Afroagraecia pwania Hemp & Ingrisch

Hemp, Claudia, 2013, Annotated list of Tettigoniidae (Orthoptera) from the East Usambara Mountains Tanzania and new Tettigoniidae species from East Africa, Zootaxa 3737 (4), pp. 301-350 : 305-307

Afroagraecia pwania Hemp & Ingrisch n. sp. ( Fig. 1 , Fig. 2 M, N, O)

http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: orthoptera .speciesfile.org:TaxonName:180000

Holotype: Male, Tanzania, East Usambara Mountains, near Amani-Sigi, 1500 ft, April 1966, leg. N. D. Jago, B.M. 1966-282.

Paratypes: Tanzania: 1 female, East Usambara Mountains, Mlingano Ngomeni, February 1952, leg. J. Phipps B.M. 1955-562; 1 male, 1 female, Mhindulo, July 1926, leg. N.C.E. Miller, B. M. 1928-281; 1 male, Segoma Forest Reserve, July 1926, leg. N.C.E. Miller, B.M. 1928-281; 5 males, 3 females, nr Amani-Sigi, 1500 ft, April 1966, leg. N.D. Jago, B.M. 1966-282; 1 male, Sigi, nr. Amani, June 1937, leg. E. Burtt, B.M. 1938-433; 1 male, 1 female, Sigi, July 1965, leg. N.D. Jago, B.M. 1971-25. All collection BMNH.

Paratypes: 2 males, Pangani coastal forest, January 2000, leg. C Hemp; 1 female, Pangani coast near Coco Beach, September 2011, leg. C. Hemp; 1 male, 4 females, 1 nymph, East Usambara Mountains, Zigi trail, August 2001, November 2002, December 2011. All collection C. Hemp.

Further specimens examined: Tanzania: 2 males, 3 females, “D.O.Afrika, Amani”, XII.[19] 05 – III. [19]06, Vosseler S.G., ZMHB.

Description.—Male. General coloration: uniformly light to medium brown with dark median fascia from head over disk of pronotum ( Fig. 1 ), which can be faint in some specimens; face with black triangle as typical for most other species of Afroagraecia ( Fig. 2 A, B, D, M). Head and antennae.—Fastigium verticis dark brown, conical, laterally compressed, shorter than scapus, tip acute. Frons shining with few shallowly impressed dots. Ocellus cream to white. Scapus and first antennal segment brown as rest of head, remaining articles reddish brown with irregular dark markings along whole length. Antennae much longer than body. Thorax.— Pronotum with black median fascia widening on metazona ( Fig. 1 ), anterior margin rounded, posterior margin truncate; metazona slightly inflated; lateral lobes rounded, at height of metazona margin incurved. Prosternum bispinose; meso- and metasterna unarmed. Tegmina and wings shortened, reaching almost to tip of abdomen; stridulatory area distinctly projecting. Stridulatory file on underside of left tegmen nearly straight and flat, only at both ends slightly curved, about 1.9 mm long with 187 teeth (n=1) ( Fig. 3 B). Legs.— Fore coxa with well developed spine. Fore femora with three (two) stout outer ventral spines, and one or two inner spines; mid femora with four outer spines, unarmed on inner side; hind femora with 5–7 outer and no inner spines; all spines deep shiny black. Abdomen.— Tenth abdominal tergite divided into two rounded lobes. Supra-anal plate narrow, slightly broader at anterior side, then narrowing and constricted in apical half while apex widening again to form bluntly rounded posterior margin; sulcate ( Fig. 2 N). Male cerci with very broad base similar to A. sansibara , at midlength abruptly narrowing, with a stout and long blunt tooth at very base and a short blunt tooth at end of widened base; apex terminating into two acute incurved teeth, of which the ventral tooth is longer and carries a minute denticle on dorsal margin before apex ( Fig. 3 A). Subgenital plate as in Fig. 2 O and Fig. 3 A, elongate, posterior margin incurved and with two short styli. With two pairs of titillators; outer titillators simple, band-shaped, slightly sinuate with a black hook at tip; inner titillators curved, in apical area with large, semi-sclerotised roughly oval projections that have the inner surface densely covered with clinging hairs, margin with numerous large irregular teeth.

Female: General coloration as in male. Slightly larger than male. Ovipositor long, slender and slightly upcurved ( Fig. 1 ). Subgenital plate acute triangular.

Measurements, males (mm) (N = 6). Body length 25–27 (mean: 26). Length of pronotum 7.2–8.2 (mean: 7.5). Length of elytra 14–20 (mean: 17.5). Length of hind femur 13–14 (mean: 13.3).

Measurements, females (mm) (N =6). Body length 24–29 (mean: 26.3). Length of pronotum 6.5–7.5 (mean: 7.1). Length of elytra 18–21 (mean: 19.3). Length of hind femur 13.5–16 (mean: 15.1). Ovipositor length 13.5–18 (mean: 15.1).

Diagnosis. A. pwania n. sp. can easily be distinguished from the species A. panteli (Karny, 1907) , A. bloyeti (Brogniart, 1897) , and A. brachyptera Hemp & Ingrisch, 2013 that have reduced wings while in A. pwania n. sp., A. shimbaensis n. sp. and A. sansibara the tegmina reach to or nearly to the apex of the abdomen. A. pwania n. sp. differs from the latter in the male cerci being longer and carrying in the widened basal half one long and one short inner tooth, while in A. sansibara they are considerably shorter carrying a long tooth and a blunt knob. The supraanal plate is broader compared to its length in A. sansibara while it is much narrowed and elongated in A. pwania n. sp. Females cannot easily be distinguished, both species being of similar size and the length and shape of the ovipositor and the subgenital plate is very similar. For distinguishing A. pwania n. sp. from A. shimbaensis n. sp.

see diagnosis under A. shimbaensis n. sp. The titillators of Afroagraecia are so far only known for two species. In both species there are two pairs of titillators, the outer pair elongate with apical hook, the inner pair curved and in apical area with large projections that have the inner surface densely covered with clinging hairs. The main differences are that in A. pwania n. sp. those projections are roughly oval with large irregular teeth along the margin while in A. brachyptera they are parallel-sided and bent near the apex and the margin is provided with much smaller, more regular teeth.

Etymology. From Swahili pwani = coast, since this species occurs on the coast.

Distribution: Tanzania, East Usambara Mountains, coast between Tanga and Pangani.

Biology & Ecology: Nightactive species, preys on other insects.

Habitat: On branches and leaves on bushes and trees in coastal bush and forest as well as lowland forest in the East Usambara Mountains.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Female Afroagraecia pwania n. sp., coastal forest near Pangani.

FIGURE 2. Morphological details of Afroagraecia species. A – D. Face. E – H. Dorsal view on male abdominal apex. I – L. Male subgenital plates. A, E, I. A. bloyeti. B, F, J. A. sansibara. C, G, K. A. shimbaensis n. sp. D, H, L. A. brachyptera. M, N, O. A. pwania n. sp.

FIGURE 3. Morphological details of male Afroagraecia pwania n. sp. A. Abdominal apex, dorsal view B. Stridulatory file of left tegmen C. Titillators.