Paraphasma sooretama 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 : 43-46

Paraphasma sooretama Chiquetto-Machado sp. nov.

Figs 30–34 , Table 7 .

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Paraphasma sp. 1 , Chiquetto-Machado & Cancello, 2021: 4, 26, figs 7, 14E, 19C, 20A, 25, 26. Holotype: ♂, Brazil, Espírito Santo, Reserva Biológica de Sooretama , 18º59’48”S, 40º07’35”W, 24–26.xi.2014, P. I. C. Machado, T. F. Carrijo , R . G. Santos ( MZUSP 0297 ) ( Fig. 30 ) . Paratypes: 1♂, same data as holotype ( MZUSP 0294 *); 2♀, Brazil, Espírito Santo, Reserva Biológica de Sooretama , 19º03’15”S, 40º08’48”W, 24–26.xi.2014, P. I. C. Machado, T . F. Carrijo , R . G. Santos ( MZUSP 0300 , 0309 ); 2♀, Brazil, Espírito Santo, Santa Tereza , 5.ii.1967, C. T . & C. Elias ( DZUP 380045 , 380046 ); 1♀, Brazil, Espírito Santo, Santa Tereza , 22.xi.1967, C. T . & C. Elias ( DZUP 380003 ) ( Fig. 33A–D,H ); 1♀, 1 egg, Brazil, Espírito Santo, Sta. Tereza , 2–6.i.68, C. & C. T . Elias ( DZUP 380029 ); 1♂, Brazil, Espírito Santo, Sta. Tereza , 22–31.i.68, C. & C. T . Elias ( DZUP 380012 *); 1♀, Brazil, Espírito Santo, Sta. Tereza , 1–3.ii.68, C. & C. T . Elias ( DZUP 380025 ); 1♂, Brazil, Minas Gerais, Marliéria, Parque Florestal Rio Doce, 12.xii.72, Grisi ( ESALQ *) .

Etymology. Noun in apposition after the type locality of the species, the Reserva Biológica de Sooretama (Sooretama Biological Reserve), a protected Atlantic Forest area in the state of Espírito Santo, Southeast Brazil. This reserve serves as an important refuge for many species endemic to the Atlantic Forest.

Diagnosis. Similar to P. conspersum , P. indistinctum sp. nov., P. laterale , P. marginale and P. minus , but clearly distinguishable by the phallic organ, with a “small-simple type ” sclerite of the ventral lobe ( Fig. 32 , in green), which is oblong in dorsal view and has two rounded protuberances positioned side by side and projected towards each other. Although not exclusive of Paraphasma sooretama sp. nov., the following features may also be useful for the identification of this species: male cerci with rounded and internally concave apex (a feature that is shared only with P. laterale ) ( Fig. 31A–D ); vomer longer than wide ( Fig. 31E ); male subgenital plate with posterolateral margins forming a pair of approximately triangular expansions with malleable aspect ( Fig. 31 : arrows); female sternite VII with a rounded indentation on the posterior margin.

Description of male. Color ( Figs 30 , 31 ): Live specimens present either a cryptic pattern, with body mostly brown or pale orange and a pair of pale yellow lateral stripes extending along head, prothorax, mesothorax and costal region of tegmina and hindwings, or a more vivid pattern, with body mostly shiny black and lateral stripes in a brighter yellow. Head, pro- and mesonotum with yellow or light brown dorsomedian line; pro- and mesonotum black or brown, with stains or spots in the same color as dorsomedian line. Legs brown or black, usually darkening towards apex of femora and tibiae. Anal region of hindwing bright yellow surrounded by a brownish stripe running along apical and posterior margins. Body ventrally light brown; subgenital plate black-stained. Dried specimens usually retain general color pattern, but less vivid and with anal region of hindwing becoming colorless. Head ( Fig. 30A–E ): 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. 30A–E ): Prothorax smooth; slightly longer and distinctly narrower than head; 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. 30A–E ): Fairly long and slender. Profemur slightly longer than 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 about as long as 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, 1.5–2x longer than corresponding tarsus; rectangular or trapezoidal in crosssection; 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. 30A–E ): Tegmina short, not reaching median region of metanotum; in dorsal view about 2.5x longer than wide; posterior margin gently rounded, apical margin rounded or weakly acuminate; shoulder pad very prominent, sometimes developed into a sharp spine; anal region with conspicuous reticulate venation. Hindwing well-developed, reaching abdominal tergite VII. Abdomen ( Figs 30A–C , 31 ): As in Paraphasma conspersum , but apex of cerci rounded in lateral view and internally concave ( Fig. 31A–D ). Phallic organ ( Fig. 32 ): Dorsal sclerite distinctly wider than long ( Fig. 32 , in red); distal process short and fairly wide, directed to the left, perpendicular in relation to longitudinal axis of organ ( Fig. 32 : dp). Dorsal and ventral lobes partially fused on left side. Dorsal lobe ( Fig. 32 : dl) subdivided into main body on the right and a dorsal smaller pouch on the left ( Fig. 32 : asterisks); inner face with a small sclerotized region ( Fig. 32C , dark gray). Sclerite of the ventral lobe of “small-simple type ” ( Fig. 32 , in green), covering only central region of inner face of ventral lobe; oblong in dorsal view, distinctly wider than long; with two rounded protuberances projected towards each other; right protuberance larger and more strongly projected. One of base apodemes ( Fig. 32 , in blue) projecting into dorsal lobe as a spatulate expansion.

Description of female. Color ( Fig. 33 ): As in male, but subgenital plate brown, usually lighter than preceding sternites. Head and thorax ( Fig. 33A–D ): As in male. Legs ( Fig. 33A–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. 33A–D ): As in male, but hindwing reaching abdominal tergite VIII. Abdomen ( Fig. 33A–C,E–G ): Approximately 1.7x longer than the combined length of head, thorax and median segment; dorsally and ventrally smooth, but tergite X gently carinate longitudinally. Segments II and III the longest; then gradually shortening from III to VII. Tergites VIII–X ( Fig. 33E,F ) distinctly shorter and slightly narrower than II–VII; tergite IX slightly shorter than VIII and about 1.3x longer than X. Tergite X slightly longer than wide; tectiform; posterior margin slightly emarginate. Cerci ( Fig. 33E–G ) short, about as long as tergite X; straight and cylindrical; apex blunt. Epiproct rounded; hardly visible under tergite X. Sternite VII with small but conspicuous praeopercular organ ( Fig. 33G ), developed into an elongate, shiny protuberance, extending until rounded indentation on posterior margin of sternite VII. Subgenital plate ( Fig. 33F,G ) lanceolate, extending until posterior margin of tergite X; apex somewhat sharp; inner face longitudinally carinate. Cerci, tergite X and subgenital plate densely pilose.

Description of egg ( Fig. 34 ). Capsule somewhat elongate, approximately barrel-shaped, higher than wide on median region, slightly narrowing towards operculum and polar area, almost flat on polar area; densely covered with uniformly distributed granules, each one originating a fairly long bristle, longer on polar area. Operculum approximately oval, slightly higher than wide, perpendicular in relation to longitudinal axis of capsule; bearing long bristles. Micropylar plate rounded but slightly elongate, positioned medially on capsule; with a small central hump. Median line ( Fig. 34A : arrow) very short and inconspicuous. Internal micropylar plate not examined. Egg light brown with sparse darker regions. Measurements (mm, n = 1): capsule length, 2.5; capsule width, 1.6; capsule height, 1.7; operculum width, 1.1; operculum height, 1.4; micropylar plate length, 0.7; micropylar plate width, 0.5.

Distribution ( Fig. 1 : dark blue circles). Paraphasma sooretama sp. nov. is recorded from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest in the states of Espírito Santo and eastern Minas Gerais and also from a locality in the Cerrado of central Minas Gerais.

Remarks. The only egg of Paraphasma sooretama sp. nov. examined ( Fig. 34 ) is similar to the eggs of Paraphasma laterale ( Figs 16 , 17 ) but has a slightly more rounded micropylar plate. However, in a large series of eggs of P. laterale (more than 50 eggs examined), the micropylar plate varied from fairly elongate to almost as rounded as in the egg of P. sooretama sp. nov. It is possible that some variation also occurs in the shape of the plate of P. sooretama sp. nov., and for this reason the rounded micropylar plate is not regarded as a diagnostic feature of this species.

Additional material examined. BRAZIL. Espírito Santo: 1 egg, same data as paratype DZUP 380029 (extracted from the female terminalia) . Minas Gerais: 6♂, 2♀, Diamantina, Serra dos Cristais, atrás da R . das Rosas , campo rupestre arbustivo, 25–26.x.2018, V . M. Ghirotto ( MZUSP 1160 , 1161 , 1162 , 1163 , 1164 , 1188 , 1246 , 1355 *) .

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 16. Paraphasma laterale (Fabricius, 1775), egg. Dorsal (A), lateral (B) and anterodorsal (C) views, and drawing of the internal micropylar plate (D). Abbreviations: Ca, capsule; Op, operculum; MP, micropylar plate. White arrow = median line; black arrow = internal median line.

FIGURE 17. Paraphasma laterale (Fabricius, 1775), variation in egg color. Scale bar = 1 mm.

FIGURE 30. Paraphasma sooretama Chiquetto-Machado sp. nov., male, holotype (MZUSP 0297). A–C. Habitus, dorsal (A), ventral (B) and lateral (C) views. D, E. Anterior region of the body, dorsolateral (D) and dorsal (E) views. F. Labels. Scale bars = 10 mm, unless otherwise indicated.

FIGURE 31. Paraphasma sooretama 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 32. Paraphasma sooretama 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; rbp, right basal pouch; vl, ventral lobe. Colors: light gray, membranous regions; red, dorsal sclerite; green, sclerite of the ventral lobe; blue, base apodemes; dark gray, sclerotized region of the dorsal lobe. * = 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. 7).

FIGURE 33. Paraphasma sooretama Chiquetto-Machado sp. nov., female. A–D. Paratype DZUP 380003, habitus in dorsal (A), lateral (B) and ventral (C) views, and anterior region of the body in dorsolateral view (D). E–G. Terminalia, dorsal (E), lateral (F) and ventral (G) views. H. Labels of paratype DZUP 380003. Abbreviations: Ce, cerci; PO, praeopercular organ; SP, subgenital plate; T8, T9, T10, tergites VIII, IX and X. Scale bars = 10 mm, unless otherwise indicated.

FIGURE 34. Paraphasma sooretama Chiquetto-Machado sp. nov., egg. Dorsal (A), lateral (B) and anterodorsal (C) views. Abbreviations: Ca, capsule; Op, operculum; MP, micropylar plate. Arrow = median line. Scale bar = 1 mm.