23, ♀ 19; pronotum: ♂ 9.3, ♀ 6.3; tegmina, visible parts: ♂ 2.7, ♀ 1; hind femora: ♂ 12.6, ♀ 11; ovipositor 8. Female data given after Ingrisch (1998).

COMPARISON. This species, described from Lang Bian Mt ( Vietnam), is most similar to

L. aspinosa ( Vietnam: “Fyan”) but distinguished from it by the head rostrum clearly narrower in profile as well as by some characters of male abdominal apex listed above. However,

these species are very similar to each other in all the other characters and may be only subspecies of the same species. From the other congeners, these taxa differ in the absence of ventral denticle on pronotal lateral lobe as well as different structure of the abdominal apex.

Figures

Figs 1–13. Liaromorpha and Liara s. l.: 1–3 – Liaromorpha bispinosa sp. n.; 4, 5 – L.