Diponthus paraguayensis Bruner, 1906

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 : 76-77

Diponthus paraguayensis Bruner, 1906

Redescription. Medium-sized insects ( Fig. 2g, h ). Males: integument of head smooth except in fastigium and vertex, impresso-punctuate. Head rather small, fastigium excavated, apex of fastigium concave in dorsal view. Interocular distance narrower than the apex of fastigium. Frons straight or slightly rounded, union frons-fastigium rounded. Eyes prominent and subcircular, reaching the level of vertex in lateral view. Pronotum short; mid-dorsal longitudinal carina slightly marked in metazona, obsolete in prozona. Pronotum with three transverse sulci, weakly marked, one joins the main sulcus in the midline; main sulcus cuts the mid-dorsal longitudinal carina. Metazona slightly longer and slightly wider than prozona. Anterior margin of pronotum straight; posterior margin slightly angulate, almost straight. Integument of prozona slightly faveolated dorsally, impresso-punctuate and shiny on lateral lobes; metazona rugose. Prosternal tubercle wide, laterally compressed with rounded apex. Tegmina surpassing the end of abdomen, apex with distal margin angulate and basal margin rounded; transverse veins delimiting rather large irregular cells. Cerci wide at the base, distal third slightly curved downwards with truncated apex, surpassing the end of epiproct. Epiproct with rounded sides, with pointed apex, tubercles on posterior margin, prominent furculae with acute tips. Phallic complex ( Figs. 10i , 11i , and 12a, b ): dorsal valves of aedeagus short, distal third curved downwards, apex acute and weakly sclerotized. Valves of cingulum subtriangular, with posterior edge prominent. Cingulum wide V-shaped. Epiphallus with lophi placed perpendicular to the bridge, with rounded apex, not reaching the posterior processes of the lateral plates.

Chromatic characters. Body color dark olive green and yellow ( Figs. 2g, h , and 6d ). Head yellow, dorsal part, edges of fastigium, frons and parts of the clypeus and labrum olive green. Antennae black with the distal margin of each segment yellow-ocher; escape and pedicel dark green or yellowish. Pronotum dark olive-green with a band on mid-dorsal longitudinal carina, two oblique bands in prozona that surpass the main transverse sulcus, a horizontal band in the lower margin of lateral lobes of prozona, and posterior border of the lateral lobes of metazona yellow or greenish-yellow. Meso and metapleurae olive green with yellow bands. Tegmina pale green, with yellow longitudinal and transverse veins that delimit rather large irregular cells, with a dark central spot. Hind wings orange with apex hyaline, part of the remigium and upper part of the vannus with conspicuous black transverse veins. Anterior and middle femora olive green and yellowish green. Hind femur yellow-ocher with a basal spot and three transverse bands black, the last one at the end of the femur including the rotulae; hind tibiae light green with apical tip black, sometimes basal tip yellow. Abdomen yellowish-green, with anterior margin of each segment black. Cerci yellow-ocher with apex black. Subgenital plate yellow-ocher. Epiproct with furculae and tubercles black.

Females. Similar to males but more robust. Ovipositor valves yellow-ocher with black tips.

Material examined. PARAGUAY: 1 male, San Pedro, Ruta 3, 54 km N. S. Estanislao, 17/1/1972, Ronderos & Carbonell leg., MLP ; 1 male, Dto. Amambay, Cerro Cora , 18/01/1972, Ronderos & Carbonell leg., MLP ; 1 male, Paraguarí, Paraguarí, 10/03/1965, Carbonell, Mesa & Monné leg., MLP ; 1 female, Caaguazú, 12/03/1965, Carbonell, Mesa & Monné leg., MLP ; 1 male, Paraguarí, Sapucay , 07/03/1965, Mesa, Carbonell & Monné leg., MLP ; 1 male, Sapucay , Foster leg., MLP ; 2 males, Caaguazú, RN°7, 8 Km E Coronel Oviedo, 07/02/2013, Castillo leg., IBS ; 1 female, Cordillera, Valenzuela , 05/02/2013, Castillo leg., IBS . URUGUAY: 2 females, Rivera, Sierra de la Aurora, 14/03/1961, Carbonell, Mesa & San Martin leg., MLP ; 1 male, Paysandú, near Estación Tambores , 24/12/1952, Carbonell leg., MLP ; 2 males, Artigas, Aº Tres Cruces Grande ( Timbauba ), 16/02/1955, MLP ; 2 males and 1 female, Artigas, Sepulturas , 20/12/1957, Carbonell leg., MLP ; 1 male, Artigas, Arroyo Tres Cruces ( Potrero Sucio ), 12/02/1955, MLP . ARGENTINA: 3 males and 1 female, Misiones, Dep. Concepción, Santa María , 9/11/1962, Viana leg., MACN ; 1 male, Misiones, Dep. Concepción, Santa María , I/1964, Viana leg., MACN ; 4 males and 3 females, Misiones , Dep. Concepción, Santa María, Viana leg., MACN ; 1 male, Misiones , Loreto, MACN ; 5 males, 2 females and 2 nymphs, Misiones, between San Javier and Panambí , bridge Arroyo Alipio (27°45’18.0’’S, 55°05’26.4’’W), 6/12/2010, Cigliano & Lange leg., MLP ; 1 female, Misiones, Ruta 2, near San Javier (27°46´50.3´´S, 55°06´49.4´´W), 109 m, 10/12/2010, Cigliano & Lange leg., MLP ; 1 male, Misiones, Dep. Concepción, Santa María , 12/1945, M.J.Viana leg., MLP ; 5 males and 1 female, Misiones, Parada Leis , 9/02/1990, Balatti leg., MLP ; 1 female, Misiones, S. Jose S. Javier Pindaboy , 10-29/01/1959, G.Raimondo leg., MLP ; 2 males and 4 females, Misiones , 02/02/1910, P. Jorgensen leg., MLP ; 1 male, Misiones, Panambi , 06/12/2010, Cigliano & Lange leg., MLP ; 5 males, Misiones, Posadas , Dpto. Capital Parada Leis RN 105, 9/12/2002, Cigliano & Marti leg., MLP ; 18 males and 5 females, Misiones, Posadas, Campus UNaM, 12/11/2009, Castillo leg., IBS ; 1 male and 1 female, Misiones, Posadas, Campus UNaM, 24/04/2012, Castillo leg., IBS ; 2 males and 1 female, Misiones , La Tai Milagrosa, 14/02/2009, Castillo leg., IBS ; 1 female, Misiones, Cnia Alberdi , 03/03/2008, Castillo leg., IBS ; 1 female, Misiones, Parada Leis , 25/03/2008, Castillo leg., IBS ; 1 male, Misiones, Parada Leis , 08/12/2001, Castillo leg., IBS . BRASIL: 1 male, Mato Grosso, Chapada des Guimar „es, 25/01/1972, Ronderos & Carbonell leg., MLP ; 3 females, Río Grande do Sul, Ronda Alta , 24/02/1964, C.S.Carbonell, A. Mesa & W.A.Monné leg., MLP ; 1 male, Brasil , Mato Grosso, R86 betweeen Punta Perá and Dourados , 19/01/1972, C.S.Carbonell & R. A.Ronderos leg., MLP ; 2 males, Río Grande do Sul, Ronda Alta , 24/02/1964, C.S.Carbonell, A. Mesa & W.A.Monné leg., MZSP ; 1 male, Río Grande do Sul, Nonoaí , 20/02/1964, C.S.Carbonell, A. Mesa & W.A.Monné leg., MZSP .

Figures

FIGURE 2. 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.