Scaria, Bolivar, 1887

Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J., Mendes, Diego Matheus De Mello, Silva, Daniela Santos Martins, Granda, Juan Manuel Cardona, García, Alexander García & Tumbrinck, Josef, 2019, Systematics and biogeography of the genus Scaria Bolívar, 1887 (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae: Batrachideinae), Zootaxa 4675 (1), pp. 1-65 : 15-16

Key to Scaria species

1. Lateral carinae of frontal costa subparallel or divergent, but never flared. Tegmina with spots or not, but never with a ventral strip. Male terminalia with subgenital plate usually mid-sized and globose, and with slender, non-conical cerci, ovipositor valves elongate, dagger like............................................................................. 2

- Lateral carinae of the frontal costa flared below the paired ocelli ( Figs. 8B,C, 9B,C). Tegmina with a broad, light colored stripe covering at least half the ventral edge, and a large ellipsoidal subapical spot ( Figs. 8C, 9C). Male terminalia with short, thin subgenital plate, cerci stout and conical ( Figs. 8 E–G); ovipositor valves short and broad ( Figs. 9E,F) (Laeta Group) .......................................................................................... S. laeta stat. ressurr.

2. Face greenish-yellow or whitish and post-ocular stripe present (excluding S. ferruginea ), margin of prozona moderately curved and raised towards the anterior spine...................................................................... 4

- Face brownish, lacking a post-ocular stripe ( Figs. 10C, 12C), margin of prozona strongly curved and raised towards the anterior spine ( Figs. 11A, 12A) (Producta Group) ................................................................. 3

3. Pronotum dark brown with a dorsal, reddish brown spot ( Fig. 1). Hind femora without lobes on dorsal edge. Tegmina spotless, subgenital plate of males curving upwards in a 90 90° angle ( Fig. 10E)................................... S. maculata

- Pronotum brown with a green lime stripe in the lower half of the lateral lobes of pronotum and well into the dorsal median line of the pronotal disc ( Fig. 11A,D, 12A,D). Hind femora with two or three low lobes along dorsal edge ( Fig. 2I). Tegmina with a basal spot and subapical spot ( Figs. 11C, 12C), Subgenital plate in males not curving as noticeably ( Figs. 12E,F)...................................................................................................... S. producta

4. Face whitish (only S. ferruginea has a brownish face), mid femora length 3–4 times longer than wide, most ventral border of the eyes on a line with or below most of the dorsal height of the exposed area of the tegmina; male epiproct with a narrow distal prolongation; pronotum mostly black, in most cases also with a whitish line align the midline of the pronotal disc, line that can either be simple or expand to cover all the pronotal disc (in S. fasciata some specimens display a couple of whitish lines, one to each side of the lateral margin of the pronotal disc) (Lineata Group).......................................... 5

- Face yellowish-green (rarely brown-greenish), mid femora six times longer than wide, most ventral border of the eyes higher than the most dorsal exposed area of the tegmina; male epiproct with no distal protrusion, pronotal coloration lime green or green-bluish (Hamata Group) .......................................................................... 8

5. Dorsal midline present, covering only the midline ( Fig. 15B) or expanding to cover the whole of the pronotal disc ( Fig. 17B) ................................................................................................... 6

- Dorsal midline lacking, ( Fig. 15B) a white line on each side on the lateral border of the pronotal disc occurring in some specimens ( Fig. 13B)................................................................................ S. fasciata

6. Cephalic capsule whitish, always with a post-ocular stripe, ovipositor 2.5 times as long as the as subgenital plate......... 7

- Cephalic capsule brown, post-ocular stripe usually lacking ( Figs. 18C, 19C), but when it occurs, it is very slight; ovipositor 1.5 times as long as subgenital plate ( Fig. 18G)........................................................ S. ferruginea

7. Pronotal disc with a mid-dorsal line, spotless tegmina ( Figs. 15, 16)....................................... S. lineata

- Pronotal disc whitish overall, tegmina with an ovoid subapical spot ( Fig. 17)..................... S. verutum comb. nov.

8. Stripe of the upper half of the lateral margin of the pronotum black and only covering the upper margin of the lateral lobe of the pronotum; male epiproct with a triangular tip, penultimate male sternite rounded and poorly pronounced................ 9

- Stripe of the upper half of the lateral margin of the pronotum black and slight, being only a line that separates the lower and upper margins of the lateral lobes of the pronotum; male epiproct with a rounded tip, penultimate male sternite with a triangular projection.......................................................................................... 10

9. Male and female coloration much alike, variable but never olive-green with irregular, diffuse, dark brownish stripes ( Figs. 20A, 21A). Male cerci with a similar thickness in all their length and with an obliquely truncated tip ( Fig. 20G). Ovipositor slender, 2.5 times as long as subgenital plate ( Fig. 20F)....................................................... S. hamata

- Female coloration mostly olive-green with whitish punctuations and abundant, diffuse dark brown stripes on pronotum and legs ( Fig. 22). Male cerci with similar thickness in all their length and with a rounded tip, ovipositor stout, 1.5 times as long as subgenital plate............................................................................... S. boliviana

10. Tegmina with light colored stripe covering the dorsal margin between the medial vein and anal edge ( Figs. 26C, 27C, 28C). Epiproct of male spear-shaped and with a rounded tip ( Fig. 26E)............................................... 11

- Tegmina lacking a light-colored stripe on the dorsal margin between the medial vein and anal edge ( Fig. 24C). Epiproct triangular and pointy-tipped ( Fig. 24E)........................................................... S. rafaeli sp. nov.

11. Stripe of the upper half of the lateral lobes of the pronotum interrupted at the level of the humero-apical carinae ( Figs. 27A, 28A). Tegmina spot small and circular; anterior pronotal spine curved downwards ( Fig. 27C), subgenital plate of male as long as wide ( Fig. 27F)........................................................................ S. jonasi sp. nov.

- Stripe of the upper half of the lateral lobes of the pronotum uninterrupted ( Fig. 26A). Tegmina spot mid-sized and ovoid; anterior pronotal spine not downwardly curved ( Fig. 26C); subgenital plate of male wider than long ( Fig. 26F)..................................................................................................... S. granti sp. nov.