Paraphasma indistinctum Chiquetto-Machado, 2022

Chiquetto-Machado, Pedro I., Morales, Adriana C. & Cancello, Eliana M., 2022, Taxonomic revision of Paraphasma Redtenbacher, 1906 (Phasmatodea, Pseudophasmatidae) based on phallic and external morphology, Zootaxa 5122 (1), pp. 1-80 : 17-22

Paraphasma indistinctum Chiquetto-Machado sp. nov.

Figs 7–10 , Table 3 .

http://zoobank.org/ urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:F8600E41-20B7-404C-AE40-5925E9685ED0

Paraphasma sp. 2 , Chiquetto-Machado & Cancello, 2021: 4, 26, figs 8, 25, 26. Holotype: ♂, Brazil, Amazonas , Itacoatiara, xii.1961 ( MZUSP 0154 ) ( Fig. 7 ) . Paratypes: 1♂, Brazil, Amazonas , Itacoatiara, vii.1961 ( MZUSP 0147 ) , 1♀ ( MZUSP 0146 ) ; 2♂, Brazil, Amazonas , Itacoatiara, x.1961 ( MZUSP 0999 , 1000 ) ; 1♀, same data as holotype ( MZUSP 0153 ) ( Fig. 10 ) ; 2♂, 2♀, Brazil, Amazonas , Itacoatiara, i.1962 ( MZUSP 0370 *, 0371, 0372, 0373) ; 1♀, Brazil, Amazonas , Itacoatiara, iv.1964 ( MZUSP 0360 ) ; 1♂, Brazil, Amazonas , Itacoatiara, x.1964 ( MZUSP 1001 ) ; 1♂, 4♀, Brazil, Amazonas , Itacoatiara ( MZUSP 0365 *, 0366, 0367, 0368, 0369*) ; 1♂, Alto Amazonas , Staudinger, Coll. Br. v.W. ( NHMW) .

Etymology. Latin adjective meaning ‘indistinct’, referring to the fact that this species cannot be safely distinguished from some other species of Paraphasma (especially P. conspersum and P. minus ) based on external morphology, but only through examination of the phallic organ.

Diagnosis. Similar to P. conspersum , P. laterale , P. marginale , P. minus and P. sooretama sp. nov., but clearly distinguishable by the phallic organ, with a “large type ” sclerite of the ventral lobe ( Fig. 9 , in green), which is semicircular in dorsal view and has only one protuberance, the left basal one ( Fig. 9 : lp), which is distinctly divided into two regions. Although not exclusive of P. indistinctum sp. nov., the following features may also be useful for the identification of this species: small body length (♂ <48 mm; ♀ <59 mm); tegmina shoulder pad developed into a sharp spine ( Figs 7E , 10D ); male cerci with spatulate apex ( Fig. 8A–C ); vomer longer than wide ( Fig. 8E ); male subgenital plate with posterolateral margins forming a pair of approximately triangular expansions with malleable aspect ( Fig. 8 : arrows); female sternite VII with a rounded indentation on the posterior margin.

Description of male. Color ( Figs 7 , 8 ): Body mostly brown, grayish or black, with a pair of pale yellow or pale green lateral stripes extending along head, prothorax, mesothorax and costal region of tegmina and hindwing. Head black with pale yellow longitudinal lines. Pro- and mesonotum dark brown or black, with fairly dense pale yellow spots and dorsomedian line in the same yellow shade. Legs brownish, greenish or yellowish, usually with apex of femora and tibiae dark brown or black. Anal region of tegmina brown with pale yellow venation. Body ventrally brown; subgenital plate black-stained. Head ( Fig. 7 ): Smooth; slightly longer than wide; sub-rectangular in dorsal view; vertex weakly convex. Compound eye very prominent, large, covering nearly half of head length, almost round in lateral view. Ocelli well-developed; median one distinctly separated from lateral pair. Antennae filiform, very long, distinctly surpassing end of abdomen; scape compressed dorsoventrally; pedicel cylindrical, slightly shorter than scape; first flagellomere about 3x longer than pedicel. Thorax ( Fig. 7 ): Prothorax smooth; about as long as head and distinctly narrower than it; weakly convex dorsally and ventrally, laterally flat. Pronotum sub-rectangular, with slight constriction on anterior third; anterolateral corners with rounded indentations, outlining openings of paired defensive glands; posterior margin convex; pair of gentle dorsolateral carinae originating posterior to defensive glands and extending until nearly posterior margin. Mesothorax slightly rugose, approximately 1.5x longer than prothorax; about as wide as prothorax on anterior half and gradually widening on posterior half. Mesonotum with weak longitudinal carina extending along each lateral margin; mesepisternum with more pronounced carina extending along ventral margin. Metathorax and median segment smooth; parallel-sided, as wide as posterior region of mesothorax; dorsally convex, laterally flat, weakly convex ventrally; metathorax about 3x longer than median segment; both combined almost 2x longer than mesothorax. Metepisternum with longitudinal carina extending along ventral margin. Legs ( Fig. 7 ): Fairly long and slender. Profemur about as long as combined length of mesothorax, metathorax and median segment; curved and compressed basally; approximately trapezoidal in cross-section, with carinate edges and distinct ventromedian carina; anterodorsal carina weakly raised. Mesofemur slightly longer than pro- and mesothorax combined; 0.6x length of profemur. Metafemur slightly shorter than profemur. Meso- and metafemur sub-rectangular in cross-section, with dorsal and ventral faces slightly convex; edges weakly carinate; ventromedian carina absent. Tibiae slightly shorter than corresponding femur, about 2x longer than corresponding tarsus; rectangular or trapezoidal in cross-section; ventromedian carina absent; with conspicuous area apicalis. Pro- and metabasitarsus slightly longer than following three tarsomeres combined; mesobasitarsus about as long as following three tarsomeres combined. Wings ( Fig. 7 ): Tegmina short, not reaching median region of metanotum; in dorsal view about 2.2x longer than wide; posterior margin gently rounded, apical margin rounded or weakly acuminate; shoulder pad developed into a sharp spine; anal region with conspicuous reticulate venation. Hindwing well-developed, reaching abdominal tergite VII. Abdomen ( Figs 7A–C , 8 ): As in Paraphasma conspersum , except for vomer with narrow basal region ( Fig. 8E ). Phallic organ ( Fig. 9 ): Dorsal sclerite distinctly wider than long, roughly rectangular in dorsal view ( Fig. 9 , in red); distal process short and wide, directed to the left, perpendicular in relation to longitudinal axis of organ ( Fig. 9 : dp). Dorsal and ventral lobes partially fused on left side. Dorsal lobe ( Fig. 9 : dl) subdivided into main body on the right and a dorsal smaller pouch on the left ( Fig. 9 : asterisks). Sclerite of the ventral lobe of “large type ” ( Fig. 9 , in green), entirely covering inner face of ventral lobe and reaching outer face along posterior margin of lobe; in dorsal view roughly semicircular, with posterior margin rounded; right and central regions lacking protuberances; only left basal protuberance present ( Fig. 9 : lp). Left basal protuberance distinctly divided into two regions; anterior one larger, approximately lamellate, and posterior one small and rounded. One of base apodemes ( Fig. 9 , in blue) projecting into dorsal lobe as a spatulate expansion.

Description of female. Color ( Fig. 10 ): As in male, except for sternite VII with posterior region black-stained, and subgenital plate with anterior region black-stained and posterior region light brown or greenish. Head and thorax ( Fig. 10A–D ): As in male. Legs ( Fig. 10A–D ): As in male, but slightly shorter in relation to body, with profemur not surpassing combined length of mesothorax, metathorax and median segment; and anterodorsal carina of profemur distinctly raised medially. Wings ( Fig. 10A–D ): As in male, but hindwing reaching abdominal tergite VIII. Abdomen ( Fig. 10A–C,F–H ): As in Paraphasma conspersum .

Egg not examined.

Distribution ( Fig. 1 : red circle). Paraphasma indistinctum sp. nov. is known only from the municipality of Itacoatiara, in the east of the Brazilian state of Amazonas, besides one NHMW specimen from ‘Alto Amazonas’. This imprecise locality possibly refers to the Solimões River, also known as Upper Amazonas (= Alto Amazonas), and may correspond to a locality further west in the Amazonas state.

Remarks. Although the spine of the tegmina shoulder pads was damaged in many of the specimens studied, careful examination revealed that this spine was present in all individuals examined. The male of P. indistinctum sp. nov. housed at NHMW, herein designated as a paratype, belongs to a series of specimens identified by Brunner and Redtenbacher as Paraphasma fasciatum , which is here considered a nomen dubium (see “Remarks” under P. fasciatum ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Distribution map of Paraphasma. Circles indicate records based on material examined; triangles indicate records from the literature (Stoll 1787; Serville 1839; Chopard 1911; Conle et al. 2011; Jourdan et al. 2014); stars indicate records of undetermined Paraphasma species based on Rehn (1906) and Piza (1939) (although these authors identified the specimens, the identifications are doubtful or insufficient).

FIGURE 7. Paraphasma indistinctum Chiquetto-Machado sp. nov., male, holotype (MZUSP 0154). A–C. Habitus, dorsal (A), lateral (B) and ventral (C) views. D, E. Anterior region of the body, dorsolateral (D) and dorsal (E) views. F. Labels. Scale bars = 10 mm.

FIGURE 8. Paraphasma indistinctum Chiquetto-Machado sp. nov., male terminalia. A–D. Terminalia in dorsal (A), lateral (B), ventral (C) and oblique caudal (D) views. E. Drawing of the vomer. Abbreviations: Ce, cerci; S8, sternite VIII; SPa, anterior region of the subgenital plate; SPp, posterior region of the subgenital plate; T8, T9, T10, tergites VIII, IX and X; TP, thorn pad. Arrows = expansion of the posterolateral margin of the subgenital plate. Scale bars = 1 mm.

FIGURE 9. Paraphasma indistinctum Chiquetto-Machado sp. nov., illustrations of the phallic organ. A. Dorsal view. B. Detail of the sclerite of the ventral lobe in dorsal view. C. Caudal view. D. Left view. E. Right view. Abbreviations: b, base; dl, dorsal lobe; dp, distal process of the dorsal sclerite; lp, left basal protuberance of the sclerite of the ventral lobe; rbp, right basal pouch; vl, ventral lobe. Colors: light gray, membranous regions; red, dorsal sclerite; green, sclerite of the ventral lobe; blue, base apodemes. * = left ramification of the dorsal lobe. In D and E the final portion of the ejaculatory duct is represented by transparency with dotted lines. Images A, B, D and E adapted from Chiquetto-Machado & Cancello (2021: fig. 8).

FIGURE 10. Paraphasma indistinctum Chiquetto-Machado sp. nov., female, paratype (MZUSP 0153). A–C. Habitus, dorsal (A), lateral (B) and ventral (C) views. D. Anterior region of the body, dorsolateral view. E. Labels. F–H. Terminalia, dorsal (F), ventral (G) and lateral (H) views. Abbreviations: Ce, cerci; PO, praeopercular organ; SP, subgenital plate; T8, T9, T10, tergites VIII, IX and X. Scale bars = 10 mm, unless otherwise indicated.