Conocephalus (Anisoptera) cinnamonifrons, Braun, 2022

Braun, Holger, 2022, An interesting new species of Conocephalus (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Conocephalinae) from Argentina, Zootaxa 5196 (4), pp. 588-594 : 589

Conocephalus (Anisoptera) cinnamonifrons sp. nov.

Holotype. ARGENTINA • ♂; Prov. Buenos Aires, Partido Berazategui, 1–2 km ENE highway crossing over Arroyo Pereyra; 7.III.2020; H. Braun leg.; Museo de La Plata (MLP-OR-3217).

Etymology. Referring to the distinctive cinnamon brown head. Derived from the provisional name “cara canela” used in the online catalog of Tettigoniidae from Argentina and Uruguay ( Braun & Zubarán 2022), “cara” and “canela” being Spanish for face and cinnamon, respectively. “Canela” is a frequent part of Argentine common names for birds, used in altogether 22 species, including the “carpintero cara canela” (Helmeted Woodpecker, Celeus galeatus ) and the “mosqueta cara canela” (Bay-ringed Tyrannulet, Phylloscartes sylviolus ).

Diagnosis. Head light brown (green in the majority of South American Conocephalus species), lateral lobes of pronotum, thoracic pleura, mid femora and basal half of hind femora green, otherwise light brown, eyes brown, tips of hind femora not darkened, vertex with reddish medial band, pronotum with light medial band with thin, undulate reddish borders, abdomen in both sexes plain ( Fig. 2E , Fig. 3A–C ). Fastigium narrow, in dorsal view half as wide as scapus and barely wider than pedicellus, very little restricted ahead of apex. Prosternum with a pair of short and delicate spines. Tegmina in males slightly longer than twice the pronotum length, in females shorter (1.5–1.6 times pronotum length), stridulatory area as in Fig. 1C . Hind femora with 3–5 irregularly spaced ventral spinules in distal half. Male cerci typical of the genus ( Fig. 1D ). Females with relatively short, somewhat broadened, and distinctly upcurved ovipositor ( Fig. 3A ; all other known Conocephalus females from South America have straight or almost straight ovipositors).

Measurements. Taken from male holotype: body length alive 17 mm (inferred from photo), pronotum 3 mm, tegmina 7 mm, mirror of left tegmen 1 mm long, hind femora 12 mm.

Habitat and phenology. Found in herbaceous vegetation and understory of woodland near the shore of the Río de la Plata, as well as around a lagoon and on wet, structurally complex meadows a few kilometers inland (before the current drought partly inundated and with pools), and also recorded from Entre Ríos close to the Uruguay River ( Fig. 4A,B ). Perhaps a specialist of riparian ecotones. Adults appear late in summer, February to May.

Behaviour and song. Much more wary than the common Conocephalus longipes , always ready to hide. Active at day and night. The calling song of the captured individual was recorded after midnight, but males most probably also sing during the day, which is common among congeners (as far as known in all species). This holotype male called continuously, with long syllable trains alternating with short sequences consisting of a few sparse syllables ( Fig. 2A–C ). The long syllable trains varied in length from 2 to 10 seconds, with a syllable repetition rate of 41–42 per second at 23°C. The uniform short sequences lasted less than one second and constantly consisted of 5–8 syllables, mostly 7. The corresponding syllable repetition rate would be 10 per second. The very broad carrier frequency spectrum is located entirely in the ultrasound, from above 20 kHz to 60 kHz, with most energy between 30 kHz and 40 kHz ( Fig. 2D ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Conocephalus cinnamonifrons (holotype male): A. dorsal and B. lateral view (scale bars 10 mm), C. stridulatory area (scale bar 1 mm), D. left cercus in dorsal view (scale bar 1 mm).

FIGURE 2. Conocephalus cinnamonifrons and its song (holotype male): A. oscillogram showing 20 s of continuous calling (11 March 2020, 0:51 h, 23.2°C), B. beginning of this same fragment, C. end of syllable train and first three isolated syllables from beginning of same fragment, D. linear spectrogram, E. in situ prior to catch.

FIGURE 3. Conocephalus cinnamonifrons (individuals in situ): A. female (Reserva Punta Lara, close to Arroyo Pereyra, 14 May 2022), B,C. male (Atalaya, 9 April 2022).

FIGURE 4. Distribution of Conocephalus cinnamonifrons known so far: A,B. own observations from 4 sites near La Plata and one near Atalaya, as well as 10 observations from 8 sites found on iNaturalist (a single record from Entre Ríos near Concordia, the southernmost records are from near Mar del Plata: Sierra de los Padres and Sierra de los Difuntos), C. area where most of the observations were made.