Tmethis maroccanus Bolivar, 1908

Massa, Bruno, 2013, Pamphagidae (Orthoptera: Caelifera) of North Africa: key to genera and the annotated check-list of species, Zootaxa 3700 (3), pp. 435-475 : 440

Tmethis maroccanus Bolivar, 1908

Material examined. Morocco, Marrakech, 7♂, 4♀ syntypes of T. maroccanus and T. maroccanus var. incristata ; El Glaui, 1♂, 2♀; Bou Lourane 15. VI.49, 2 ♀ (MNCN).

The description was based mainly on the smooth integuments, with rounded tubercles and on the peculiar colour of hind wings, with an isolated brown spot (Bolivar 1908); these characters were also reported by Chopard (1943). Only Uvarov (1943) showed the characteristics of this taxon, that consent to separate it from T. cisti and T. pulchripennis : the shape of the pronotum is broadly parabolic, with convex margins and low keel ( Figs. 36–37 , 46– 49 , 57 ). Hind tibiae are yellow, hind wings are shorter than tegmina, and in the female tegmina hardly reach hind knees. The epiphallus is similar to that of T. pulchripennis , with hind lobes relatively small and narrowly separated. When Bolivar (1908) described this species from Marrakech, from the same locality described also the var. incristata , which is an extreme case of specimens without pronotum keel and of course has no taxonomical value. It covers an inner area of Morocco (Bolivar 1908, Werner 1932). Concerning the record from Colomb-Bechar ( Algeria) by Chopard (1943) see the subspecies hirtus. In addition, considering the high variability of T. cisti, Massa (2009) considered unlikely also the record by Usmani (2007) from South Libya (Fezzan), that in the light of characters above reported for T. harterti , could belong to this taxon (see also Neotmethis bidentatus ). Consequently, T. maroccanus should cover only the inner western area of Morocco and West Algeria (see below).

Figures

FIGURES 32 – 39. Lateral view of pronotum of some taxa described in the genus Tmethis, here revised.

FIGURES 40 – 53. Lateral view of males and females of some taxa described in the genus Tmethis, here revised.

FIGURES 54 – 59. Some of the taxa described in the genus Tmethis, view from above to show the pattern of wing colour pattern and the ratio between the length of wings and the body. Figs. 58 a and 58 b show the pattern of pronotum and wings of male and female of T. harterti n. status. Figs. 54 a and 55 a show the apical lobes, large and broadly separated, of epiphallus of T. cisti, while Figs. 59 b and 59 c show the relatively small and narrowly separated lobes of epiphallus of T. pulchripennis (after Uvarov 1943). Figs 54 b and 59 a show the differences in the spurs of hind tibiae, long and slender, with the first tarsal joint long, and its second pulvillus longer than the first or third in T. cisti; shorter and stouter, with first tarsal joint short, its second pulvillus not longer than the first or the third in T. pulchripennis (after Uvarov 1943).