Scaria jonasi Cadena-Castañeda, Mendes & Silva, 2019

Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J., Mendes, Diego Matheus De Mello, Silva, Daniela Santos Martins, Granda, Juan Manuel Cardona, García, Alexander García & Tumbrinck, Josef, 2019, Systematics and biogeography of the genus Scaria Bolívar, 1887 (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae: Batrachideinae), Zootaxa 4675 (1), pp. 1-65 : 47-52

Scaria jonasi Cadena-Castañeda, Mendes & Silva sp. nov.

( Figs. 27 , 28 , 37 , 38 )

http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: Orthoptera .speciesfile.org:TaxonName:504356

Type specimens. Holotype: ♂. Brazil, Amazonas , Tefé, 3°19’45”S– 64°41’13”W, 01–05.xi.2016, Arm. Malaise, J.A. Oliveira & D.M.M. Mendes leg. ( INPA).

Paratypes: idem, 05.xi.2016 (1♀ — INPA) ; idem, 14–30.xi.2017 (1♀ — CAUD) ; idem, 1–22.xii.2017 (1♂ — CAUD) ; idem, 01–05.xi.2016 (4♂ — INPA) ; idem, 03–17.xii.2016 (3♀ — INPA) ; idem, viii.2018 (2♀ and 1♂ — INPA) ; idem, Uarini, Floresta de várzea, 06.ix.2018, coleta manual em cópula (1♀ and 1♂ — INPA) ; idem, 06.ix.2018 (3♀ and 3♂ — INPA) .

Description. Male. Pronotal disc and lower margin of the lateral lobes of the pronotum greenish-white. Face, vertex, lateral margin of tergites and sternites yellowish-green, postocular strip, upper half of the lateral lobes of the pronotum, tegmina, wings and dorsal section of the tergites black, although over the humero-apical carinae, scapular area and a small portion of the pronotum the back strip of the upper half of the lateral lobes of the pronotum stops. This interruption is usually brown (but in preserved specimens the pronotal coloration is lost and the pronotal disc and the interruption of the lateral strip look greenish-black) ( Figs.27A,D ); the tegmina also has a greenish-yellow strip between the Cu vein and which runs all the way from the base to the tip (similar to S. granti sp. nov.); a subapical round spot and yellow punctations ranging from the base to the spot, usually scattered along the M vein also occur ( Fig. 27C ); legs light brown, hind femora with a black strip that runs from the base to the upper half of the ventro-inferior carina. Head, moderately elongated, eyes globose and prominent, not expanding notoriously towards the sides; frontal costa rounded in side view, slightly truncated in the dorsal margin near the connection with the fastigium. In frontal view the fascial carina is parallel, forming a narrow scutellum. Frontal carina short and diverging towards the clypeal triangle, dorsal carina short and inconspicuous ( Fig. 27B ). Pronotum, flat and not tectate, extending noticeably beyond the abdomen tip; medial line of the pronotal disc running from the anterior to the posterior margin, with a slight black margin at the level of the second and third coxae ( Fig. 23D ); anterior spine stout, anterior arcuate, ascendant to anterior edge, slightly curing downwards in the distal portion; lateral lobes of the pronotum wider than tall; lateral shoulder carina rounded and moderately prolonged ( Fig. 27C ). Tegmina ovoid, running until half the first abdominal tergite ( Fig. 27C ). Legs slender and elongate, fore femora with a very poorly developed sulcation above, without apical spine; mid femora with a very well developed internal dorso-apical spine; hind femora with a developed pregenicular spine. Abdomen. Subgenital plate as wide as long, almost subarcuate ( Figs. 27 E–G); penultimate sternite with a developed projection (although not as conspicupuous as in S. granti sp. nov.), lateral margins of the sternite slightly overcoming the dorsal margin ( Fig. 27F ); cylindrical cerci tapering from base to tip, distal portion rounded ( Figs. 27E,G ); epiproct lance-shaped with a rounded tip.

Female. Similarin shape, size and coloration to the male but differs in the ambisexual characters ( Figs. 28 A–D): subgenital plate rectangular, longer than wide and with the distal margin “W” shaped ( Fig. 28E ). Ovipositor moderately stout (contrasting with S. rafaeli sp. nov.), cerci short and stout, epiproct triangular with a pointed tip ( Fig. 28F ).

Measurements: CFP: 14,1-13,7; PL: 13,4-12,5; PLB: 2,8-2,5; FF: 3,2-2,9; FL: 3-2,5; MFL: 3,3-2,9; MTL: 2,9-2,7; HL: 6,9-6,6; HW: 2,1-1,9; HL: 6,2-5,6.

Distribution. Only known from type locality.

Etymology. This species is dedicated to its collector, Jonas Alves de Oliveira, from the Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá (IDSM), Brazil, in recognition to his important contributions and support in collecting insects in seasonally flooded white-water forests from Tefé.

Behavioral notes. The specimens were collected in lowland floodplains in areas of the middle Solimões River. This environment is characterized by seasonal floods that last from 6 to 8 months and range from 1 to 7 m depth ( Ayres, 1993). The specimens of S. jonasi sp. nov. were collected diurnally, near the buttressed roots (sapopemas) of large trees and mainly on trunks at the early stages of decomposition (fig. 38A), where sometimes several specimens were seen close together and with other pygmy grasshoppers, such as Amorphopus Serville, 1838 . During the field observations, it was seen that several specimens constantly fed on lichens and small fungi growing on the bark of fallen logs. Male and female in copula was observed in a fallen trunk on a small stream and even during the copula the female continued to feed on the fungi in the bark. Due to the seasonal flooding of the floodplain environment, many terrestrial species perform vertical migrations (temporary rise to tree trunks and canopy) or develop adaptations that allow adults or more often the immature stages to survive flooding ( Adis, 1997). It is possible that S. jonasi sp. nov. has developed similar strategies to inhabit this seasonally unstable environment.

Figures

FIGURE 23. Scaria boliviana Bruner, 1920 (male). A. Habitus in lateral view and. B. Frons. C. Head and pronotum in lateral view. D. Habitus in dorsal view. E. Terminalia in ventral view. F. Terminalia in lateral view.

FIGURE 27. Scaria jonasi sp. nov. (male). A. Habitus in lateral view. B. Frons. C. Head and pronotum in lateral view. D. Habitus in dorsal view. E–G. Male terminalia. E. Terminalia in latero-dorsal view. F. ventral view and G. lateral view respectively.

FIGURE 28. Scaria jonasi sp. nov. (female). A. Habitus in lateral view. B. Frons. C. Head and pronotum in lateral view. D. Habitus in dorsal view. E. Terminalia in ventral view. F. Terminalia in lateral view.

FIGURE 37. Living examples of Scaria jonasi sp. nov. A: female; B: male. From Tefé, Amazonas, Brazil.

FIGURE 38. Environments used by Scaria jonasi sp. nov. A. Paraná do Maianinha, Amazonas, Brazil; B. Couple in copulation on fallen trunk.