Lanceobostra margaritata ( Redtenbacher, 1908 ) Hennemann & Conle, 2024

Hennemann, Frank H. & Conle, Oskar V., 2024, Studies on Neotropical Phasmatodea XXVI: Taxonomic review of Cladomorformia tax. n., a lineage of Diapheromerinae stick insects, with the descriptions of seven new genera and 41 new species (Phasmatodea: Occidophasmata: Diapheromerinae), Zootaxa 5444 (1), pp. 1-454 : 108-110

Lanceobostra margaritata ( Redtenbacher, 1908) comb. n.

Bostra margaritata Redtenbacher, 1908: 412 .

Shelford, 1909: 361.

Otte & Brock, 2005: 73.

López-Mora & Llorente-Bousquets, 2018: 48.

Delfosse, Cliquennois, Depraetere & Robillard, 2019: 212. Brock & Büscher, 2022: 511.

Luna, 2022: 91.

Further material examined [1 ♂]:

♂: Vic. Compostela , Nayarit, Mex. [ ANSP] ; 2 ♀♀: Vic. Compostela , Nayarit, Mex. IX –23–33 [ ANSP] ; 2 ♀♀ (nymph n3): Tepic , Mexico, X.1894 Eisen [ ANSP] ; ♀ (nymph n4): Tepic , Mexico, X.1894 Eisen [ ANSP] .

Diagnosis. Both sexes of this species are very similar to the type-species L. aetolus ( Westwood, 1859) comb. n. in most aspects. Females may however be separated by the slenderer shape (mesonotum 8.2x vs. 7.5x longer than prothorax in aetolus ), proportionally longer and slenderer legs and slender basitarsi (with a dorsal lobe in aetolus ). Males mainly differ by characters of the terminalia, such as having the entire apical one-third of the ventral surface of the anal segment covered with black denticles to form one big thorn-pad (with an elongate, smooth median gap in aetolus to form two separate thorn-pads), entire posterior margin of the poculum (with a median indention in aetolus ) and lack of the distinctly impressed medio-longitudinal furrow seen in the apical half of the anal segment in aetolus .

Description. ♂♂: Medium sized (body length 106.0 mm), very slender and typical for the genus with a prominent, conical central protuberance of the poculum and fairly long, interiorly impressed and canaliculate cerci. Body surface smooth and very weakly glossy. General colour mid brown, the abdomen slightly darker than rest of body. Head ochreous grey with a distinctly defined, broad dark brown postocular streak and the lower portions of genae white; between the eyes with a large roughly hear-shaped dark brown marking. Lateral portions of pronotum blackish brown. Lower lateral portions of abdominal terga VIII and IX white with some black speckles; poculum like body but irregularly flecked with pale grey. Legs drab and tibiae with two broad pale cream annulae. Scapus und pedicellus blackish brown dorsally, rest of antennae reddish mid brown basally, then gradually becoming buff and in the apical half gradually darkening towards tip.

Head: Elongate, flattened, 1.8x longer than wide, broadest at the eyes and slightly gradually narrowing towards the posterior. Two indistinct and rounded median tubercles at posterior margin and a pair of obtuse, shallow swellings between the eyes. Frons with a distinct, C-shaped central impression. Eyes circular in outline, projecting hemispherical and their diameter contained about 2.5x in length of genae. Antennae at least reaching half way along abdominal segment III. Scapus somewhat compressed dorsoventrally towards the base, rectangular in dorsal aspect and about 2x longer than wide. Pedicellus round in cross-section and about half the length of scapus. III constricted towards the apex and slightly longer than pedicellus.

Thorax: Pronotum about as long and as wide as posterior portion of head, basically rectangular in dorsal aspect with a slight narrowing pre-medially and the lateral margins gently rounded post-medially; 1.9x longer than wide. Transverse median sulcus shallow, almost straight and not reaching to lateral margins of segment; the anterior half with an impressed medio-longitudinal line and a small pit near each anterolateral angle. Anterior margin with a pair of low median granules. Mesothorax 8.6x longer than pronotum, uniform in diameter except for being weakly widened at anterior and posterior margin. Mesonotum with a fine medio-longitudinal line. Metanotum like mesonotum and a little more than one-quarter of whose length. Mesosternum with a very weak medio-longitudinal carina, metasternum smooth and simple.

Abdomen: Median segment slightly less than three-quarters the length of metanotum with lateral margins gently concave. Segment II somewhat shorter than median segment, II–V slightly increasing, VI–VII decreasing in length with V 6.3x and VII only 3.5x longer than wide. II–VI roughly of uniform diameter but each segment slightly constricted medially; VII very weakly widening in posterior half. Tergum VIII trapezoidal, gradually widening towards the posterior with posterior margin about 1.5x wider than anterior margin and roughly half the length of VII; with an obtuse longitudinal bulge laterally. IX widest segment and 2x wider than II–VII, the posterior portion narrowed and the anterior margin somewhat inflated with a prominently raised and gently arched longitudinal bulge laterally, the lateral margins slightly deflexed and weakly rounded. Terga VIII and IX each with two further, sub-parallel longitudinal rows of elongate granules in the median portion. Anal segment descendant towards the apex, 1.7x longer than width of anterior margin, gradually narrowing towards a narrow and distinctly indented posterior margin; dorsal surface with a fine medio-longitudinal carina. Posterolateral angles obtusely triangular, somewhat downward directed and the entire apical one-third of the ventral surface densely set with black denticles. Epiproct minute. Cerci elongate, roughly three-quarters the length of anal segment and projecting notably beyond apex of abdomen; shape paddle-like, carinate dorsally and ventrally and gently incurved with the interior surface impressed and deeply canaliculate. Vomer elongate with a deep longitudinal median furrow. Poculum strongly convex, cup-shaped and angular in lateral aspect with a prominent, obtusely conical and somewhat posteriad directed central protuberance; the posterior portion carinate longitudinally and the posterior margin slightly inflated and reaching to end of tergum IX.

Legs: All long, slender and entirely unarmed, profemora as long as pro- and mesothorax combined, mesofemora slightly shorter than mesothorax, metafemora reaching to posterior margin of abdominal segment V and metatibiae projecting greatly beyond apex of abdomen. Basitarsi elongate, slender and on average about 1.5x longer than remaining tarsomeres combined.

Comments. The unique ♀ holotype in the alcohol collection of MNHN is in fairly bad condition, with the head, antennae, prothorax, both front legs and left mid leg detached. For not inflicting any further damage, the specimen was not extracted from the glass jar for closer examination and measuring. Two ♀♀ from Compostela, Nayarit in the collection of ANSP appear to represent this species. While one matches well with the holotype, by having a smooth head and unarmed meso- and metafemora, the other specimen bears a pair of cephalic spines and has the four posterior femora armed with a roundly bidentate sub-basal lobe on the two outer ventral carinae. The previously unknown ♂ is here described for the first time. Eggs unknown .

Table 18: Measurements of Lanceobostra margaritata ( Redtenbacher, 1908) comb. n.

* According to Redtenbacher, 1908: 412