Madagascarantia bartolozzii, Massa, Bruno, 2017

Massa, Bruno, 2017, New taxa of Orthoptera (Insecta Tettigoniidae Phaneropterinae) from Madagascar, Zootaxa 4242 (2), pp. 299-312 : 309-310

Madagascarantia bartolozzii new species

( Figs 5 A–5D, 6G– 6I)

Material examined and depository. Holotype ♂, allotype ♀ and 1 paratype ♂. Madagascar, Sikora, N.M. Kheil ( NMHP) . Paratype ♂. Madagascar, Ambila Le Maintso V.1990, C. Raharimina ( MZUF).

Measurements. Males. Body length: 27.5–28.2; pronotum length: 6.8–7.4; pronotum height: 6.9–7.0; hind femur: 19.5–20.0; hind tibiae: 21.9–23.5; tegmina: 43.2–43.8; length of hind wings: 46.4–46.6; tegmina width: 14.3–14.7. Female. Body length: 29.9; pronotum length: 7.8; pronotum height: 7.0; hind femur: 20.9; hind tibiae: 22.0; tegmina: 43.6; length of hind wings: 47.6; tegmina width: 17.2.

Diagnosis. It is a large species, characterized by open tympana on inner side of fore tibiae, lateral lobes of pronotum wrinkled and stout in- and up-curved cerci.

Description. Male. General habitus and colour. Predominantly green, head and pronotum brown-yellowish, legs yellowish ( Fig. 5 A). Head and antennae. Eyes round, fastigium of vertex sulcate, as large as scapus of antennae, separated from fastigium of frons and protruding a little above it ( Figs 6 G, 6H). Head and legs yellow, face yellow. Thorax and legs. Pronotum green, just shorter than high, lateral lobes wrinkled, anterior margin hardly concave, posterior margin rounded ( Fig. 6 H), with evident lateral excisions, prozona hardly narrower than metazona, lower margin of pronotal lobes rounded. Tegmina oval, green, 3.0 times longer than wide. The stridulatory area of the left tegmen is just curved, the stridulatory file is arcuate, ca. 2.4 mm long, and consists of ca. 120 evenly spaced teeth ( Fig. 5 C).

Fore coxae armed with a fine spine. Tympana on fore tibiae open on outer and inner sides. Fore femora with 4 inner ventral spines, fore tibiae with 2–3 inner ventral spines, superiorly flat, not furrowed. Mid femora with 3–4 outer ventral spines, mid tibiae ventrally with 4 outer and 2–3 inner spines. Hind femora with 5–8 outer and 1–2 inner ventral spines, hind tibiae straight, longer than femora, with 12 outer and 10 inner ventral spines.

Abdomen. Cerci stout, in- and up-curved, with a small apical spine ( Fig. 5 D). Subgenital plate long, rectangular, and apically just concave, styli very small ( Fig. 5 D).

Female ( Figs 5 B, 6I). Same characters of the male, tegmina 2.5 times longer than wide, ovipositor short, gently curved and toothed at the apex of ventral and dorsal valves, valves of similar length, apically rounded ( Fig. 6 I). Subgenital plate short, triangular and apically pointed.

Etymology. This species is named after Luca Bartolozzi, distinguished entomologist, curator of insect collections of the Museo di Zoologia ‘La Specola’ of the Florence University.

Distribution. Actually Madagascarantia bartolozzii n. sp. seems to be a relict taxon, isolated only in Madagascar.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Madagascarantia bartolozzii n. gen. n. sp., male (A) and female (B) habitus, male stridulatory file (C), dorsal view of last abdominal segments and cerci (D).

FIGURE 6. Arantia, Holochlora and Madagascarantia: face (A, D, G, respectively), fastigium of vertex and pronotum (B, E, H, respectively), ovipositor (C, F, I, respectively).