Africalolampra Roth, 1995

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 : 8

Genus Africalolampra Roth, 1995

Type species

Africalolampra ehrmanni Roth, 1995 .

Diagnosis and history

The genus Africalolampra was erected to accommodate the new species Africalolampra ehrmanni Roth, 1995 . Later, Anisyutkin (2016) transferred two species of Rhabdoblatta to this genus: A. erubescens and A. punctipennis . According to Roth (1995), the following combination of characters is diagnostic of the genus Africalolampra : weak sexual dimorphism (tegmina and wings completely developed in both sexes – although this is not true for A. punctipennis ), metatarsus with 2 rows of spines along lower margin, tarsal claws distinctly serrated, first abdominal tergite of male with medial specialization (this is not true either for A. punctipennis ), left stylus absent. This combination of characters is also found in two species from continental Africa belonging to the genus Rhabdoblatta , and we thus propose the following new combinations: Africalolampra camerunensis and Africalolampra stipata . We also reinstate Rhabdoblatta punctipennis because it does not share the apomorphies of Africalolampra . Note that R. lyncea ( Gerstaecker, 1883) and R. pallida ( Borg, 1902) also have a tergal specialization but on the 5 th and at the junction of the 8–9 th abdominal tergites, respectively. Rhabdoblatta lyncea may also have slightly serrated claws ( Kumar 1975) but two styli, whereas R. pallida has a single stylus. Finally, Malagasy species are reported but males of some species have not been observed, so we do not dwell further on their generic affiliation, which would require further examination.

Below is the updated diagnosis of the genus Africalolampra , slightly modified from Roth (1995) and Anisyutkin (2016):

Weak sexual dimorphism, with tegmina and wings fully developed in both sexes. Anteroventral margin of front femur type B2; genicular spine absent from fore femur, present on mid and hind femora; spines present on antero- and posteroventral margins of all femora; pulvilli on four proximal tarsomeres; ventral margin of first tarsal segments with two rows of spines; tarsal claws symmetrical and serrated, arolia well-developed. Male with glandular specialization on first abdominal tergite; subgenital plate weakly asymmetrical, with only a single, small, right style (i.e., left style absent).