Afroanthracites Hemp & Ingrisch

Hemp, Claudia, 2013, Annotated list of Ensifera (Orthoptera) and further records on Caelifera (Orthoptera) of Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Zootaxa 3613 (4), pp. 301-342 : 305-306

Afroanthracites Hemp & Ingrisch n. gen.

Type species: Anthracites montium Sjöstedt, 1910 , here designated

Diagnosis. The type species of Anthracites , A. nitidus Redtenbacher, 1891 has been described from Mindanao ( Philippines). It was redescribed and extensively figured in Ingrisch (1998: p. 121, figs 101–102), images of the holotype can also be found in the Orthoptera Species Files (Eades et al. 2012). The species of Afroanthracites differ as follows: The fastigium verticis is rather stout at tip with nearly subparallel margins in apical area. The pronotum is rugose instead of subsmooth; the lateral lobes only have a very small and weak auditory swelling and the ventral margin straight although little descending posteriorly while in A. nitidus the auditory swelling is distinct, large and oval and the ventral margin is concave with the hind angle little projecting ventrad. Afroanthracites is micropterous, A. nitidus brachypterous although micropterous species have also been described in Asian Anthracites . The mesosternal lobes are simply triangular, the metasternal lobes rounded, and the medial plate with only a small tubercle at both hind angles while in A. nitidus the mesosternal lobes have the apex spiniform, the metasternal lobes conical, and the medial plate has an acute spine at both hind angles. The tenth abdominal tergite in males is undifferentiated and flat in A. nitidus while it is always modified in Afroaanthracites, being inflated and shield-like or elongated and curved downwards. The male subgenital plate in Afroanthracites is elongated and deeply v-shaped lobed at its posterior margin with short styli, while A. nitidus has a more normal, broad subgenital plate with an u-shaped posterior margin. The titillators that are very similar in both described Afroanthracites species look like narrow curved bars with large and wide hood-shaped lateral expansions with acute tip while in A. nitidus they look like flattened curved ovals with long flattened lateral projections at apex.

Description. Fastigium verticis short, conical, slightly laterally compressed and shorter than scapus. Scapus without a spine. Frons broad with a shiny surface. Pronotum rugose, rounded, posterior part in area of metazona slightly inflated. Micropterous, tegmina reduced to short rounded lobes, covered completely by pronotum. Prosternum bispinose, meso- and metasterna unarmed. Fore coxa with well developed spine. Fore femur with spines on ventro-internal margin, mid and hind femora with spines on ventro-external margins. Genicular lobes of all femora obtuse, only on hind femur obtuse or acute.

Male. Tenth abdominal tergite in male shield-like and broad with evenly curved posterior margin or broad at its base and posteriorly elongated and curved downwards. Posterior margin rounded or differentiated into lobes. Male cerci hidden under tenth abdominal tergite, with stout base, at midway abruptly curved inwardly. Posterior part of male cerci differently shaped, either simple, bifurcate or compressed and elongated. Subgenital plate elongated, divided ino two lobes with short styli; as long as posterior margin of tenth abdominal tergite in males. Titillators narrow, milky white, nearly angularly curved in middle; in apical half with large apico-lateral expansions of brown colour with granular surface, terminating on top (in situ apical) into a large cone with acute tip while laterally (in situ ventrally) extented into a long obtuse flap ( Fig. 4 A, B). There is also a pair of hyaline, roughly triangular and convex baso-lateral sclerites.

Females with long and stout ovipositor, moderately up-curved.

Included species: A. montium (Sjöstedt) comb. n., A. usambaricus (Sjöstedt) comb. n.

Further species of Afroanthracites have been collected in Tanzania and Kenya during the past years, e.g. occurring on the mountain ranges of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The North and South Pare Mountains, and the East Usambara Mountains harbour yet undescribed species of Afroanthracites . Also the Uluguru Mountains harbour a very distinct species of Afroanthracites (collection NHML, UK). These species will be described successively (Hemp et al., in prep.).

Figures

FIGURE 4. Internal genitalic structures of Agraeciini species. A. Afroanthracites montium, titillators with view on baso-lateral sclerites; B. Afroanthracites montium, titillators in apico-ventral view. C. Afroagraecia brachyptera n. sp., titillators in apicoventral view; D. Afroagraecia brachyptera n. sp., titillators in proximo-dorsal view. Abbreviations: al — apico-lateral sclerite, bl — baso-lateral sclerite, le — lateral extension of titillator, lti — lateral titillator, ti — central titillator (titillator proper), te — testes. Scale bars: 1 mm.