Cryptophyllium daparo gen. et, 2021

Cumming, Royce T., Bank, Sarah, Bresseel, Joachim, Constant, Je ́ ro ̂ me, Tirant, Stephane Le, Dong, Zhiwei, Sonet, Gontran & Bradler, Sven, 2021, Cryptophyllium, the hidden leaf insects - descriptions of a new leaf insect genus and thirteen species from the former celebicum species group (Phasmatodea, Phylliidae), ZooKeys 1018, pp. 1-179 : 1

Cryptophyllium daparo gen. et sp. nov. Figure 27

Material examined.

Holotype ♀: "CHINA: Yunnan, Wangtianshu, Mengla County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture, VII-2016, Legit: Xiao-Yu Zhu". Deposited in the Kunming Institute of Zoology (KIZ), Yunnan, China.

Remarks.

This large species is at present only known from the single holotype female, which has a unique set of morphological features which do not link it to the molecularly recovered closely related species of Cryptophyllium drunganum comb. nov. and Cryptophyllium tibetense comb. nov. Geographically, these species do represent some of the highest latitude species and interestingly Cryptophyllium daparo sp. nov. and Cryptophyllium tibetense comb. nov. are the largest species in this genus. Hopefully further collection efforts in this region will reveal the unknown male and the presently unknown egg morphology.

Differentiation.

Females are morphologically most similar to Cryptophyllium athanysus comb. nov. and Cryptophyllium rarum comb. nov. due to the tapered, spade-like abdomen and the anteriorly narrower mesopleura. From both species Cryptophyllium daparo sp. nov. can be differentiated by the exterior profemoral lobe shape which is distinctly obtuse and nearly rounded in its shape, not smoothly right-angled like in the other species. Cryptophyllium daparo sp. nov. is also notably larger than Cryptophyllium athanysus comb. nov. and Cryptophyllium rarum comb. nov. which are only 77 and 88 mm long respectively ( Hennemann et al. 2009; Liu 1993).

Males are presently unknown, and the unique female morphology means we cannot predict much about the male morphology. The only feature which can be guessed is that the male must also be rather large due to the female size.

Distribution.

At present only known from the unique holotype collected in China, Yunnan, Wangtianshu, Mengla County, Xishuangbanna Prefecture.

Description.

Female. Coloration. Coloration description is based upon the dried holotype which is somewhat discolored (Fig. 27 ). Leaf insects are a more vibrant lime green in life and we expect that this specimen was likely originally this color. The holotype female is mostly tan to pale green throughout and appears to not have any natural brown patches of color as are sometimes present on the lobes or thorax.

Morphology. Head. Head capsule about as long as wide, vertex with moderately spaced small granulation, and two notable tubercles, one on each side of the sagittal plane near the midline of the head capsule which are larger than the rest, but not as prominent as the posteromedial tubercle (Fig. 27D ). The posteromedial tubercle is about as broad as the two tubercles on the capsule, but the posteromedial tubercle is notably taller and pointed (easily seen from the lateral aspect; Fig. 27F ). Frontal convexity broad but not very large, with an irregularly lumpy surface and sparse transparent setae throughout. Compound eyes only slightly protruding from the head capsule and only occupying ca. ⅕ of the head capsule length (Fig. 27D ). Ocelli absent. Antennae. Antennae consisting of nine segments, with the terminal segment slightly shorter than the length of the preceding two segments’ lengths combined (Fig. 27B ). Antennomeres I-VIII sparsely marked with small transparent setae, the terminal antennomere is covered in stout, brown setae. Thorax. Pronotum with a distinctly concave anterior margin and nearly straight lateral margins, which converge to a straight posterior margin that is half the width of the anterior margin (Fig. 27D ). The pronotum surface is marked with slight granulation, with a prominent pit in the center, and distinct furrows anterior and posterior to the pit and slight furrows lateral to the central pit (Fig. 27D ). The pronotum has a prominent anterior rim which is marked throughout by minute setae and moderately formed lateral rims, and a posterior rim which is weakly formed (Fig. 27D ). Prosternum with moderate nodes, irregularly sized and spaced. Mesosternum with similar nodes as on the pronotum, but only along the margins and on the anterior half of the sagittal plane, the remainder of the surface is rather smooth. Metasternum with an irregularly lumpy surface, no strong nodes. Prescutum slightly longer than wide and with nearly parallel lateral margins (Fig. 27D ). Lateral rims with eight or nine irregularly shaped but short tubercles with various small nodes mixed throughout, giving the margins a rough textured appearance (Fig. 27D ). Prescutum anterior rim distinct, but not strongly raised above the prescutum surface, the rim has a granular surface, no distinct sagittal tubercle larger than the rest (Fig. 27F ). Prescutum surface with irregular nodes throughout, with those along the sagittal plane slightly more prominent (Fig. 27D ). Mesopleura beginning slightly posterior to the anterior margin of the prescutum and evenly diverging; lateral margin with three or four larger tubercles throughout the length, and ten or eleven smaller node-like tubercles interspersed (Fig. 27D ). Face of the mesopleura with granulation throughout and slight wrinkling on areas where the nodes are less prominent (Fig. 27F ). Wings. Tegmina long, extending three quarters of the way through abdominal segment VII. The subcosta (Sc) is the first vein in the forewing and runs parallel with the wing for the first half and then distinctly bends towards the distal margin where it terminates ca. ¼ of the way through the wing length. The radius (R) fills approximately the anterior ⅓ of the wing as two subparallel branched veins; radius 1 (R1) terminates ca. ⅓ of the way through the wing length, and the radial sector (Rs) terminates posterior to the widest portion of the tegmina, just past the midline. There is a thinner continuation of the radius following the prominent Rs branching which continues on as a short R-M crossvein that does not appear to solidly connect the two veins. The media (M) is bifurcate with both the media anterior (MA) and media posterior (MP) terminating close to the posterior ⅓ of the wing. The cubitus (Cu) is also bifurcate, branching near the posterior ¼ of the wing into the cubitus anterior (CuA) and cubitus posterior (CuP) which both terminate at or very near the wing posterior apex. The first anal vein (1A) is simple and fuses with the cubitus early on, only slightly past the branching distance of the R1 from the R. Alae well developed, 58.5 mm long, only a little shorter than the tegmina. Abdomen. Segments II through the anterior ⅓ of IV gradually diverging, with the posterior ⅔ of segments IV and V parallel-sided. Segments VI-X are gradually converging to the broadly rounded apex, giving the abdomen a smooth spade-shaped appearance (Fig. 27A ). Genitalia. Subgenital plate starts at the anterior margin of segment VIII, is broad, and extends ca. ⅔ of the way onto segment X, ending in a fine point (Fig. 27G ). Gonapophyses VIII are long and moderately broad, slightly exceeding the apex of abdominal segment X (Fig. 27G ); gonapophyses IX are thinner and shorter and are concealed below the larger gonapophyses VIII. Cerci flat, not strongly cupped, with a granular surface and rough granular lateral margins (Fig. 27E ). Legs. Profemoral exterior lobes slightly broader than the interior lobe, roundly arcing from end to end in a broad obtuse angle (Fig. 27C ). Edge of the profemoral exterior lobe with a highly granular surface on the proximal margin, and the distal margin has less granulation, but does have five or six small but notable teeth (Fig. 27C ). Profemoral interior lobe ca. 3 × as wide as the greatest width of the profemoral shaft, and with a distinct obtuse angle and a distal margin marked by four or five prominent serrate teeth, with a larger gap between the middle teeth (Fig. 27C ). Mesofemoral exterior lobe arcs from end to end with a distinct bend near the center slightly weighted towards the distal half and marked with two or three dulled serrate teeth on the distal half only. Interior mesofemoral lobe is slightly narrower than the exterior lobe. Mesofemoral interior lobe arcs end to end with five or six serrate teeth on the distal half of the arc only. Metafemoral interior lobe narrow, arcing end to end, and marked with five or six serrate teeth and slight granulation on the distal half of the lobe only. Metafemoral exterior lobe is thin and smooth, hugging the metafemoral shaft and lacks teeth. Pro-, meso-, and meta- tibiae lacking exterior lobes. Protibial interior lobe spans the entire length, is ca. 2 × the width of the shaft, and is roundly triangular with the widest portion on the distal half (Fig. 27A ). Meso- and metatibiae lacking interior lobes.

Measurements of holotype female [mm]. Length of body (including cerci and head, excluding antennae) 107.0, length/width of head 8.5/7.0, antennae 5.0, pronotum 6.3, mesonotum 7.0, length of tegmina 67.5, length of alae 58.5, greatest width of abdomen 32.0, profemora 27.0, mesofemora 19.2, metafemora 20.0, protibiae 17.4, mesotibiae 18.0, metatibiae 18.5.

Etymology.

Noun, named for the artistic company “DAPARO”, owned by Daparo-Yeung which is well-known for their beautiful natural history themed brooches. Several years ago, DAPARO even produced a beautifully crafted leaf insect themed brooch which helped to shed light on these beautiful creatures and bring them into the public eye.

Figures

Figure 27. Holotype female Cryptophyllium daparo gen. et sp. nov., photographs by Zhiwei Dong (KIZ) A habitus, dorsal B details of the face and antennae, rostral view C profemoral lobes, dorsal D details of the head and thorax, dorsal E terminalia, dorsal F details of the head and thorax, lateral G genitalia, ventral.