Hirrius punctatus ( Stål, 1877 )

Skejo, Josip, Husemann, Martin, Jr, Romeo Patano, Tumbrinck, Josef, Pushkar, Taras I., Pavlović, Marko, Mohagan, Alma, Pamin, Jan-Henrik & Kasalo, Niko, 2024, Revision of the polyphyletic genus Hirrius Bolívar, 1887 (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae), with descriptions of three new genera and insights into antennal sensilla morphology, Zootaxa 5524 (1), pp. 1-61 : 10-13

Hirrius punctatus ( Stål, 1877)

Vernacular name: Spotted Mindanao Blackhopper ( Figs. 1 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 )

Historical mentions: As Arulenus punctatus Stål 1877: 56 ; Casto de Elera 1895: 207; As Hirrius punctatus Bolívar 1887: 309 ; Hancock 1907: 7; Kirby 1910: 3; Bruner 1915: 241; Günther 1938: 303, 424; Blackith 1992: 90; Skejo 2017: 118–121; Patano et al. 2022: 776.

Lectotypization. An open taxonomic issue occurred, which we and the researchers before us were unaware of. Arulenus punctatus Stål 1877 type series consists of two syntypes, a female and a male, belonging to two species in two genera. Because of this problem, here we designate the female specimen from Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet Stockholm, Sweden catalogue number NRM-ORTH 0012904 as the lectotype of Arulenus punctatus and single name-bearing type. By this act, we fix the name Hirrius punctatus to the apterous species with widened antennomeres, pronotum black and ornamented in yellow or red dots and lines, endemic to Mindanao. The male specimen, cotype of A. punctatus at MfN Berlin, is considered here as paratype of endemic to Mindanao Parahirrius parvus sp. nov., a small species with short filiform antennae (see below).

Type specimens. 1♀ lectotype ‘ Ins. Phillipp .’, ‘Semper’, ‘ Arulenus punctatus Stål’, ‘Typus’, ‘ NRM-ORTH 0012904 ) ( NHRS) ; here designated.

Additional records

Museum records:

1♂ ‘231’, ‘O. Philippinen C. Semper Coll 231.’, ‘ Hirrius punctatus Stål K. Günther det.’ ‘ ZMH 831020 ’ ( ZMH) ;

1 ♀, 1♂ THE PHILIPPINES: Davao: Marilog Forest Reserve 1175 m a. s. l. 23.–24.II.2018.; 26.–27.VII.2019. leg. et obs. R. Jr. R Patano ( CMU) ;

1 ♀, 2♂ THE PHILIPPINES: Davao: Mount Hamiguitan, Malambo 1175 m a. s. l. 23.–24.II.2018., 26.–27.VII.2019. leg. et obs. R. Jr. R Patano ( CMU) ;

2♂ THE PHILIPPINES: Bukidnon: Kitanglad 1500 m a. s. l. 7.–8.VII.2019. leg. et obs. R. Jr. R Patano ( CMU) ; 1 ♀ THE PHILIPPINES: North Cotabato: Mount Apo 1257 m a. s. l. 25.I.2021. leg. et obs. R. Jr. R Patano ( CMU) ; 2 ♀♀, 1♂ THE PHILIPPINES: Bukidnon: Pantaron Range about 1000 m a. s. l. 9.–12.II.2020., 19.–21. VIII.2020. leg. et obs. R. Jr. R Patano ( CMU) ;

1 ♀ THE PHILIPPINES: Misamis Oriental: Eureka, Talangisog 652 m a. s. l. 20.–21.VII.2023 leg. et obs. R. Jr. R Patano ( CMU) ;

Online social media records:

1 ♀ THE PHILIPPINES: Mindanao : Surigao del Sur: Bislig 16.III.2011. obs. Shirley Sekarajasingham, available at link https://www.flickr.com/photos/grandma-shirley/6145150892 (and https://www.flickr.com/photos/grandma-shirley/6144599435) ;

1♀ THE PHILIPPINES: Mindanao : Lanao del Sur: Kapai (8.12122, 124.285639) iNaturalist observation number 112726760 20.XI.2021. obs. Mark Gregory Rule .

1 ♀ THE PHILIPPINES: Mindanao : Bukidnon: Lantapan (8.0017, 123.0105) iNaturalist observation number 116808954 21.III.2022. obs. Evedreine Mingo ;

Diagnosis. Hirrius punctatus is similar to its congeners H. mindanaensis and H. ruber sp. nov., but can easily be distinguished from them by the following set of traits: (1) alae not visible under the pronotum (visible in H. mindanaensis and H. ruber sp. nov.), (2) prozonal carinae indistinct (distinct in H. mindanaensis ), (3) pronotum black and richly ornamented with yellow and red dots and lines (variable in H. mindanaensis , from fully black to brown with pale markings; black in H. ruber sp. nov.), (4) hind femora slender (robust in H. mindanaensis ), (5) abdominal sternites black (bright red in H. ruber sp. nov.), (6) slightly larger than H. ruber sp. nov. (see measurements).

Color variation. The species does not have large color variability. Antennae are fully black. Pronotum almost always has two bright and wide red, yellow, or orange dots between the humeral angles (sometimes fused), and two smaller and usually paler dots in the middle of the metazona (also sometimes fused). From the level of these dots to the tip of the pronotum, lateral carinae are usually brightly colored yellow or orange. Fore and mid femora and tibiae usually have yellow-orange lines on the dorsal margins. Hind femora black with various yellow dots or lines on the outer surface and dorsal margins.

Measurements. The measurements of the holotype and five additional specimens from the recent fieldwork are shown in Table 2 .

Distribution and habitat. The species seems to be common in various types of rainforests of Mindanao (see ‘Additional records’), the Philippines ( Fig. 2A ), from the lowlands to the mountainous rainforests, where it can be observed on leaves and bark.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Already the antenna of the former members of the genus Hirrius, currently Hirrius mindanaensis, Guentheracris scrobiculata comb. nov., Zvierckia sarasinorum comb. nov., Zvierckia montana comb. nov., and Zvierckia storozhenkoi sp. nov. Evidence the diversity of the Tetrigidae representatives assigned to this genus till this revision.

FIGURE 2. Distribution of the species belonging to the genera Hirrius and Parahirrius gen. nov., both endemic to the island of Mindanao. A) H. punctatus, B) H. mindanaensis, C) H. ruber sp. nov., D) P. parvus sp. nov., E) P. amorosus sp. nov.

FIGURE 3. Lectotype ♀ Hirrius punctatus (Stål, 1877) from NHRS. A) dorsal view, B) left lateral view, C) right lateral view, D) labels, E) head in frontal view. Photo J. Tumbrinck.

FIGURE 4. Hirrius punctatus (Stål, 1877) ♂ from Semper’s collection, i.e., from the same collector and probably the collecting event as the lectotype ♀ from fig. 3. Deposited in ZMH. A) dorsal view, B) left lateral view, C) labels, D) head in frontal view. Photo E. Nguyen.

FIGURE 5. Hirrius punctatus (Stål, 1877), first photograph of a living specimen, ♀ from the Philippines, Mindanao, taken on 16.III.2011. by Shirley Sekarajasingham and reproduced with author’s permission. A) dorsolateral view, B) dorsal view.

FIGURE 6. Color variability of Hirrius punctatus (Stål, 1877) from Mindanao. A) male similar in coloration to the lectotype, B) dark ♂ with many bright markings and epizoic overgrowth, C) dark ♀ with very weak markings, D) ♂ of a very bright coloration and fused dorsal spots, E) dark ♂ with bright markings, F) dark ♂ with very bright markings. Photo R. Patano Jr.