Diponthus crassus Bruner, 1910

Pocco, Martina E., Lange, Carlos E. & Cigliano, María Marta, 2023, Relationships and taxonomy of the genus Diponthus Stål (Orthoptera: Acridoidea Romaleidae), Zootaxa 5336 (1), pp. 33-81 : 78-79

Diponthus crassus Bruner, 1910

Redescription. Medium sized insects ( Fig. 4a, b ). Male: integument of head rugose, except in dorsal and postocular areas. Fastigium declivent, slightly excavated, with straight or slightly concave apex Interocular distance equal to the width of the apex of fastigium. Eyes rather prominent and subcircular, exceeding the level of vertex in lateral view. Frons straight; union frons-fastigium slightly angulate. Integument of prozona faveolated; metazona conspicuously reticulate. Prozona as or slightly longer than metazona; about the same width. Mid-dorsal longitudinal carina almost obsolete, cut by three transverse sulci. Transverse sulci deep, marked on dorsum and laterally. Anterior margin of pronotum emarginated in the middle, posterior margin of disc almost straight, with a slight point. Prosternal tubercle straight with rounded apex. Tegmina and hind wings barely reaching the end of abdomen, with rounded apex; transverse veins conspicuous delimiting large sub-square cells. Cerci short, tapering towards the apex; apex directed downwards, straight ventrally and slightly concave dorsally, not exceeding the end of epiproct. Epiproct with rounded lateral edges, posterior edge angulate, furculae placed apart from the midline, with the tips directed inwards. Phallic complex ( Figs. 10m , 11m , and 12a, b ): dorsal valves of aedeagus short and thick, curved downwards. Valves of cingulum with expanded distal portion, anterior margin straight, upper margin with slight emargination. Zygoma of cingulum wide. Epiphallus with lophi parallel to the bridge, extended but not reaching the posterior processes of lateral plates, triangular shape in frontal view.

Chromatic characters. Body color bluish-black with pale ocher-yellow or cream ( Figs. 4a, b , and 6i ). Head with a wide ocher mid-dorsal longitudinal band that continues on the pronotum disc. Antennae bluish black. Pronotum black or bluish-black with anterior and posterior margin of lateral lobes ocher or cream color. Disc of pronotum with spots on both sides of mid-dorsal carina within the areas delimited by the transverse sulci. Meso and metapleurae mostly black. Tegmina with dark brown background and yellow-ocher veins. Hind wings pink or light blue, and brown veins. Legs: anterior and middle with the outer face ocher and the inner face bluish-black (in most of the specimens examined). Hind legs ocher-yellow with a black or bluish-black longitudinal band on outer face of femur; inner face of femur and tibiae bluish black. Abdomen ocher; apex of cerci, tubercles of epiproct and tips of furculae black.

Females: similar to males, but more robust. Tegmina and hind wings shorter than the end of the abdomen ( Fig. 6i ). Ovipositor valves ocher-colored with black tips. Some females with hind tarsi red.

Material examined. ARGENTINA: 3 males and 2 females, Misiones, San Pedro , 13/12/1957, Birabén leg., MLP ; 1 female, Corrientes, Pronunciamiento , 2/1973, Zelich leg., MLP ; 1 male and 1 female, Misiones, Dos de Mayo , 02/12/1957, Birabén leg., MLP ; 1 male and 1 female, Misiones, San Antonio , I/1959, Ronderos & Trottz leg., MLP ; 2 females, Misiones, San Pedro , 05/12/1957, Birabén leg., MLP ; 4 males and 1 female, Misiones, Dos de Mayo , 03/12/1957, Martínez leg., MLP ; 1 female, Misiones, San Pedro, Parque Prov. Cruce Caballero, 12/12/2002, Cigliano & Marti leg., MLP ; 1 female, Misiones, Bernardo de Irigoyen, RP 17, 13 km W Pozo Azul (to San Pedro ), 11/12/2002, Cigliano & Marti leg., MLP ; 1 male, Misiones , Iguazú, RN 12 (km 1587), 61 km S Parque Nac. Iguazú, 10/12/2002, Cigliano & Marti leg., MLP ; 1 female, Misiones, Bemberg , 14-30/3/1945, Hayward, Willink & Golbach leg., IFML ; 2 males, Misiones, Bemberg , 12-29/03/1945, Hayward, Willink & Golbach leg., IFML ; 1 male and 1 female, Misiones, San Antonio , 12/1946, Pierotti S. leg., IFML ; 1 male and 1 female, Misiones, San Antonio , 07/12/1951, Willink & Monrós leg., IFML ; 2 males and 1 female, Misiones, Panambí , 25/11/1951, Monrós & Willink leg., IFML ; 1 female, Tucumán, Amaicha del Valle , 28/11/1951, Willink & Monrós leg., IFML ; 1 male, Misiones, Yaguaroundi , 27/10/2006, Marti leg., IBS ; 2 female, Misiones, Reserva Yaboti , 8 km Saltos del Moconá from El Soberbio (27°10´03.8´´S, 53°59´36.1´´W), 07/12/2010, Cigliano & Lange leg., MLP ; 5 females, 3 males and 1 nymph, Misiones, 10 km Pozo Azul to San Pedro (26°26´54.8´´S, 54°08´14.3´´W), 08/12/2010, Cigliano & Lange leg., MLP ; 4 males and 5 females, Misiones, 20 km before Saltos del Mocona, Reserva Yaboti (27°10´08.9´´S, 53°59´45.6´´W), 328 m, 09/12/2010, Cigliano & Lange leg., MLP ; 2 males and 1 female, Misiones, between Aurora and Alba Posse , R2 (27°27´16.0´´S, 54°37´07.3´´W) , 184 m, Cigliano & Lange leg., MLP ; 3 males and 2 females, Misiones, R2 , near San Javier (27°46´50.3´´S, 55°06´49.4´´W), 109 m, 10/12/2010, Cigliano & Lange leg., MLP ; 2 females and 1 male, Misiones, R2 , to Concepción, La Corita, Ruinas Jesuíticas Santa María (27°53´15.6´´S, 55°20´10.7´´W), 135 m, 10/12/2010, Cigliano & Lange leg., MLP ; 7 males and 2 females, Misiones , 25 de Mayo, 11/1944, Viana leg., MACN ; 1 female and 1 male, Misiones, Aquai-Deliera , 13/12/1957, Biraben leg., MLP ; 2 males and 2 females, Misiones, Dep. Concep. Sta. Maria , Viana leg., MLP ; 1 male, Misiones, General Alvear , 15/10/1989, Balatti leg., MLP ; 1 male, Misiones, P. Bemberg , 11/1954, Viana leg., MACN ; 1 female and 1 male, Misiones , 12/11/1909, Jorgensen leg., MLP ; 1 female, Misiones, San Antonio , 12/1946, Pierotti leg., IFML ; 3 males, Misiones, Gral. Manuel Belgrano, Estancia Macaca (9 km S Dos Hermanas) (26.391667 S, 53.747611 W), 637 m, 25/11/2012, Castillo leg., IBS ; 1 male and 1 female, Corrientes, Ituzaingó, Estancia Santo Domingo (27.695675 S, 56.168941 W), 113 m, 03/11/2012, Castillo leg., IBS . BRASIL: 1 male, Río Grande do Sul, MLP ; 1 male, Nova Teutonia (27°11’S 52°23’W), 5/12/1962, Fritz Plaumann leg., MLP ; 1 female, Nova Teutonia (27°11’S 52°23’W), 18/12/1962, Fritz Plaumann leg., MLP .

Figures

FIGURE 4. Diponthus species, as indicated. Males, habitus lateral views (a, c, e, g) and dorsal views (b, d, f, h). Scale bar= 1 cm. Numbers indicate characters and states used in the cladistics analysis.

FIGURE 6. a–c, Diponthus argentinus: male and female, color morph green (a), female (b), male (c); d, D. paraguayensis, male; e, f, D. pycnostictus: e, yellow and gray color morph; f, red and gray color morph, male; g, D. festivus, male (photo credits: Elio Castillo); h, D. puelchus, male; i, D. crassus, male and female

FIGURE 10. Distal portion of aedeagal valves, lateral view. Diponthus species, as indicated.

FIGURE 11. Distal portion of aedeagal valves, dorsal view. Diponthus species, as indicated.

FIGURE 12. Epiphallus, dorsal views (a) and frontal views (b). Diponthus species, as indicated. Numbers indicate characters and states used in the cladistics analysis.