Rhabdoblatta pallida ( Borg, 1902 )

Mbia, Donald-L’or Nyame, Ngon, Eric Belmond Biram à, Legendre, Frédéric & Menbohan, Samuel Foto, 2024, Semi-aquatic Epilamprinae cockroaches (Blattodea: Blaberidae) in Cameroon: towards a revision of continental African species of Rhabdoblatta Kirby, 1903 and Africalolampra Roth, 1995, European Journal of Taxonomy 946 (1), pp. 1-57 : 31-34

Rhabdoblatta pallida ( Borg, 1902)

Figs 19–21 ; Table 6

Epilampra pallida Borg, 1902: 13 .

Epilampra minuta Borg, 1902: 14 .

Epilampra borgi Shelford, 1910: 14 (unnecessary replacement name for Epilampra pallida ).

Epilampra minuta – Shelford 1909b: 479; 1910: 14. — Anonymous 1910: 579. — Sjöstedt 1933: 7. Epilampra pallida – Sjöstedt 1933: 7. — Princis 1947: 59; 1962: 210; 1963a: 137.

Rhabdoblatta pallida – Vanschuytbroeck 1970: 14. — Kumar 1975: 83.

Material examined

Holotype

CAMEROON • ♀; “Camerun; Sjöstedt; Epilampra pallida Borg , det. K. Princis 1957; 123 57; 453 73; Typus ”; NHRS, NRM-BLAT 0002115 [pictures only].

Additional specimens

CAMEROON • 1 ♂; “Camerun; 10/2 91, 10.II.1891; Sjöstedt”; NHRS, NRM-BLAT 0002113 [pictures only] • 1 ♂; “Camerun, Itoki; 22/1 91, 22.I.1891; Sjöstedt; typus of minuta Borg ; 398 57”; NHRS, NRM-BLAT 0002114 [pictures only] .

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO • 1 ♀; “Congo Belge, Kivu Masisi, Le Moult; 1938” LUHM .

REPUBLIC OF GUINEA • 1 ♀; “ Mt Nimba N.E., 500–700 m; IFAN – 1946; A. VILLIERS”; MNHN-EP7614 • 1 juv.; “Nimba (Guinée), Serengbara; II.VI.42; M. Lamotte; Epilampra pallida Borg juv., det. K. Princis 1960”; MNHN-EP7604 .

UNKNOWN • 1 ♀; “ Epilampra pallida ♀ Borg , det. K. Princis 1956”; MNHN-EP7615 .

Diagnosis and history

This species was described as Epilampra pallida from a female specimen, whose habitus was described and drawn ( Borg 1902). Its junior synonum Epilampra minuta was described in the same work, from a male and a female specimen. Note that Borg apparently described the species from two female specimens but he also reported drawing a male specimen, which was later confirmed by Princis (1963a) who illustrated the male subgenital plate and tergal specialization (near the junction of tergites VIII–IX). The shape and localization of this tergal gland is diagnostic ( Kumar 1975).

Measurements of adults

Female (n = 3): pronotum length ×width: 4.5–5.6 ×5.9–6.9, tegmina length: 19.2–22.2, overall length ×width: 17.2–23.4×7.5–8.7.

Habitat

Unknown.

Distribution

This species is known from Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and, putatively, the Republic of Guinea ( Table 6 ).

Figures

Fig. 19. Types of Rhabdoblatta pallida (Borg, 1902), habitus in ventral and dorsal views, and labels. A. Holotype, ♀ (NRM-BLAT 0002115). B. Epilampra minuta Borg, 1902, holotype, ♂ (NRM- BLAT 0002114), its junior synonym. Both photographed by Gunvi Lindberg (©2023 Naturhistoriska riksmuseet). Original photos cropped, light levels and contrast adjusted. Made available by the Swedish Museum of Natural History under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License, CC-BY 4.0. Scale bars = 5 mm.

Fig. 20. Female specimen of Rhabdoblatta pallida (Borg, 1902) (MNHN-EP7614). A. Habitus in dorsal and ventral views. B. Pronotum. C. Head and fore femora. D. Hind leg E. Close-up on tarsi and claws. F. Subgenital plate. Scale bars: A = 5 mm; B–C = 2 mm; D–F = 1 mm.

Fig. 21. Juvenile identified as Rhabdoblatta pallida (Borg, 1902) by K. Princis (MNHN-EP7604), habitus in dorsal and ventral views. Scale bar = 5 mm.