Diponthus festivus Gerstaecker, 1873

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 : 75-76

Diponthus festivus Gerstaecker, 1873

Redescription. Large insects ( Fig. 3e, f ). Males: integument of head smooth and shiny. Fastigium not excavated, wide and with rounded apex. Interocular distance wider than the width of fastigium apex. Eyes small, oval, not exceeding the level of vertex in lateral view. Frons rounded, union frons-fastigium rounded. Pronotum elevated. Mid-dorsal longitudinal carina of pronotum obsolete on prozona, slightly marked on metazona, cut by the main transverse sulcus, very deep. Pronotal front margin straight, posterior margin obtuse-angular. Integument of prozona slightly smooth and shiny, in lateral lobes smooth; delicately rugose on metazona and meso-metapleurae. Metazona longer than prozona. Prosternal tubercle prominent and directed backwards. Tegmina and wings surpassing the tip of abdomen. Tegmina with transverse veins delimiting regular cells. Cerci short, slightly down-curved (straight dorsally and with a slight concavity ventrally) reaching the tip of epiproct. Epiproct cuadrangular; prominent tubercles on posterior half; furculae small, acute. Phallic complex ( Figs. 10f , 11f , and 12a, b ): dorsal valves of aedeagus moderately thin, basal two thirds straight, with the apex slightly down-curved; valves of cingulum placed perpendicular to the dorsal valves of aedeagus (in dorsal view), rod-shaped. Cingulum V-shaped; zygoma wide, anterior margin straight, with rounded antero-lateral edges. Epiphallus with lophi placed parallel to bridge, expanded but not reaching the posterior processes of the lateral plates; superior edges somewhat rounded in frontal view.

Chromatic characters. General coloration black and yellow, shiny ( Figs. 3e, f , and 6g ). Head black with yellow bands on vertex, edges of fastigium, frontal costa, postgenae, parts of frons and labrum. Antennae brown. Pronotum black to dark brown, with a narrow band along median dorsal carina, two wide oblique bands on prozona that surpass the main transverse sulcus, a narrow band on lower margin of lateral lobes of prozona, and a wide band on posterior edge of disk and lateral lobes yellow; sometimes these bands greenish-yellow in some parts. Meso and metapleurae black with a yellow spot. Prosternal tubercle yellow. Tegmina light green, with longitudinal and transverse veins greenish-yellow, delimiting regular cells with central spots grayish-brown. Hind wings bluish with the apex grayish-brown. Fore and middle legs black with a yellow spot on coxa, a yellow band on femora and tibiae; tarsi brown. Hind legs black, coxae with a yellow spot, femora with four yellow transverse bands, the first and second basal bands incomplete; rotular area black; tibiae with two yellow rings, one at basal tip and one at apical tip; tarsi brown. Abdomen black with the posterior edge of each segment yellow. Subgenital plate black, epiproct black with a yellow median longitudinal band.

Females: Similar to males, but more robust.

Material examined. ARGENTINA: 1 male, Misiones, Campo Grande , 30/11/1957, Birabén leg., MLP ; 1 female, Misiones, San Ignacio , 12/1946, Montes leg., MLP ; 1 female, Misiones, 01/12/1910, Jorgensen P. leg., MLP ; 1 female, Misiones, Dep. Concep. Sta. María , Viana leg., MACN . PARAGUAY: 1 female, Villa Encarnación , Setibollky leg., MLP .

Figures

FIGURE 3. Diponthus species. Males, habitus lateral views (a, c, e, g, i, k) and dorsal views (b, d, f, h, j, l). Species as indicated. 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.