Miotopus Hutton, 1898

Fitness, Josephine L., Morgan-Richards, Mary, Hegg, Danilo & Trewick, Steven A., 2018, Reinstatement of the New Zealand cave wētā genus Miotopus Hutton (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae) and description of a new species, European Journal of Taxonomy 468, pp. 1-24 : 8

Genus Miotopus Hutton, 1898

Medium size cave wētā (body length 11–17 mm) found in forests and caves, on three main islands of New Zealand. The genus consists of two species that are structurally quite distinct from one another, and share some morphological characteristics with Pleioplectron .

The head of Miotopus tends to be more elongated than in Pleioplectron , coloured mostly brown. Scapes of the antennae are sexually dimorphic, very broad in the males, thinner in the females ( Fig. 5 ). Maxillary palps are long with moderately dense hair. The colour pattern of the upper body parts of the two species is similar, but darker in P. diversus , and surprisingly uniform across the whole distribution range with alternating reddish-brown and black patches. The light-coloured patches form a large inverted W-shape on the pronotum, and an X-shape stretching across the mesanotum, metanotum and first abdominal tergite ( Fig. 6 ).

Legs are relatively long in both species, especially so in the newly described species. Fore and mid femora are armed at the apex with a prolateral and a retrolateral apical spine. Fore and mid tibia armed with two pairs of apical spines each, four pairs on the hind tibia. The number of linear spines on all tibiae varies within and between species ( Table 1 ).

Male and female terminalia are species specific ( Figs 7–8 ); cerci long and slender, especially in the males. The upper valves of the ovipositor are scabrous but not serrated (the irregularities being visible only at high magnification), while the lower valves have 7+ shallow teeth near the apex ( Fig. 8 ).

Figures

Fig. 5. Head of cave wētā in the genus Miotopus Hutton, 1898 showing sexual dimophism. A–B. Miotopus diversus (Hutton, 1896). A. Adult ³, Resolution Bay, Queen Charlotte Sound (MPN CW3459). B. Adult ♀, Camp Bay, Queen Charlotte Sound (MPN CW3596). C–D. Miotopus richardsi sp. nov. Borland Road, Southland. C. Adult ³ (MPN CW3542). D. Adult ♀ (MPN CW3811). Scale bar = 2 mm.

Fig. 6. Dorsal views of cave wētā in the genus Miotopus Hutton, 1898. A–B. Miotopus diversus (Hutton, 1896). A. Adult ³, Resolution Bay, Queen Charlotte Sound (MPN CW3601). B. Adult ♀, Camp Bay, Queen Charlotte Sound (MPN CW3596). C–D. Miotopus richardsi sp. nov. C. Adult ³, Lewis Pass (MPN CW3609). D. Adult ♀, Borland Road, Fiordland NP (MPN CW3811). Scale bar = 5 mm.

Fig. 7. Male terminalia of Miotopus Hutton, 1898 cave wētā. A–B. Miotopus diversus (Hutton, 1896) (MPN CW3601). A. Lateral. B. Ventral. C–F. Miotopus richardsi sp. nov. (MPN CW3542). C. Lateral. D. Ventral. E. Close dorsal. F. Ventral views of named structures. Scale bars = 2 mm.

Fig. 8. Female terminalia of Miotopus Hutton, 1898 cave wētā. A–C. Miotopus diversus (Hutton, 1896) (MPN CW3596). A. Ventral. B–C. Lateral views. D–F. Miotopus richardsi sp. nov. (MPN CW3543). D. Ventral. E–F. lateral views. Scale bars = 3 mm.