Arantia (Arantia) marginata Massa, 2021

Massa, Bruno, 2021, Orthoptera Tettigoniidae as indicators of biodiversity hotspots in the Guinean Forests of Central and West Tropical Africa, Zootaxa 4974 (3), pp. 401-458 : 433-436

Arantia (Arantia) marginata Massa, 2021 ( Figs. 35-38 , 39 a-e)

Material examined. Côte d’Ivoire, Mt. Tonkoui Peak (1171m) 9-16.IV.2016 (light Trap), M. Aristophanous, P. Moretto (21♂) ; Côte d’Ivoire, Yéalé Vill., Mt. Nimba , (380m) (light trap) 18-29.IV.2016, M. Aristophanous, M. Geiser, P. Moretto (1♂) ; Côte d’Ivoire, Mt. Nimba camp (823m) (light trap) 28.IV-8.V.2016, M. Aristophanous, M. Geiser, P. Moretto (1♂) ; Côte d’Ivoire, Bossématié For. Classée (180m) (light trap) 25-31.VII.2016, M. Aristophanous, P. Moretto (2♂) ; Côte d’Ivoire, Comoe, Kromambira Vill. (240m) (gen. coll.) 3-13.VIII.2016, M. Aristophanous, P. Moretto (1♂) ; Côte d’Ivoire, Comoe, Kromambira Vill. (240m) (Light Trap) 3-13.VIII.2016, M. Aristophanous, P. Moretto (1♂) ; Côte d’Ivoire, Taï National Park, Res. Station (174m) ( MV Light Trap ) 25.III-17.IV.2017, A. Aristophanous, M. Aristophanous, M. Geiser, P. Moretto (5♂) ; Côte d’Ivoire, Taï National Park, Res. Station (174m) (Canopy Light Trap, 40m ab. ground) 27-31.III.2017, A. Aristophanous, M. Aristophanous, M. Geiser, P. Moretto (2♂) ; Côte d’Ivoire, Mt. Tonkoui Peak (1171m) 20-27.V.2018 ( MV Light Trap), M. Aristophanous, W. Miles, P. Moretto, Y. Outtara (1♂) ; Côte d’Ivoire, Denguele Classified Forest (sudanian forest) (479m) ( MV Light Trap ), 6-14.VI.2018, M. Aristophanous, W. Miles, P. Moretto, Y. Outtara (1♂) ; Côte d’Ivoire, Mt. Tonkoui Peak (1171m) 19-27.XI.2019 ( MV light Trap), M. Aristophanous, V. Dérozier, P. Moretto, S. Ouattara (1♂) ; Liberia, Lofa County, Foya Proposed Protected Area (530m) 10-19.XI.2017 ( MV Light Trap), M. Aristophanous, S. Safian, G. Simonics, L. Smith (13♂) ; Liberia, Lofa County, Wologizi Mts., Base Camp Forest (611m) 20.XI-1.XII.2017 ( MV Light Trap), M. Aristophanous, S. Safian, G. Simonics, L. Smith (2♂) ; Liberia, Sinoe County, Krahn-Bassa Reserve, Juboe River , 7.5 km SW Pellokon town, 14-21.I.2018 ( MV Light Trap), M. Geiser, S. Safian, G. Simonics (1♂) ; Liberia, Sinoe County, Krahn-Bassa Reserve, Juboe River , 7.5 km SW Pellokon town, 14-20.I.2018 (Blended Bulb 250w Light Trap), M. Geiser, S. Safian, G. Simonics (1♂) ; Liberia, Sinoe County, 6.5 km NW Jacksonville, Forest near Solve Problem Vill. (103m) 23-27.I.2018 ( MV Light Trap), M. Geiser, S. Safian, G. Simonics (3♂) ; Togo, Fazao-Malfakassa NP, Mare aux crocodiles campsite (Sudanian Savannah /dry Forest ) 8°44’58.8”N, 0°48’51.8”E (505m) 26.VIII-7.IX.2018 ( MV Light Trap), M. Aristophanous, M. Geiser, P. Moretto, B. Sanbena (3♂) ; Guinea, Ditinn, Chute de Ditinn (771m) ( MV Light Trap ) 18-25.IX.2019, M. Geiser, M. Leno, S. Koivagui, W. Miles, L. Mulvaney, S. Safian (1♂) ; Guinea, Ditinn, Chute de Ditinn (771m) (Lepiled Light Trap) 18-25.IX.2019, M. Geiser, M. Leno, S. Koivagui, W. Miles, L. Mulvaney, S. Safian (1♂) ( ANHRT) ; Côte d’Ivoire, Mt. Tonkoui (1171m) X.2016 (light), P. Moretto (3♂) ; same data, 22.IV.2017 (light), P. Moretto (1♂) ; same data, 4.VI.2018 (light), P. Moretto (1♂) ; Côte d’Ivoire, Taï National Park, Res. Station , 16-20.III.2017 ( UV), B. Massa (3♂) ; same data, 22.III-4.IV.2017 ( UV), P. Moretto, P. Annoyer (3♂) ; Côte d’Ivoire, Zamou, Bandoukou VII.2004, P. Moretto (3♂) ; Côte d’Ivoire, Zamou, Kolomabira VII.2015 (light), P. Moretto (1♂) ; Central African Republic, Sangha-Ndoki Nat. Park, Camp 2, 21-23.X.2008 ( UV), P. Annoyer (3♂) ; same data, Lac 1, 28-29.II.2012 ( UV), P. Moretto (1♂) ( BMPC).

Taxonomical remarks. Following Heller et al. (2014), Hemp & Massa (2017) included the group of Arantia regina - rectifolia -tanzanica into the subgenus Euarantia , having the width of the tegmina greater than 12 mm and the hind tibiae curved, but they highlighted that A. rectifolia Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878 may be intermediate between Arantia and Euarantia , because in some specimens examined the tegmina width ranged between 12.0 to 13.8 mm, and the hind tibiae were not as curved as it was given by Heller et al. (2014) for Euarantia (see Figs. 35-38 ). This group of species are characterized by faintly visible 4–5 ivory or more tawny to orange spots on anterior margin of tegmina, and cerci long and slightly sinuous with a black, chitinous and rounded apex. When Massa (2021a) described A. marginata from Gabon, he wrote that it is characterized by tegmina narrower than 12 mm, cerci long and in-curved, and just sinuous with a black, chitinous and rounded apex with 4-5 tiny spines, and stridulatory file arcuate, narrow, consisting of ca. 65 evenly spaced teeth. Really, A. marginata is very similar to A. rectifolia and only a careful observation may separate them. In the material above listed a huge number of specimens at the beginning considered A. rectifolia is included. They were collected in Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Guinea, and their tegmina width resulted narrower than 12 mm; some of them were also mounted with the left tegmen open and it was possible to check the stridulatory file. Interestingly, most of them have the stridulatory file of ca. 65 teeth (as in A. marginata ; in A. rectifolia they are 45-50, not 80-85 as reported by Hemp & Massa 2017), but in at least three specimens (from Liberia, with tegmina width 10.5-11.0 mm) it was different, shorter and with a fewer number of teeth ( Figs. 39d and 39e ). In all the specimens the hind tibiae are inappreciably curved. Cerci of these specimens resulted to be a little different (compare Figs. 39b and 39c with Figs. 39f and 39g ), but observing some specimens of A. marginata with 65 teeth in the stridulatory file, they may possess cerci similar to those in Fig. 39g (incidentally very similar to those of A. rectifolia ). It seems very likely that there are at least two species very similar within the series of specimens identified as A. marginata , but it is not possible to find a character (other than the stridulatory file) allowing a sure separation (see Figs. 39 a-e). The inclusion of the above group of species in different subgenera is hardly justified.

Figures

FIGS. 35–38. Comparison of some Arantia with cerci long and slightly sinuous with a black, chitinous and rounded apex: Arantia (Euarantia) regina Karsch, 1889 (35), Arantia (Euarantia) rectifolia Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878 (36), and Arantia (Arantia) marginata Massa, 2021 (two specimens: 37 and 38).

FIG. 39. Arantia (Arantia) marginata Massa, 2021: a) dorsal view of male head, pronotum and tegmina; b) ventral view of the male subgenital plate and cerci; c) male cerci apex; d) stridulatory file under the male left tegmen; Arantia (Arantia) aff. marginata: e) dorsal view of male head, pronotum and tegmina; f) ventral view of the male subgenital plate and cerci; g) male cerci apex; e) stridulatory file under the male left tegmen.