Altihoratosphaga nomima, (KARSCH, 1896)

Hemp, Claudia, Voje, Kjetil Lysne, Heller, Klaus-Gerhard, Warchałowska-Śliwa, Elżbieta & Hemp, Andreas, 2010, A new genus of African Acrometopini (Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae) based on morphology, chromosomes, acoustics, distribution, and molecular data, and the description of a new species, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 158 (1), pp. 66-82 : 74

ALTIHORATOSPHAGA NOMIMA (KARSCH, 1896) COMB. NOV.

Peronura nomima Karsch, 1896: 327 . One male syntype, Tanganyika, Mpwapwa, 5 June 1890 (Stuhlmann); two female syntypes, Tanganyika, Mpwapwa, 7 June 1890 (Stuhlmann); MNB.

Additional material examined: One male and one female, Tanganyika Territory, Mroke 30 August 21 (Swynnerton); one male one female, Tanganyika, Ruaha National Park, 15 March 1966 (FitzGerald); NHML .

Diagnosis: Differs from all other Altihoratosphaga species in a rather smooth pronotum with few very shallow rugosities only on the pronotal disc, and in the lack of black spots on the tegmina. In respect of body size it is the largest Altihoratosphaga species. Differentiating characters of all Altihoratosphaga species are listed in Table 3.

Discussion: The Mpwapwa plateau, a mountainous area north of the small town Mpwapwa, reaches elevations of up to 1500 m a.s.l. It is suggested that A. nomima occupies a similar habitat (i.e. herbaceous vegetation in clearings and along forest edges of the submontane–montane zone) as the other Altihoratosphaga species. As A. nomima specimens are also recorded from further south, from the Ruaha National Park, where this species was collected from riverine vegetation, this species is presumed to occur on the mountainous areas in between, such as further east in the Ukaguru Mountains, which reach elevations of over 1500 m a.s.l., or the Rubeho Mountains, with elevations of over 1800 m a.s.l. However, the male from Ruaha and the holotype male from Mpwapwa differ slightly in some characters. The male cerci in the holotype of A. nomima ( Fig. 8H ) are more acute than those of the male from Ruaha National Park ( Fig. 9D ). Also, the venation of the tegmina differs slightly, and the Mpwapwa male has more rugosities on the pronotal disc than the Ruaha specimen. More material from this region of Tanzania is necessary, as well as data on habitat and ecology (song), to decide whether specimens from these two localities belong to the same species.

Figures

Figure 8. A–D, lateral view of the pronotum and dorsal view of the abdominal apex of male Altihoratosphaga species. A, Altihoratosphaga hanangensis sp. nov., paratype. B, Altihoratosphaga nou, paratype. C, Altihoratosphaga montivaga. D, Altihoratosphaga nomima, holotype. E–H, dorsal view of abdominal apex of male Altihoratosphaga species. E, A. hanangensis sp. nov., paratype. F, A. nou, paratype. G, A. montivaga. H, A. nomima, holotype I, dorsal aspect of male pronotum of A. hanangensis sp. nov. Note the triangle-shaped posterior part of the pronotum. J, lateral view of abdominal apex of female A. hanangensis sp. nov., paratype. K, reduced alae of female A. montivaga. Scale bars: 2 mm.

Figure 9. A–D, left cercus of male Altihoratosphaga species. A, Altihoratosphaga hanangensis sp. nov. B, Altihoratosphaga nou. C, Altihoratosphaga montivaga. D, Altihoratosphaga nomima. All specimens were collected from Ruaha National Park. Scale bar: 2 mm. E–H, subgenital plates of male Altihoratosphaga species. E, A. hanangensis sp. nov. F, A. nou. G, A. montivaga. H, A. nomima. All specimens were collected from Ruaha National Park. Scale bar: 2 mm. I, right tegmen of male A. hanangensis sp. nov. Scale bar: 0.5 cm. J, subgenital plate of female A. hanangensis sp. nov. Scale bar: 1 mm. K, ovipositor of A. hanangensis sp. nov. Scale bar: 1 mm.