Afroagraecia shimbaensis Hemp

Hemp, Claudia, 2013, Annotated list of Tettigoniidae (Orthoptera) from the East Usambara Mountains Tanzania and new Tettigoniidae species from East Africa, Zootaxa 3737 (4), pp. 301-350 : 307-308

Afroagraecia shimbaensis Hemp n. sp. ( Fig. 2 C, G, K)

http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: orthoptera .speciesfile.org:TaxonName:180001

Holotype, male, Kenya, Shimba Hills, March 1941, V. G. L. van Someren Collection, B.M. 1959-468. Depository: BMNH.

Paratypes, 2 males, same data as holotype. Depository: BMNH.

Description.—Male. General coloration uniform light to medium brown with some darker brown mottles on tegmina; with median dark dorsal fascia from head over disk of pronotum, faint in two paratypes specimens; black triangle on face absent ( Fig. 2 C). Head and antennae.—Fastigium verticis light brown, acute conical, laterally compressed, shorter than scapus. Frons shining with almost smooth surface. Ocellus cream. Scapus and first antennal segment brown as rest of head, remaining articles reddish brown with irregular dark markings along whole length. Antennae much longer than body, about 7–8 cm. Thorax.— Pronotum with anterior margin rounded, posterior margin truncate, in metazona slightly inflated. Lateral lobes of pronotum rounded, at height of metazona margin incurved. Prosternum bispinose, meso- and metasterna unarmed. Tegmina and wings longer than abdomen, surpassing abdomen by 1/3 of their length. Legs.— Fore coxa with well developed spine. Fore femora with three stout outer ventral spines, and one inner spine; mid femora with three outer spines, unarmed on inner side; hind femora with 4–6 outer spines, no inner spines. All spines deep shiny black. Abdomen.— Tenth abdominal tergite divided into two rounded lobes. Supra-anal plate deeply sulcate, rectangular with slightly expanded posterior margin ( Fig. 2 G). Cerci broadened in basal half with dorsal margin running into an acute downcurved tooth at point of constriction; apical area compressed, terminating into two acute twisted teeth ( Fig. 2 G). Subgenital plate as in Fig. 2 K, elongate, posterior margin angularly excised and with two short styli.

Female: unknown.

Measurements, males (mm) (N = 3). Body length 24–25. Length of pronotum 7.0–7.5. Length of elytra 22–24. Length of hind femur 14–15.

Diagnosis.— A. shimbaensis n. sp. has very long elytra that surpass the abdominal apex while all other species have shorter wings. The black fascia on head and pronotum is less conspicuous than in other species and the triangle-shaped black fasica on the face missing. The supra-anal plate is deeply sulcate and thus seems to be folded into two parts while other Afroagraecia species have a less sulcate supra-anal plate and of different shape. The apical cercal teeth are very stout and twisted and very characteristic for this species.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Morphological details of Afroagraecia species. A – D. Face. E – H. Dorsal view on male abdominal apex. I – L. Male subgenital plates. A, E, I. A. bloyeti. B, F, J. A. sansibara. C, G, K. A. shimbaensis n. sp. D, H, L. A. brachyptera. M, N, O. A. pwania n. sp.