Lipotactomimus rowelli, Piotr Naskrecki, 2000

Piotr Naskrecki, 2000, Katydids of Costa Rica / Vol. 1, Systematics and bioacoustics of the cone-head katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Conocephalinae sensu lato)., Philadelphia, PA: The Orthopterists Society at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, : 26

LIPOTACTOMIMUS Naskrecki , gen. n.

Type species: Lipotactomimus rowelli sp. n., here

designated

Diagnosis (female)

Body small, stout; female mesopterous ( Fig. 4 A); tegumen smooth, shiny. Fastigium of vertex 0.5 times as wide as scapus, small, knob-like; eyes large, strongly protruding; pronotum wider than long. Hind femur stocky; ovipositor shorter than hind femur, distinctly upcurved.

Description (female; male unknown)

Head.— Fastigium of vertex small, knob-like, as wide as 1/2 of scapus, with longitudinal furrow dorsally ( Fig. 4 C); fastigium of vertex separated from fastigium of frons by small gap. Eyes very large relative to head size, strongly protruding; frons flat; tegumen of head smooth, shiny; face approximately triangular. Mandible and clypeus symmetrical ( Fig. 4 B).

Thorax and wings.— Dorsal surface of pronotum smooth and shiny; metazona distinctly raised; both anterior and posterior dorsal margins of pronotum straight; lateral lobes about as long as high, without humeral sinus. Thoracic auditory spiracle large, elliptical, nearly completely exposed. Prosternum unarmed, simple; mesosternum with lateral lobes of basisterna triangular, their inner margins touching; metasternum reduced to small, transverse plate.

Wings somewhat shortened, most likely barely reaching end of abdomen (abdomen shrunken in holotype).

Legs.— All legs stout; fore coxa with short, forward projecting spine dorsally. Fore and mid femora completely unarmed; hind femora very stout, armed with minute spines on anterior ventral margins only; all genicular lobes of femora armed with short spines. Fore and mid tibiae unarmed dorsally, both ventral margins with immovable spines as long as 1/4 diameter of tibia; hind tibia armed on dorsal margins along their entire length, and on ventral margins in apical fourth; apex of tibia with two pairs of ventral and one pair of dorsal movable spurs.

Abdomen.— Dorsal surface of abdominal terga smooth, unmodified; 10th tergite simple; cercus conical, simple; subgenital plate about as long as wide, with shallow apical emargination. Ovipositor distinctly upcurved; 1/2 as long as hind femur, gradually narrowing towards apex; apex acute.

Coloration.— Coloration striking, with contrasting green, yellow and brown elements. Face creamy-pink, with wide, yellow circles around compound eyes, occiput dark brown. Pronotum dark brown, with bright green stripe along the middle and yellowish-green, elongate patches along posterior edge of lateral lobes. Tegmina green, hind wings black. Legs green, except for black hind knees and brownish hind tibia. Abdomen yellow, ovipositor yellowish-brown. (Note: this description is based on a dried specimen, live individuals are more brightly colored).

Remarks.— This unusual new genus in its general appearance strongly resembles members of the south-east Asian genus Lipotactes Brunner von Wattenwyl (Lipotactinae) . Lipotactomimus differs from members of Lipotactinae in the structure of thoracic sterna (prosternum armed, and meso- and metasternum with stout cylindrical processes in Lipotactes ; no such modifications in Lipotactomimus ), lack of a process on hind coxa (present in Lipotactes ), and shorter and wider pronotum. Also, females are either squamipterous or apterous in all known species of Lipotactinae (female mesopterous in Lipotactomimus ).

Lipotactomimus seems to be most closely related to genera traditionally placed in Conocephalinae , especially to the genus Fatuhivella Hebard from Marquesas Islands, from which it differs in thicker and shorter legs as well as larger, more prominent compound eyes.

Etymology.— The generic epithet indicates the superficial similarity of the new genus to the south-east Asian genus Lipotactes .

Figures

FIG. 4. Lipotactomimus rowelli. A. female - habitus, B. female face, C. female subgenital plate, D. female head and pronotum, dorsal view