Varitrella (Cantotrella) robusta Gorochov

Gorochov, Andrej V. & Tan, Ming Kai, 2014, Species of the subgenus Cantotrella (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Podoscirtinae: Varitrella) from Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, Zootaxa 3774 (6), pp. 535-551 : 543-549

Varitrella (Cantotrella) robusta Gorochov , sp. nov.

( Figs 5 , 16, 17 , 25 , 44–52 )

Material examined. Holotype (male): Indonesia, Sulawesi Utara Prov., Bunaken Island not far from Manado City (Sulawesi), Bunaken Marine National Park, secondary forest, on leaf of bush at night, 18–25 February 2011, A. Gorochov ( ZIN).

Paratypes: 2 males and 2 females, same data as for holotype ( ZIN); 1 female, same province, about 40 km NE of Manado City, Tangkoko National Park on eastern coast of Minahassa Peninsula (Sulawesi), environs of Tangkoko Lodge, secondary forest, on leaf of bush at night, 3–6 February 2011, A. Gorochov ( ZIN).

Description. Male (holotype). General appearance similar to that of V. trusmadi and V. striata , but body somewhat larger, slightly more robust, and with shorter hind wings. Coloration light brown with following marks: head with darker (greyish brown) dorsum ( Fig. 5 ) and small spot at region of each dorsolateral corner of clypeus; pronotal disc brown, darker than lateral pronotal lobes ( Fig. 5 ); tegmina with brown dorsal field (but majority of its membranes slightly lighter than venation), yellowish white both humeral stripe and spot in corner between stock of MP+CuA1 and distal part of mirror, dark brown area between Sc and R (excepting distal part of this area), and light and semitransparent other parts of lateral field (but with light brown branches of Sc, few small dark spots between their proximal parts, and several whitish crossveins in proximal half of this field; Figs 16, 17 ); legs without darkened spots and dots but with slightly darker dorsal surface of fore tibiae and brownish grey ventral surface of hind tibiae; thoracic venter and abdomen almost yellowish with brown dorsum of tergites and characteristic area on anal plate ( Fig. 25 ). External structure of body also similar to that of V. trusmadi and V. striata , but scape almost 1.7 times as wide as rostral apex, pronotum with more parallel lateral sides ( Fig. 5 ), tegmina with apical area of dorsal field almost as in V. trusmadi ( Figs 16, 17 ), hind wings insignificantly longer than tegmina; and anal plate with central membranous area almost round ( Fig. 25 ). Genitalia similar to those of V. striata , but dorsal epiphallic spines somewhat shorter and with slightly wider (longer) bases, proximal part of epiphallus (before these spines) longer than in V. striata and V. trusmadi and with distinctly convex dorsal edge in profile, distal part of epiphallus (behind spines) somewhat shorter than in both latter species, ectoparameres slightly S-shaped in profile and with longer distal (curved) part (but this part shorter than in V. orion ), rachis and formula approximately as long as in V. o r i o n and V. trusmadi but with distal (widened) part of rachis somewhat shorter than in V. orion and V. striata and slightly longer than in V. trusmadi ( Figs 44–46 ).

Variation. Other males with slightly lighter coloration of pronotal disc and of most part of dorsal tegminal field; one male with light spot near anterior edge of median ocellus and with uniformly light fore tibiae; another male with a pair of small light spots near eyes (not far from hind parts of lateral ocelli), with rose area on mesonotum, with slightly darkened dorsal surface of hind tibiae (variability in genitalia insignificant; Figs 47–49 ).

Female. General appearance similar to that of males, but with following differences: areas between Sc and M in tegmina more or less uniformly light brown (almost semitransparent); rest of dorsal tegminal field greyish brown or light brown and with slightly darker venation, narrow dark stripe along lateral edge of this field, and several distinct or almost indistinct very small whitish marks along this edge; lateral tegminal field sometimes with few additional dark dots between middle parts of Sc branches or without darkened spots and dots between these branches; dorsal tegminal field with 15–17 longitudinal (somewhat oblique) veins and very numerous crossveins; lateral tegminal field with12–14 branches on Sc and numerous (but often weakly distinct) crossveins. Genital plate weakly elongate, slightly narrowing to apex, with rather deep posteromedian notch and rounded lobes around it; ovipositor approximately 1.3 times as long as hind femur and with drilling apical part ( Fig. 50–52 ).

Length in mm. Body: male 19–21, female 19–24; body with wings: male 25–27, female 30–32; pronotum: male 3.4–3.7, female 4.2–4.6; tegmina: male 17–19, female 21–22.5; hind femora: male 14–15.5, female 16–18; ovipositor 21–23.

Comparison. The new species is most similar to V. variabilis but distinguished by the following characters: epiphallus is with somewhat higher distolateral parts in profile and wider (longer) dorsal spines as well as with a deeper posteromedian notch (this notch reaches the proximal edge of these spines; vs, it reaches the distal edge of these spines); epiphallic proximal half is with a more convex dorsal edge in profile; ectoparameres and rachis are clearly longer; and formula is distinctly wider. From V. trusmadi and V. orion , the new species differs in distinctly shorter dorsal epiphallic spines, a convex dorsal edge of the proximal epiphallic part (before these spines) in profile, and clearly shorter ectoparameres; from V. striata and V. glabra , in the same characters of epiphallus as well as more strong and slightly S-shaped ectoparameres (vs. not S-shaped), and a distinctly longer rachis (from V. striata ) or a comparatively deeper posteromedian epiphallic notch reaching the epiphallic spine proximal edge (from V. glabra ; the latter species has this notch reaching the epiphallic spine distal edge only).

Figures

FIGURES 2 – 9. Head and pronotum of male from above: 2, Varitrella orion sp. nov.; 3, V. trusmadi sp. nov.; 4, V. striata sp. nov.; 5, V. ro bu st a sp. nov.; 6, V. suk au sp. nov.; 7. V. tawau sp. nov.; 8, V. amoena sp. nov.; 9, V. manukan sp. nov.

FIGURES 16 – 19. Left and right male tegmina: 16, 17, Varitrella robusta sp. nov.; 18, V. s uk a u sp. nov.; 19, V. m a nu k a n sp. nov.

FIGURES 20 – 31. Varitrella, male: 20 – 22, V. orion sp. nov., stridulatory vein of right tegmen from below (20), abdominal apex from above (21), and genital plate from below (22); 23 – 28, anal plate partly from above and partly from behind in V. trusmadi sp. nov. (23), V. striata sp. nov. (24), V. robusta sp. nov. (25), V. tawau sp. nov. (26), V. suk au sp. nov. (27) and V. amoena sp. nov. (28); 29 – 31, genitalia of V. palawanensis (29), V. mindoroensis (30) and V. quadrata (31) from side and from below, with names of morphological structures. Abbreviations: ds, dorsal epiphallic spine; ec, ectoparamere; ea, endoparameral apodeme; en, endoparamere; ep, epiphallus; f, formula (= mold of spermatophore attachment plate); lo, lateral lobe of rachis; mr, median sclerotized ribbon fused with formula; r, rachis (= guiding rod); ra, ramus.

FIGURES 44 – 58. Varitrella: 44 – 52, V. robusta sp. nov. (44 – 46, holotype); 53 – 58, V. manukan sp. nov. Male genitalia from above (44, 47, 53), from below (45, 48, 54) and from side (46, 49, 55); left half of distal part of ovipositor from above (50, 57), from below (51, 58) and from side (52, 56).