Litoblatta Hebard, 1921

Valverde, Alejandra Del Carmen & Crespo, Francisco A., 2021, Four new species of Litoblatta from Argentina with a key to species based on males (Blattaria: Ectobiidae: Blattellinae), Zootaxa 4941 (4), pp. 553-568 : 554

Litoblatta Hebard, 1921

( Figs. 1–70 )

Ischnoptera Brunner von Wattenvyl, 1865: 130 (type species: Ischnoptera brasiliensis Brunner von Wattenvyl, 1865 ) Litoblatta Hebard 1921: 237

Litoblatta Princis 1969: 876

Litoblatta Rocha e Silva Albuquerque & Aguiar 1975: 235

Diagnosis. Body surface scarcely coated with small hairs. Head under the pronotum, slightly exposed. Eyes and ocelli present, absent in cavernicolous species. The prominent eyes are broad dorsally near the vertex and thinner ventrally near the genae, character more conspicuous in females. Maxillar palpi with 5 segments, the 3 last articles are similar and longer than the basal two. Antennae as long as the body. Pronotum with anterior margin and pronounced posterolateral angles rounded, posterior margin convex, medially slightly projected.

Legs very elongated and slender. Coxa with almost the length of the femur; femur 1, type A 3 – anteroventral margin with 3 long proximal spines, followed by a road of spines progressively shorter and ends with three long apical spines ( Roth 2003). Femur II and III with a genicular spine. Tibia II and III similar to the femur in length. Tarsus with four segments. Metatarsi longer or similar to the length of all apical tarsomeres added. Metatarsus, second and third tarsomeres with a double road of spines, fourth tarsomere with pulvilus. Pre-tarsus with symmetrical claws and arolium. Abdomen without specialized tergites. Supra anal plate distally may be produced, straight or sinuous. Female supra anal plate hidden under tergite VII. Paraprocts are laminar, symmetrical in females and asymmetrical in males. Male right paraproct may have short conical spines in the internal basal margin, long spines in a row along the inner border, very long and grouped spines, whose apices converge or diverge distally, placed somewhat beyond the inner basal border. Male left paraproct hook shaped .

Styli: right stylus with conical short spines with variable arrangement and the left stylus generally without spines.

Male Genitalia ( Figs. 60–67 ). The left complex L is subdivided in L2 and L3 ( Gutiérrez 2005), L4U is also present ( Fig. 20 ). The right phallomere R is a complex of sclerites: R1P, R1S+R2, R3 and R4. R4 has the shape of a tobacco smoking pipe and articulates with R2. R1P articulates with R1S and includes caudally a convex scale zone, sz.

Female genitalia ( Figs. 52–54 ). The cerci bases are surrounded by tergum X (TX) laterally and followed by T IX. Tergal extensions of tergites VIII (tg) and IX (te) are in contact with gonocoxa VIII (first valvifer vf VIII + basivalvula bv). Gonangulum (gg) articulates with the tergal projections and the lateral part of the posterior lobe of second valvifer ring (pl) ( Klass, 1998). Internally the three pair of valves (v I, v II and v III) are observed.

The ventral chamber wall is covered by a membranous cuticle with folds. To see the spermathecal plate, the laterosternal shelf and the vestibular sclerite ( Fig. 52, 54 a-b) it was necessary to perform an additional dissection.

Oothecae ( Figs. 46–47 ). Sclerotized, lateral walls smooth, with a distinct keel along the dorsal margin. Egg chamber with 18– 20 eggs. Length 5.53–5.62 mm and height 3.44–3.61 mm. The alcohol where the oothecae were stored evaporated. Therefore, the shapes of the side walls, somehow collapsed as can be seen in the figures.

Figures

FIGURES 1‒8. Litoblatta lutea sp. nov. 1. Supra anal plate apical margin sinuous, dorsal view. 2–3. Right paraproct with a group of spines convergent, dorsal and ventral view. 4. Subgenital plate with right stylus triangular, ventral view. 5–8. Subgenital plate, L2+via, L3, and right complex R; dorsal view. [5, 7 from one specimen and 6, 8 from another.]

FIGURES 9‒14. Litoblatta elisae sp. nov. 9. Supra anal plate apical straight margin, dorsal view. 10. Right paraproct with long spines distributed along the internal lateral margin, ventral view. 11. Subgenital plate and styli, ventral view. 12. L2+via, ventral view. 13. Right complex R detail, dorsal view. 14. Subgenital plate and genitalic sclerites disposition, dorsal view.

FIGURES 15‒21. Litoblatta misionerae sp. nov. 15. Supra anal plate with straight apical margin, dorsal view. 16. Subgenital plate and styli, ventral view. 17. Both styli spinous, dorsal view. 18–19. Right complex R and detail, dorsal view. 20. L3 and L4U, dorsal view. 21. L2+via, dorsal view.

FIGURES 22‒26. Litoblatta tucumanae sp. nov. 22. Supra anal plate with straight apical margin, dorsal view. 23. Right paraproct with short conical spines placed on the internal basal border, ventral view. 24. Subgenital plate and L2+via, ventral view. 25. L3 invaginated, ventral view. 26. Right complex R, ventral view.

FIGURES 27‒33. Litoblatta brasiliensis. 27. Supra anal plate apical margin with a median notch, dorsal view. 28. Right paraproct with long spines apically divergent on the internal basal border, ventral view. 29–30. Right stylus with rounded apex, ventral view. 31–32. Subgenital plate and genitalic sclerites, dorsal view. 33. Right complex R with a quadrangular scale zone sz, dorsal view.

FIGURES 34‒43. Litoblatta argentina. 34. Supra anal plate apical margin slightly concave, dorsal view. 35–36. Right paraproct with a digital process and short conical spines on the internal basal margin, dorsal and ventral view. 37. Subgenital plate with styli, ventral view. 38. Detail of the right stylus with spines and left stylus pilous, ventral view. 39. Subgenital plate and genital sclerites, dorsal view. 40. Right complex R, dorsal view. 41. L2+via, dorsal view. 42. L3, dorsal view. 43. Photograph of the type specimen, genital sclerites (MNRJ).

FIGURES 44‒51. Litoblatta argentina. 44. Opposed position of a copulating pair, female brachypterous and male macropterous. 45. Habitat, Sierra Grande, province of Río Negro. 46–47. Oothecae. 48. Male mature nymph, dorsal view. 49. Female mature nymph, dorsal view. 50. Male nymph subgenital plate with styli, ventral view. 51. Female nymph subgenital plate and cerci, ventral view.

FIGURES 52‒54. Litoblatta argentina, female genitalia. 52–53. Female genitalia, chamber dorsal and ventral walls, posterior view. 53. Genital chamber, dorsal wall. 54. a Spermathecal plate; b Laterosternal shelf and vestibular sclerite; a and b are placed in the ventral chamber wall indicated by doted lines. Abbreviations. bv basivalvula; ca central apodeme; gg gonangulum; pl posterior lobe of valvifer II; pm median part of posterior lobe of second valvifer ring; pp paraproct; te tergal extension of tergite IX; tg tergal extension of tergite VIII; T IX tergum IX; T X tergum X; v I first valv; v II second valv; v III third valv; vf VIII valvifer first arm.

FIGURES 55‒59. Litoblatta clara. 55. Supra anal plate apical margin straight, dorsal view. 56. Right paraproct with a group of spines at the internal margin near its base, ventral view. 57. Subgenital plate with styli placed perpendicularly to one another, ventral view. 58. Subgenital plate, L2+via and right complex R, dorsal view. 59. R, detail with scale zone sz, dorsal view.

FIGURES 60‒67. Male genitalia. 60. R1P, dorsal view. 61–62. R complex, dorsal view. 62. Sclerites are placed from dorsal to ventral, R3, R4, R1S, R2 and R1P with sz, dorsal view. 63. Sclerites R1S, R2, R4 and R3, dorsal view. 64–65. Sclerite L2+via, dorsal view. 66–67. L3 protruded from the genital chamber; with its hook-like apex curved to the left, dorsal view.

FIGURES 68‒74. Schemes of the sclerite R1P with the convex scale zone sz, dorsal view. 68. Litoblatta lutea sp.nov. 69. L. elisae sp. nov. 70. L. misionerae sp. nov. 71. L. tucumanae sp. nov. 72. L. brasiliensis. 73. L. argentina. 74. L. clara.