Lepocranus fuscus Devriese, 1991

Deranja, Maks, Kasalo, Niko, Adzic, Karmela, Franjevic, Damjan & Skejo, Josip, 2022, Lepocranus and Valalyllum gen. nov. (Orthoptera, Tetrigidae, Cladonotinae), endangered Malagasy dead-leaf-like grasshoppers, ZooKeys 1109, pp. 1-15 : 1

Lepocranus fuscus Devriese, 1991

Fig. 1

Lepocranus fuscus : Devriese 1991

Material examined.

Holotype. Madagascar • 1 ♂; " Foret de Tampolo , Madagascar "; May. 1932; A. Seyrig leg.; MNCN 7230.

Genus and species diagnosis.

Small (<10 mm long), apterous, leaf-like, cryptic species endemic to northern Madagascar. Antennae are short and filiform, composed of 15 antennomeres. The upper margins of the antennal groove are at the lower margin of a compound eye. Frontal costa bifurcates between the eyes into rounded facial carinae (parallel in Valalyllum gen. nov.), between which there is a wide scutellum, as wide as a compound eye. Vertex obliquely projected above the eyes in frontal view. Vertex about 3 times wider than a compound eye. In the frontal view, a compound eye is rounded (ovoid in Valalyllum gen. nov.). Pronotum is leaf-like, 2.4 times as long as high (1.75 times in Valalyllum gen. nov.) because of the compressed and elevated median carina. In the dorsal view, the median carina of the pronotum is sulcate. Median carina of the pronotum is straight in the dorsal view (undulated in Valalyllum gen. nov.). Pronotum dips above the head in dorsal view, then smoothly curves upwards and gradually descends towards the posterior apex at an obtuse angle (150° slope, already reported in Devriese 1991) (posterior slope is abrupt in Valalyllum gen. nov. and forms a right-angle). Posterior slope of the median carina is weakly undulated (much more in Valalyllum gen. nov.). The posterior apex of the pronotum is bilobated in the dorsal view. Pronotum does not cover the whole abdomen, the last segments are not covered, and the subgenital plate is visible (fully covered in Valalyllum gen. nov.). Dorsal margin of hind femora bearing strong projections (lappets). Genicular and antegenicular teeth are large and blunt (small and angular in Valalyllum gen. n). Mid tibia is stout. The top margins of the mid and the fore femora undulated but lack strong tubercules. Pulvilli of the hind tarsi are rounded.

Original etymology.

Latin adjective in male gender, " Lepocranus fuscus , -a, -um" meaning brown ( Devriese 1991).

Vernacular name.

Leatherback Pygmy Grasshopper ( Danielczak et al. 2017).

Measurements

(male holotype). Body length: (from the tip of the head to the tip of the subgenital plate) 8.6 mm (cited 9.8 mm in Devriese 1999, from the tip of the pronotum to the tip of the subgenital plate). Pronotum length: 8.1 mm (cited 8.2 mm in Devriese 1991). Pronotum maximum height: 3.3 mm. Pronotum width between the lateral lobes: 3.8 mm. Pronotum width between the shoulders: 2.5 mm. Eye width: 0.4 mm. Vertex width: 1.2 mm. Fore femur length: 2.2 mm. Fore femur width: 0.5 mm. Mid femur length: 2.5 mm. Mid femur width: 0.8 mm. Hind femur length: 5.3 mm (cited 5.3 mm in Devriese 1991). Hind femur width: 2.1 mm. Hind femur length/width ratio: 2.5.

Locus typicus.

Madagascar, Tampolo.

IUCN Red List Assessment.

The Leatherback Pygmy Grasshopper was listed as an endangered species on the IUCN Red List because (1) the minimal geographic range it inhabits (the extent of occurrence is only about 3000 km2), (2) the population seems to be fragmented, and (3) the decline in both the number of mature individuals and the size and quality of the range area due to inferred severe deforestation ( Danielczak et al. 2017).

Figures

Figure 1. Lepocranus fuscus Devriese, 1991 A head detail in frontal view B habitus in right lateral view C habitus in frontal view D habitus in light lateral view E habitus in dorsal view F labels. Photo: J. Skejo and MNCN Madrid.