Danielatettix caudatus ( Saussure, 1861 ) Cadena-Castañeda & Gonzalez & Rodríguez & Rodríguez, 2021

Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J., Gonzalez, Gloria Raquel Dávila, Rodríguez, Martha Carolina Vásquez & Rodríguez, Diana Marcela Trujillo, 2021, The status of Micronotus Hancock, 1902 species (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae), Zootaxa 5082 (2), pp. 129-144 : 138-142

Danielatettix caudatus ( Saussure, 1861) n. comb.

( Figures 6‒8 )

Type specimens. Lectotype. Male. Guy. (“ Guyana ”) “103” (here designated) . Paralectotypes. Two females. Cayenne (here designated).

For the original description of D. caudatus n. comb. the number of male and female syntypes used by Saussure (1861) is not specified. However, Hollier (2013) mentions that in the Geneva collection (MHNG), a male and two females are deposited that could be considered syntypes. Therefore, the male from Guyana is proposed as a lectotype and the two Cayenne females as paralectotypes; these three specimens are adjusted in the brief description of the species.

Color variation. The color variations in this species are not regional; there are individuals with variation in the same locality, found in grayish tones, ranging from yellow to dark brown. 1) They are usually light or dark greyish, with absent or present post-humeral spots at different stages of development, from a small triangle on each side to cover almost the entire area of the pronotal disc at the level of the meso- and metathorax ( Fig. 6B ). 2) Another color is the predominant yellow throughout the body, allowing them to go unnoticed in the sand. Also, as in the previous case, post-humeral spots may lack or present in different development ( Fig.7A ). 3) Another color variation is a dark brown color, uniform in most of the body, with one or more grayish spots on the extremities of the body ( Fig. 7B ). 4) Related to the line of individuals with dark tones, greenish-brown specimens were studied with a prominent whitish band that goes from the humeral notch and covers the pronotal disc at the level of the mesothorax ( Fig. 7C ). 5) The last color variation observed is greenish-brown or grayish-brown, with a “Y” shaped stripe that runs through each stripe from the level of the mesothorax, to converge at the level of the metathorax and extend to the apex of the pronotal disc; post-humeral spots may or may not be observed under the stripe ( Fig. 7D ).

The five previously described color forms were collected in a locality in the Colombian Amazon, in the department of Caqueta. However, these forms have been seen through INaturalist records in other locations in South America.

Specimen examined. 1 male. Colombia, Guaviare, San José del Guaviare, Vda. Playa Guio, Puerto Amor Reserve , 2°34’13.5’’N, 72°38’45’’W. 154 m . 9 march 2018. C. Castellanos. 4 males and 1 female. Colombia, Caqueta, Florencia, Vda. La viciosa, CIMAZ, 1°30’33’’N, 75°40’29’’W. 233m . 22 september 2017. D. Mayorga ( CAUD) .

Measurements (in mm) male/female. CFP: 11-15 / 14-16. PL: 10-14 / 12-15. PLB: 1-1.3 / 1-1.5. FF: 1-1.5 / 1.2-1.5. FL: 1.5-2 / 1.5-2.2. MFL: 2-2.5 / 2.4-3. MTL: 2.4-2.8 / 3-3.5. HL: 4.5-6.5 / 5-6.5. HW: 1.5 / 1.5-1.8. HL: 4.8-7 / 5-7.2.

Comments: This species is widely distributed in South America, with records to the north of the subcontinent such as Colombia, Venezuela, and Guyana, to the south in Paraguay and Argentina, showing a distributional gap ( Map 1 ). Reviewing specimens of other Neotropical Tetrigidae species, we find that the following species are considered synonymous under D. caudatus n. comb.: Paratettix attenuata ( Walker, 1871) n. syn. (Santarem, Para, Brazil), P. hastata ( Walker, 1871) n. syn. ( Guyana, Demerara) and P. ignobilis ( Walker, 1871) n. syn. (Unknown locality). These new synonyms fit in the morphological characteristics described for the genus and the only known species, only with chromatic variations that were previously mentioned in this contribution. Furthermore, the new synonyms partially fill the distributional gap that exists so far ( Map 1 ).

P. attenuata n. syn. in its original description, it is mentioned that the type specimen is a female. When reviewing the current specimen deposited in London (BMNH), it is a male, which fits the original description provided by Walker (1871). The author may have been confused, and wrote in his description that it was a female when it is a male. However, we make the synonymy effective, since the only specimen fits the characteristics of D. caudatus n. comb.

As for P. hastata n. syn. and P. ignobilis n. syn., are synonymised under D. caudatus n. comb., since, the type specimens have the same structure of the frontal costa, curvature of the anterior region of the pronotal disc, shape of the fore and middle femora, in addition to the shape and location of the ocelli and eyes, which differentiates Danielatettix n. gen., from other similar genera such as Stenodorsus and that distinguishes D. caudatus n. comb. (see the comparison section).

The lectotype and paralectotype specimens of D. caudatus n. comb. from Guyana and French Guyana, in addition to a female from Paraguay (deposited in Vienna (NMW)) (see photos in the Orthoptera Species File), fit the color form 3. P. attenuata n. syn., P. hastata n. syn. and P. ignobilis n. syn. they belong to the color form 1, they maintain their coloring pattern, although the intensity of the color varies.

Figures

MAP 1. Distributional map of Micronotus and Danielatettix n. gen. species.

FIGURE 6. Danielatettix caudatus n. comb. A. Habitus lateral and B. Dorsal view. C. Frons. D. Fore-leg. E–F. Mid-leg variation. G. Male subgenital plate. H. Male terminalia in lateral view. I. Female terminalia in ventral and J. lateral view.

FIGURE 7. Danielatettix caudatus n. comb. Color variation A. Color form 2. B. Form 3. C. Form 4. D. Form 5.

FIGURE 8. Danielatettix caudatus n. comb. alive. A. Male. B. Female. (Photos: J. Cardona)