Eulioptera carrolli, Naskrecki & Guta, 2019

Naskrecki, Piotr & Guta, Ricardo, 2019, Katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) of Gorongosa National Park and Central Mozambique, Zootaxa 4682 (1), pp. 1-119 : 66-67

Eulioptera carrolli sp. n.

http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: Orthoptera .speciesfile.org:TaxonName:506817

( Figs. 27 A–H, 51A–C)

urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:3B886544-8520-4E41-8593-72E94CD21651

Type locality. Mozambique: Sofala, Gorongosa , GNP, Chitengo, E.O. Wilson Laboratory, elev. 48 m (-18.977722, 34.351333), 15–30.ix.2017, coll. P. Naskrecki—male (holotype) ( EOWL) .

Differential diagnosis. E. carrolli sp. n. is related to E. montana Ragge, 1980 and E. monticola Ragge, 1980 , with which it shares a similar structure of the male cercus ( Fig. 27D ) and subgenital plate ( Fig. 27E ) as well as the presence of a distinct lobe at the base of the lower valvula of the ovipositor ( Fig. 27G ). From E. monticola it can be differentiated by the longer, dramatically more strongly curved cercus and the shape of the basal lobe of the ovipositor (lobe narrow, pointing back in E. monticola ) and from E. montana it differs in the shape of the cercus, the lack of conspicuous dilatation of the posterior lobes of the subgenital plate present in that species, and the shape of the basal lobe of the ovipositor. E. carrolli is also unique in the structure of its stridulatory file ( Fig. 27C ).

General. Body large for the genus, slender, macropterous; legs elongate ( Fig. 27H ).

Head. Frons vertical, slightly convex, smooth; antennae 1.5 times as long as body; antennal scapus unarmed. Fastigium of frons touching fastigium of vertex; fastigium of vertex triangular, blunt apically, as wide as 1/2 of antennal scapus, barely reaching base of scapus, grooved dorsally; eyes globular, moderately protruding; lateral ocelli circular; median ocellus oval.

Thorax. Lateral lobe about as high as long; humeral sinus of pronotum present, anterior margin of pronotum flat, straight; metazona flat, posterior edge of metazona broadly rounded; lateral carinae of pronotum absent. Thoracic auditory spiracle large, narrowly oval, its upper half hidden under pronotum.

Legs. Legs slender. Front coxa unarmed, front femur armed with 5–8 spines on anterior and 3–4 spines on posterior ventral margin; genicular lobes of front femur unarmed; front tibia unarmed dorsally, with 4 spines on posterior and 5 on anterior ventral margin; apex of front tibia with 1 pair of ventral spurs and single posterior dorsal spur; tympanum bilaterally open, oval, about twice as long as wide. Mid femur armed with 4–5 spines on posterior and 6–7 spines on anterior ventral margin; genicular lobes of mid femur unarmed. Mid tibia unarmed dorsally, with 8–9 spines on posterior and 12–13 on anterior ventral margin; apex of mid tibia with 1 pair of ventral spurs and single posterior dorsal spur, hind femur armed on both ventral margins with 2–3 small spines below knee; genicular lobes of hind femur unarmed; dorsal spines of hind tibia with alternating size, smaller and larger; apex of hind tibia with 1 pair of dorsal and 2 pairs of ventral spurs.

Wings. Tegmen distinctly surpassing apex of abdomen; hind wing longer than tegmen, exceeding them by about 1/6 of tegmen length; tegmen with cells between major and minor veins translucent; right stridulatory area with large, fully developed, narrowly elliptical mirror ( Fig. 27B ); stridulatory file straight, 1.3 mm long mm long, 0.045 mm wide, with 97 teeth ( Fig. 27C ).

Abdomen. Tenth tergite unmodified; epiproct narrowly triangular, unmodified. Cercus strongly bent inwards; apex with small apical spine positioned on posterior surface of cercus ( Fig. 27D ); straight when seen from side. Phallus entirely membranous, without sclerotized elements. Subgenital plate strongly narrowed posteriorly, with deep, narrow incision dividing posterior half of subgenital plate into two narrow lobes, styli absent ( Fig. 27E ); female subgenital plate with posterior part diverging into two small triangular lobes ( Fig. 27F ).

Ovipositor. Ovipositor about as long as 1/3 of hind femur, strongly curved, with distinct triangular lobe at base of lower valvula, dorsal edge of upper valvula with minute serration mid-length; apex blunt, with minute dentitions on both lower and upper valvulae ( Fig. 27G ).

Coloration. Coloration light green, with dense punctation of small, black dots over most of body except for tegmina. Legs green; front tibia with tympanal area brown; face pale green, lighter than rest of body; tegmen green, stridulatory area dark, posterior margin of tegmen black and brown, forming distinct line when wings are folded.

Bioacoustics. The call of E. carrolli consists of series of 9–12 syllable echemes; mean syllable duration is 0.01125 s (SD=0.002013, n=45); the peak frequency of the call is 24.0–31.6 kHz ( Figs. 51 A–C).

Distribution and natural history. This species is common in lowland woodland savanna of Gorongosa . Adults are found mostly during the rainy season, between January and April.

Etymology. This species is named in honor of Dr. Sean B. Carroll, an eminent evolutionary biologist and an ardent supporter of the Gorongosa Restoration Project.

Measurements (3 males, 3 females). body w/wings: male 38–39 (38.5.7), female 36–37 (36.3.6); body w/o wings: male 21–22 (21.5.7), female 18–20 (191); pronotum: male 4–5 (4.7.6), female 4–5 (4.7.6); tegmen: male 29–30 (29.5.7), female 26–28 (271); hind femur: male 19–20 (19.3.6), female 19–20 (19.7.6); ovipositor: 5–6 (5.7.6) mm.

Material examined (14 specimens). Mozambique: Sofala, Cheringoma, Coutada 12, Chironde camp, elev. 156 m (-18.32780, 35.35799), 25.iii.–4.iv.2017, coll. P. Naskrecki, J. Guyton & M. Castene— 1 male (paratype) ; Gorongosa , GNP, Chitengo , elev. 40 m (-18.9806, 34.351567), 1–25.i.2017, coll. R. Guta— 1 male (paratype) ( EOWL) ; GNP, Bunga Inselberg, Camp 1, nr. Bunga ranger outpost, elev. 75 m (-18.59989, 34.33686), 21.iv.–5.v.2015, coll. P. Naskrecki— 2 females (incl. 2 paratypes) ; GNP, Chitengo, E.O. Wilson Laboratory, elev. 48 m (-18.977722, 34.351333), 9.ii.–4.iii.2015, coll. P. Naskrecki and R. Guta— 2 males (incl. 2 paratypes) ( MCZ) ; GNP, Chitengo, Wilson Laboratory, elev. 48 m (-18.977722, 34.351333), 15–31.xii.2017, coll. N. Vicente— 1 male (paratype) ; same locality, 1–15.i.2018, coll. P. Naskrecki & N. Vicente— 1 male (paratype) ; GNP, on Picada 2, elev. 44 m (-18.963833, 34.382306), 12.ii.2015, coll. P. Naskrecki & R. Guta (226)— 1 female (paratype) ; Gorongosa Dist., Center for Environmental Conservation , elev. 119 m (-18.95472, 34.1775), 19.ii.2014, coll. R. Guta & T. Castigo (212)— 1 male (paratype) ( EOWL) ; GNP, Chitengo, elev. 29 m (-18.98194, 34.35122), 9.v.–29.vi.2012, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 male (paratype); same locality, 6–31.v.2013, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 female (paratype) ; same locality, 30.i.–13.ii.2014, coll. P. Naskrecki— 1 male (holotype) ( MCZ); same locality, 4.ii.2014, coll. P. Naskrecki, R. Guta & F. Artur— 1 female (paratype) ( EOWL)

.

Figures

FIGURE 27. Eulioptera carrolli sp. n.: A. base of male left tegmen; B. base of male right tegmen; C. stridulatory file; D. male abdominal apex, dorsal view; E. male subgenital plate; F. female subgenital plate; G. ovipositor; H. male, dorsolateral view.

FIGURE 51. Oscillograms and power spectra of Mozambican Phaneropterinae: A–C. Eulioptera carolli; D–F. E. reticulata leptomorpha; G–I. Phaneroptera parva; J–L. P. sparsa.