Afroanthracites maculatus, Hemp & Heller, 2019

Hemp, Claudia & Heller, Klaus-Gerhard, 2019, New Agraeciini species from the Eastern Arc Mountains, East Africa (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae; Conocephalinae; Agraeciini), Zootaxa 4664 (3), pp. 301-338 : 310-313

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4664.3.1

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:BE28074F-46B8-4FA5-B6DB-F1276A4C7C40

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5664775

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/98473E49-FFF4-8677-A0BD-FAE7FE6CFD36

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Afroanthracites maculatus
status

sp. nov.

Afroanthracites maculatus View in CoL n. sp. Hemp C.

( Fig. 13–15 View FIGURE 13 View FIGURE 14 View FIGURE 15 , 16B View FIGURE 16 , 17C View FIGURE 17 , 39 View FIGURE 39 , 42 View FIGURE 42 , Table 1 View TABLE 1 )

Holotype: male. South Pare Mountains , Mt Mwala, submontane-montane forest, December 2017. 1 female, same data as holotype. Depository: collection C. Hemp.

Further paratype material: 1 female, South Pare Mountains , Mt Shengena, montane forest, 2000 m, December 1998. 7 males, 4 females, same data as holotype and November 2018. 2 females, Mt Vumari , South Pare Mountains, December 2016. Depository: collection C. Hemp .

Description. Male. General colour predominantly green and brown ( Fig. 13 View FIGURE 13 ). On dorsum of pronotum in area of metazona large brown patch bordered by cream-white fasciae. Head brown.Abdomen green with green tri-angles medially with diffuse brown colour. These tri-angles bordered by black lines. Lateral on abdomen on each segment cream-white patches. Legs green with herringbone pattern on outer side. Near joints with tibiae black rings, joints yellowish-white ( Fig. 13 A, B View FIGURE 13 ). Head and antennae. Fastigium verticis conical, slightly shorter than scapus. Face with median tri-angle shaped black fascia, labrum and mandibles orange. Genae green ( Fig. 13 C View FIGURE 13 ). Antennae long, more than twice the length of body, scapus green with black patches, second antennomere also green with black mottles, remaining antennomeres of reddish colour. Thorax. Pronotum rugose, rounded, posterior area (in metazona) slightly inflated. Tegmina hidden for most of their length under pronotum only straight hind margins of tegmina visible. Legs. Fore coxa with slightly curved spine. Fore and mid femora only with 2 outer ventral spines, unarmed on inner side. Hind femora with 4–5 small outer ventral spines near distal part with joint of tibia, on inner side unarmed or with one tiny spine. Fore and mid tibiae with double row of 3–6 irregular set ventral spines and pair of ventral spurs. Hind tibiae with 4 rows of small spines, densely set on dorsal two rows, and with few spines along ventral two rows; with ventral double pair of short spurs and dorsal stout pair. Abdomen. Tenth abdominal tergite elongated and up-lifted at posterior margin forming two tri-angle shaped vertically oriented structures ( Fig. 14 View FIGURE 14 A–C). Subgenital plate elongated, posteriorly up-curved and v-shaped incised medially, with finger-like styli ( Fig. 14 C View FIGURE 14 ). Cerci similar to A. guttatus n. sp. but expansion midway not as acute but almost rounded ( Fig. 14 A View FIGURE 14 , inset).

Female. Similar to male in size but with more mottled colour pattern. Face as male. Brown patch on metanotum of pronotum not as large and conspicuous as in male and darker. Ovipositor slightly up-curved. Posterior margin of 10 th abdominal tergite forming two broad lobes ( Fig. 15 A View FIGURE 15 ). Subgenital plate broad with v-shaped incised median gap ( Fig. 15 B View FIGURE 15 ).

Measurements, male (mm) (N = 4). Body length 18.8– 19.1. Length of pronotum 7.3–8.0. Length of hind femur 10.4–11.1.

Measurements, female (mm) (N = 4). Body length 18.4–19.5 Length of pronotum 6.0–6.2. Length of hind femur 11.8–12.5. Ovipositor 10.5–11.0.

Song. The recorded male produced echemes with eight syllables at intervals of about three seconds. See Fig. 39 View FIGURE 39 , 42 View FIGURE 42 and Table 1 View TABLE 1 for details.

Diagnosis. A. guttatus n. sp. and A. maculatus n. sp. are morphologically related. A. guttatus n. sp. has a male abdominal 10 th tergite which has an expanded broad margin similarly found in A. discolor of the West Usambara Mountains. However, the general colour pattern—usually a very stable character in Afroanthracites— is different and the male cerci are also differently shaped. A. discolor Hemp, Ingrisch & Ünal, 2013 also has laterally more strongly expanded cerci with an acute branch midway and an inner branch differentiated into two shorter and more slender branches ( Fig. 46 D View FIGURE 46 ). These inner branches are larger and longer than in A. guttatus n. sp. (46 A). A. pseudodiscolor Hemp, 2015 has male cerci morphologically also very similar to A. guttatus n. sp. and A. discolor (compare Fig. 46 View FIGURE 46 ). The 10 th abdominal tergite in A. pseudodiscolor ( Fig. 16 D View FIGURE 16 ), however, is differently shaped. Two tri-angle shaped structures are formed at the posterior margin, similar to A. maculatus n. sp. But in A. maculatus n. sp. the male cerci do not have an acute process midway on the male cerci.

Females may be distinguished when comparing the posterior margin of the 10 th abdominal tergites. A. discolor and A. pseudodiscolor ( Fig. 17 A View FIGURE 17 ) have lappet-like structures at the posterior margin while the posterior margin of the 10 th abdominal tergite in A. guttatus n. sp. is shallowly lobed ( Fig. 17 B View FIGURE 17 ) and in A. maculatus n. sp. ( Fig. 17 C View FIGURE 17 ) two evenly rounded lobes are formed. A. montium from the Kilimanjaro /Meru area of northern Tanzania ( Fig. 9 E, F View FIGURE 9 ) and A. usambaricus ( Fig. 9 C, D View FIGURE 9 ) from the West Usambara Mountains syntopically occurring with A. discolor in the Mazumbai Forest Reserve and A. pseudodiscolor in Lutindi forest of the West Usambara Mountains, have also lappet-like processes on the 10 th abdominal margin but not as long as in A. discolor and A. pseudodiscolor . Further their colour patterns are very different from the co-occurring species in the West Usambaras and resemble more that of A. inopinatus n. sp. South Pare Mountains ( Fig. 7 View FIGURE 7 ).

Habitat. Submontane to montane closed forest. Understory dweller found at night in trees and bushes. Recorded between 1600–2000 m.

Distribution. Tanzania, South Pare Mountains (Shengena forest, Mt. Vumari and Mt Mwala).

Etymology. The species is named after its colour pattern of many brown to black and white patches from Latin— maculatus , patchy.

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