Placoblatta beybienkoi Anisyutkin

Anisyutkin, Leonid N. & Yushkova, Olga V., 2017, New data on cockroaches of the subfamily Epilamprinae (Dictyoptera: Blaberidae) from India and Sri Lanka, with descriptions of new species and the genital complex of Aptera fusca (Thunberg, 1784), Zootaxa 4236 (1), pp. 41-64 : 54

Placoblatta beybienkoi Anisyutkin , sp.nov.

( Figs. 4 F, G, 7A–K, 11D)

Material. Holotype—male, SRI LANKA, Central prov., "31 Ceylan Pidurutalagala ", 29 January 1970, coll. C. Besuchet, Y. Löbl ( MHNG) .

Etymology. This species is named in honour of the famous Russian entomologist, Prof. G.Ya. Bey-Bienko (1903–1971).

Description. Male (the holotype). General colour yellowish brown, with scattered small brown spots ( Fig. 4 G, F); facial part of head darker, dark brown; eyes black; mouthparts and, partly, legs dirty yellow. Surfaces lustrous; antennae with lustrous proximal 8–9 segments, the rest of segments dull; thoracic and abdominal tergites uneven, somewhat rugose, densely covered with small tubercles and longitudinal inflations along caudal margins of thoracal and abdominal tergites ( Figs. 4 F, 7B); facial part of head moderately punctuated. Head rounded at vertex, epicranial sutures present ( Figs. 4 G, 7A); ocellar spots small, but distinct; a weak transverse hollow located between antennal sockets; distance between eyes 1.6 times eye length; distance between antennal sockets about twice of the scape length (about 0.6 mm); approximate length ratio of 3rd–5th segments of maxillary palps 1.1: 1.0: 1.5. Pronotum campaniform, transverse, anterior and lateral margins semicircular, posterior margin nearly straight ( Figs. 4 F, 7B). Meso- and metanotum transverse ( Figs. 4 F, 7B). Tegmina short, only reaching 2nd abdominal tergite, transformed into wing scales; venation obsolete. Anterior margin of fore femur armed as in the type D sensu Roth (2003) or C sensu Bey-Bienko (1950), all spines, including apical, substituted for uniform row of very short spinules. Fore tibiae moderately thickened distally. Structure of hind tarsi ( Fig. 7 C): metatarsus a little shorter than other segments combined, with large euplantula along lower margin, 2nd–4th segments with large euplantulae; tarsal spines absent; all euplantulae with spinules; claws symmetrical and simple; arolium about half of claw length. Abdominal tergites without visible glandular specializations; posterolateral angles of tergites obtuse ( Figs. 4 F, 7B) Anal plate (tergite X) wide and trapezoidal, caudal margin with weak median incision ( Fig. 7 D, E). Cerci shortened, flatten, with segments partly fused ( Fig. 7 D, E). Paraprocts of blaberid-type ( Fig. 7 E). Hypandrium nearly symmetrical ( Fig. 7 F), its caudal margin rounded, with a distinct median incision; styli short and fusiform.

Male genitalia ( Fig. 7 G–K, 11D). Right phallomere (R+N) with caudal part of sclerite R1T subrectangular in shape ( Fig. 7 G, H, 11D, c.p.R1T), densely covered with bristles; R2 weakly curved; R3 elongated, caudally bifurcated; R4 plate-like; R5 large, fused with sclerite R3. Sclerite L2D (L1) divided into basal and apical parts ( Fig. 7 I); basal part rod-like, weakly widened cranially; apical part rounded, densely covered with recumbent bristles; "dorsal outgrows" flat ( Fig. 7 I, d.o.). Sclerite L3 (L2d) without basal subsclerite, "folded structure" and bristles ( Fig. 7 J, K); groove hge absent. Sclerite L4U (L3d) weakly sclerotized, subtriangular.

Female unknown.

Measurements (mm). Head length: 2.4, width 2.4, pronotum length 3.3, width 5.4, mesonotum length 1.0, tegmina length 3.0, width 1.9, metanotum length 1.1.

Comparison. The new species differs from the type species ( P. rugosa ) in its smaller size, the unarmed anterior margin of fore femur, the absence of tarsal spines and the larger arolium.

Figures

FIGURE 4. A, D, F—general view from above; B—head and pronotum from above; C, G—general view from below; Eanterior part of body from below. A – C— Rhabdoblattella alexeevi sp. nov. (male, holotype); D, E— R. euptera sp. nov. (male, holotype); F, G— Placoblatta beybienkoi sp. nov. (male, holotype). In Figs. A, C, G, F abdominal apex removed. Out of scale.

FIGURE 7. Placoblatta beybienkoi sp. nov. (male, holotype). A—facial part of head; B—thorax and 1 – 7 th abdominal tergites from above; C—right hind tarsus from outside; D, E—abdominal apex from above (D) and below, hypandrium and genitalia removed (E); F—hypandrium from below; G, H—right phallomere from below (G) and above (H); I—sclerite L 2 D from above; J, K—sclerite L 3. Dotted area shows membranous parts (not shown in C). Abbreviations: c. p. R 1 T, d. o., R 2, R 3, R 4, R 5, spi. — see text. Scale bar 1 mm: a = A; b = B; c = C; d = D; e = E; f = F; g = G, H; h = I; i = J, K.