Tettilobus trishula Skejo, Bhaskar et Stermšek, 2020

Bhaskar, Dhaneesh, Stermšek, Sara, Easa, P. S., Franjević, Damjan & Skejo, Josip, 2020, Wide-nosed pygmy grasshoppers (Cladonotinae: Cladonotini, Xerophyllini) of India and Sri Lanka: catalogue with an identification key and description of a new species of the genus Tettilobus, Zootaxa 4894 (3), pp. 474-500 : 476

Tettilobus trishula Skejo, Bhaskar et Stermšek sp. n.

(morphology Figures 1 , 2 , habitat Figure 3 )

Tettilobus sp .: Bhaskar et al. 2019: 3226, 3228 (reported from Eravikulam NP).

Type material. 1♀ ( Figures 1 , 3 ) HOLOTYPE INDIA: Western Ghats—labels: 1 st (printed): Ind. Or. P. Castets, 2 nd (handwritten by Bolívar): Potua Bol. suspecta Bol. , 3 rd (printed, published by París 1994): “especie” no publicada, 4 th (printed, red): Holotipo, 5 th (handwritten): Tettilobus trishula Skejo et Bhaskar , 6 th ‘ MNCN _Ent 195791’ ( MNCN); 1♁ PARATYPE INDIA: Kerala: Eravikulam NP 2200 m a.s.l. (above sea level) N10 13’43.05” E077 05’09.39 ’ leg. Dhaneesh Bhaskar I.2018. ( KFRI).

Type material depository. The HOLOTYPE is deposited in MNCN, Madrid, Spain , the PARATYPE in KFRI, Kerala, India .

Type locality. Terra typica: INDIA: Kerala: Western Ghats. Locus typicus restrictus: Eravikulam NP, mountainous rainforest at 2200 m a.s.l., N10 13’43.05” E077 05’09.39 .

Habitat ( Figure 3 ). From the original collection label (Ind. Or. P. Castets), the only thing we are sure of is that the place of the collection lies towards South India. According to the distribution of other species, Castets documented during the expeditions ( Desutter-Grandcolas & Jaiswara 2012, Online catalogue of MNHN Paris type specimens) it has to be from the peninsular region (forested hills of Kerala and Tamil Nadu). The Narrower type locality is Eravikulam NP, where the paratype male was collected ( Figure 3 , Figure 11 ). The species inhabits dense rainforests of the Western Ghats. It can be found on tree trunks where it probably feeds on mosses and detritus. It is thus a bark dwelling, corticolous species, not a leaf-litter species like Deltonotus subcucullatus and D. gibbiceps

Derivatio nominis: In Hindu mythology and epics like Mahabharata and Ramayana, trishula , with a trident known as trishulank, originally from Sanskrit, is a three-pronged spear that Lord Shiva used as his sacred weapon to fight off evil. Each tooth of the trishula is called a guna in Samkhya philosophy. Three gunas are in this new species made of the highly compressed median carina and elevated curved external (large trishula) and internal (small trishula) lateral carinae of the pronotal apex.

Specific diagnosis. Nanopronotal, small and wingless species (body length from the apex of fastigium to the top of the ovipositor 7.5 mm); vertex, in frontal view, depressed; antennal grooves situated below the lower margin of the compound eyes; scutellum as wide as a single antennal groove; frontal costa bifurcation located on the level of the lower margins of the compound eyes; frontal costa above bifurcation long; median carina of the vertex, lateral carinae of the vertex and transverse carinae projected as equally high horns; FM small, PM+MM1 compressed and highly elevated, MML1 and MML2 strong; VL projected downwards-outwards with rounded apex; strongly incurved external lateral carinae; internal lateral carinae forming with median carina acute upwards directed structure reminding of trishula ; all femora armed with sharp teeth; pronotum not covering the whole abdomen; visible part of the abdomen armed. The species can easily be distinguished from T. prashadi and T. pelops by the lack of ventrolateral spines, but also by the morphology of the head and pronotal discus.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Tettilobus trishula sp. n. Female holotype deposited in MNCN. A—left lateral view; B—dorsal view; C—dorsal view on the head; D—head in frontal view. (Photo Mercedes París). Scale bar 1 mm.

FIGURE 2. Tettilobus trishula sp. n. holotype female—taxonomic drawings. A—pronotum in left lateral view; B—head in frontal view; C—pronotum in dorsal view; D—head in dorsal view. (Drawings Sara Stermšek) Scale bar 1 mm.

FIGURE 3. Habitat of Tettilobus trishula sp. n. Mountainous forests of Eravikulam NP at 2200 m elevation. The species inhabits wet, humid habitat with trees fully covered in moss. (Photo Dhaneesh Bhaskar).

FIGURE 11. Distribution map of the three known species of the genus Tettilobus, including newly described T. trishula sp. n.