Lithoxenus heptapotamicus, (Pylnov, 1911)

Korsunovskaya, Olga, 2024, Drymadusini katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae; Tettigoniinae): intraspecific variability-morphs or subspecies?, Zootaxa 5403 (1), pp. 42-50 : 45

L. heptapotamicus ( Pylnov, 1911) .

Redescription of the male and description of the female of this species are given in the article of Bey-Bienko (1951). At the same time, the author notes that the described female may belong to another species, and only additional material can confirm or refute its belonging to this species. This point of view is shared by Childevaev et al. (2013). They collected a series of males and females from the type locality and provided a detailed description of the topotype female. The male (holotype) is a fairly large insect with a body 31 mm long ( Table 1 ). Taxonomic notes. The color uniform, brownish ( Fig. 2A ); tegmina are shortened and do not reach the posterior edge of the second abdominal tergite ( Fig. 2B ); cerci in the distal third are curved inward at almost a right angle, with an elongated and pointed tip ( Fig. 2C ). Titillators. A preparation of the male genitalia (holotype) shows that the titillators have a more massive basal part, their distal part, lacking significant denticles, is almost twice as narrow as the basal part ( Fig. 2G ).

Bush-crickets collected in Kyrgyzstan were identified as L. heptapotamicus , because they have very similar abdominal terminalia ( Fig. 2E ) and genitalia ( Fig. 2F ) and their hind tibia bear 16–20 spines. However, their sizes turned out to be significantly smaller than those of the male and female from the type series ( Table 1 ). Based on this character and the geographic distribution of the known specimens, we find it reasonable to describe a new subspecies of L. heptapotamicus minutus . We believe that this form is not ecologically determined, since all katydids of this species are collected in mountain biotopes (from 1000 m a. s. l.) and have a similar lifestyle: they live on rocky steppes or screes, usually under stones.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Habitus and details of body structure of Lithoxenus katydids. A—habitus of the male of L. h. heptapotamicus (holotype); B—pronotum of L. h. heptapotamicus (holotype), lateral view; C—male supra-anal plate and cerci of L. h. heptapotamicus (holotype), dorsal view; D—habitus of the male of L. h. minutus (holotype), lateral view; E—male supraanal plate and cerci of L. h. minutus (holotype), dorsal view; F—titillator of L. h. minutus (holotype); G—same of L. h. heptapotamicus (holotype); H—habitus of the female of L. h. minutus (paratype), lateral view; I—female subgenital plate of L. h. minutus (paratype). J—habitus of the male of L. miramae (Uzbekistan); K—habitus of the male of L. miramae (holotype), lateral viev; L—male stridulatory file (left tegmen) of L. miramae (holotype); M—male supra-anal plate and cerci of L. miramae (holotype), dorsal view; N—same of L. miramae (Uzbekistan); O—titillators of L. miramae (holoptype); P—same of males from Uzbekistan. Scale 5 mm (A, B, D, H, J, K), 1 mm (C, E–G, I), 500 µ (O, P).