Pharmacus montanus Pictet & de Saussure 1893
Creators: name: Hegg, Danilo
name: Morgan-Richards, Mary
name: Trewick, Steven A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Rhaphidophoridae
Pharmacus
Pharmacus montanus

description: Pharmacus montanus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893
Figs 1–3, 4F–G, I, K, 7, 8A–B, 9A, 10A–C, 12A–C, 14A–B, 16A, 18A
Pharmacus montanus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893: 302–303, pl. I fig. 5–5c.
Pharmacus dumbletoni Richards, 1972: 161–162, fig. 4. Syn. nov.
Pharmacus montanus – Hutton 1896: 239. — Richards 1972: 156–158, fig. 1.
Diagnosis
A mid-sized cave wētā found in the Southern Alps from the Ben Ōhau Range northwards, at elevations greater than 1200 m. Body colour varies from marbled brown to black, generally with a thin but well visible median dorsal line along the whole length of the animal, and pale first tarsal segments. The pronotum and tergites are always covered in fine tomentum, giving the animal a matt appearance.
At the southern end of its distribution range, Pharmacus montanus overlaps with P. cochleatus comb. nov. and could be easily confused with the latter, especially at the higher elevations, where both insects are black. P. cochleatus is often glabrous and shiny in appearance and has first segment of the hind tarsi armed with dorsal linear spines, which are absent in P. montanus.
On the higher mountain tops east of the Main Divide of the Southern Alps, P. montanus shares the habitat with Petrotettix serratus Richards, 1972. The latter species is often dark with pale tarsi like P. montanus but has dorsal linear spines on the first two segments of the hind tarsi, and a serrated upper valve of the ovipositor.
In the alpine regions around Mt Cook, P. montanus forms mixed populations with Notoplectron brewsterense comb. nov. The latter is yellow-orange in colour, has a stocky appearance due to its shorter legs, and has fewer, larger dorsal linear spines on the hind tibiae. See also Fig. 4 for a comparison between the two species.
At the northern end of its distribution range in Kahurangi National Park, P. montanus is uniform brown and shares the habitat with Macropathus filifer, which is also brown. The latter species however has much longer legs, which give it a very slender appearance.
Etymology
‘ Pharmăcus montānus ’ is Latin for ‘mountain sorcerer’ – an inspired name for Pictet’s and de Saussure’s (1893) “entirely black insect”.
In common English, P. montanus is also known as ‘Mount Cook flea’. The name is explained by the insect’s “reprehensible habit of leaping in showers out of a crevice in the rock upon the unsuspecting climber” (Dumbleton 1935), and is still in common use today.
Material examined (see also Supp. file 1: Table S1 and Figs S2–3)
Holotype NEW ZEALAND • ♂, adult; Mackenzie (MK), Mt Cook region; 43.75° S, 170.06° E; 2100 m a.s.l.; date unknown; G. Mannering leg.; MHNG ARTO-24289.
Other material
NEW ZEALAND – Mackenzie (MK) • 1 ♀; Mt Annette, Sealy Range; 43.75129° S, 170.06210° E; 2200 m a.s.l.; 25 Feb. 2017; D. Hegg leg.; summit rocks, above glacier; night search; GenBank: OM293693; MPN CW3303 • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; MPN CW3302, CW3323 • 1 ♂; Mueller Hut Track, Sealy Range; 43.71504° S, 170.06982° E; 1500 m a.s.l.; 24 Feb. 2017; D. Hegg leg.; under large boulder; night search + insect net; GenBank: OM293692; MPN CW3300 • 3 ♂♂, 2 nymphs; same collection data as for preceding; MPN CW3299, CW3532 to CW3535 • 1 nymph; Mt Wakefield, Mount Cook Range; 43.70707° S, 170.12170° E; 1660 m a.s.l.; 18 Mar. 2017; D. Hegg leg.; on rock bluffs; night search + insect net; GenBank: OM293695; MPN CW3330 • 4 ♀♀, 1 nymph; same collection data as for preceding; MPN CW3331, CW3406, CW3660 to CW3662 • 1 ♀, 1 nymph; Mt Wakefield, Mt Cook Range; 43.71989° S, 170.12771° E; 1750 m a.s.l.; 13 May 2017; D. Hegg leg.; on rocky ridge; night search + insect net; MPN CW3516, CW3699 • 1 nymph; Mt Dark, Ben Ōhau Range; 43.87117° S, 170.04536° E; 1800 m a.s.l.; 17 May 2020; D. Hegg leg.; under boulder on scree slope; casual find while climbing; GenBank: OM293728; MPN CW4876 • 1 nymph; same collection data as for preceding; MPN CW4875. – North Canterbury/Westland (NC/WD) • 1 nymph; Lake Anna, Mt Franklin, Arthur’s Pass; 42.87567° S, 171.65048° E; 1720 m a.s.l.; 23 Dec. 2017; D. Hegg leg.; on rock bluffs; night search; GenBank: OM293702; MPN CW3650 • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; MPN CW3988, CW3989. – Buller (BR) • 1 ♂, holotype of P. dumbletoni; Mount Mahanga, Spenser Mountains; 42.102° S, 172.635° E; 2100 m a.s.l.; Oct. 1950; L.J. Dumbleton leg.; NZAC 03015679 • 1 ♂; Gloriana Peak, Spenser Mountains; 42.27437° S, 172.48992° E; 1750 m a.s.l.; 5 Feb. 2017; D. Hegg leg.; on rock bluffs; night search + insect net; GenBank: OM293689; MPN CW3262 • 1 ♂, 1 ♀, 2 nymphs; same collection data as for preceding; MPN CW3263 to 3266 • 4 ♂♂, 2 ♀♀; same collection data as for preceding; 25 Apr. 2017; MPN CW3656 to CW3659, CW3665, CW3666 • 1 ♀; Between Sunset Saddle and Mt Hopeless, Travers Range; 41.91926° S, 172.73519° E; 1900 m a.s.l.; 31 Dec. 2020; D. Hegg leg.; in rocky chasm; visual search in daylight; MPN CW5183. – Nelson (NN) • 1 ♀; Poverty Basin, Mt Owen; 41.54712° S, 172.52864° E; 1640 m a.s.l.; 8 Jan. 2019; D. Hegg leg.; on limestone bluffs; night search + insect net; GenBank: OM293708; MPN CW4275 • 4 ♂♂, 1 ♀, 4 nymphs; same collection data as for preceding; MPN CW4272, CW4273, CW4446 to CW4450, CW4456, CW4457.
Description
MEASUREMENTS. See Table 1.
HEAD. As per generic description. Specimens living above the permanent snowline are entirely black. This includes all head parts that are usually pale otherwise, e.g., maxillary palps and antennae.
THORAX. As per generic description; always covered in fine hair, which gives the animal a matt look.
LEGS. Longer than in most Pharmacus species. The hind tibiae are 5% longer than the body in females, 20% longer than the body in males. Fore femora always unarmed at the apex. Mid femora armed with one retrolateral spine at the apex; prolateral apical spine absent. Hind femora occasionally armed with up to two linear spines below, on either or both inner and outer edge. Hind tibiae armed with two superior subapical spines (one prolateral and one retrolateral), two superior apical spines (one prolateral and one retrolateral), two inferior apical spines (one prolateral and one retrolateral) and two inferior subapical spines (one prolateral and one retrolateral), as in all other Pharmacus species. However, in some specimens in the Mt Cook region, a third inferior subapical spine may be present on the inner edge of the tibia (see Fig. 3F–G). First and second tarsal segments without any linear spines above – a trait that differentiates P. montanus from all other Pharmacus species. The first tarsal segment is generally pale on all six legs, even in specimens that are entirely black otherwise – the contrast is in fact especially noticeable in the darker specimens and gives the insect a characteristic look (Fig. 14A).
ABDOMEN. Tergites always covered in fine hair, which gives the animal a matt look. A thin, pale median line along the whole length of the insect is generally visible, even in the darker specimens. The colour of the tergites is most commonly brown at the lower elevations (Fig. 14B), transitioning to black at the higher elevations, especially above the permanent snow-line (Figs 8A, 14A). Specimens in the Arthur’s Pass region are chequered, unlike other P. montanus but like other Pharmacus species further south (Fig. 8B).
MALE TERMINALIA. Subgenital plate triangular when seen from below; deeper than in all other Pharmacus species when seen from the side (Fig. 10A–C). In a dorsal view, a thin plate or membrane covered in tomentum is attached to the vertex of the triangle. The plate varies in shape from oval (Figs 3D, 8B) to rectangular with rounded corners (Figs 3E, 10A).
FEMALE TERMINALIA. Subgenital plate strongly bilobed, the two rounded lobes long and narrow, separated by a deep V-shaped depression; hairy (Figs 4F–G, 12A). Ovipositor on average 70% of body length, relatively straight, tapering gently at first then more strongly near the apex; lower valve with 5 to 8 strong teeth below at the apex (Fig. 12B–C).
description: Published as part of Hegg, Danilo, Morgan-Richards, Mary & Trewick, Steven A., 2022, High alpine sorcerers: revision of the cave wētā genus Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae: Macropathinae), with the description of six new species and three new subspecies, pp. 1-58 in European Journal of Taxonomy 808 (1) on pages 20-25, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2022.808.1721, http://zenodo.org/record/6419368