Pteropera matzkei Yetchom & Husemann 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Yetchom Fondjo, Jeanne Agrippine
name: Nzoko Fiemapong, Armand Richard
name: Tindo, Maurice
name: Duressa, Tarekegn Fite
name: Ivković, Slobodan
name: Husemann, Martin
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Acrididae
Pteropera
Pteropera matzkei

description: Pteropera matzkei Yetchom & Husemann sp. nov.
Fig. 13 A – M
Type material examined.
Holotype. Cameroon • ♂; Somalomo, in the forest along the Dja River; 3 ° 22.448 ' N, 12 ° 43.990 ' E, 602 m a. s. l.; 10 Apr. 2022; J. A. Yetchom Fondjo leg.; SMNK, SMNK - ORTH- 0000002. Paratypes. Cameroon • 1 ♀; Somalomo, in the forest along the Dja River; 3 ° 22.448 ' N, 12 ° 43.990 ' E, 602 m a. s. l.; 10 Apr. 2022; J. A. Yetchom Fondjo leg.; SMNK. Cameroon • 3 ♂♂, 1 ♀; Somalomo, in the Dja Biosphere reserve; 3 ° 22.448 ' N, 12 ° 43.990 ' E, 602 m a. s. l.; 28 Jun. 2022; A. R. Nzoko-Fiemapong leg.; SMNK.
Diagnosis.
The new species Pteropera matzkei sp. nov. is close to Pteropera bertii Donskoff, 1981 (Figs 2 E, F, 7 E, F) from Cameroon, from which it differs by the following characteristics: the entirely yellow coloration of meso- and metathoracic episternites (almost entirely pale in P. bertii); the dark brown coloration of hind femora and dark yellow coloration of front and middle legs, and hind tibiae (front and middle legs, hind femora, and hind tibiae are pale green in P. bertii); male genitalia differ in shape and size of phallic structures with the dorsal arch of the cingulum closed, long, extending beyond the apex of endophallic valves, and overhanging them apically (slightly open, not reaching apex of endophallic valves nor overhanging them in P. bertii); fore apodemes of the female subgenital plate thin, acute (broad, short in P. bertii); and the spermathecal ampulla elongate (broad apically in P. bertii).
Pteropera matzkei sp. nov. differs from Pteropera teocchii Donskoff, 1981 (Figs 6 C, D, 11 A, B) in that the outer area of its hind femora has only one preapical spot (three spots, beginning of spots along the upper margin at the level of the outer spots in P. teocchii); dark yellow coloration of hind tibiae (black in P. teocchii); aedeagus slightly curved, describing less than a semicircle (strongly curved, describing an almost complete circle in P. teocchii); and female spermathecal ampulla elongated (enlarged at the junction of lateral and axial diverticula in P. teocchii).
The new species is also similar to Pteropera verrucigena Karsch, 1891 (Figs 6 G, H, 11 E, F) from which it differs in the following characteristics: a single spot on the outer area of the hind femora, whereas P. verrucigena has three spots; dark yellow coloration of the fore and middle legs and hind tibiae, while the fore and middle legs in P. verrucigena are dark brown dorsally and wine red-colored ventrally, hind tibiae wine red-colored; membranous apex of aedeagus slightly curved, describing less than one semicircle, the tip short, whereas that of P. verrucigena is very curved, describing one semicircle with a long tip; and the dorsal arc of the cingulum is closed, long, extending beyond the apex of endophallic apodemes, whereas in P. verrucigena, the dorsal arc of the cingulum is open, not reaching the apex of endophallic apodemes; female spermathecal ampulla is elongated, whereas that of P. verrucigena is constricted apically.
Description.
Male: Body and legs with inconspicuous hairs; integument moderately rugous dorsally, and smooth ventrally; general coloration dark brown with yellow bands; eyes of medium size; antennae thin, filiform, longer than head and pronotum together, with 21 segments; median subocellar facial spot single or unique; longitudinal median dark band on pronotum disc as wide as adjacent yellow bands, but widened behind the typical groove; basal yellow bands of lateral lobes of pronotum narrowed in front of the second transverse groove, but not interrupted; median carina distinct, crossed dorsolaterally by three sulci; lateral carinae absent; prozona longer than metazona; prosternal process short conical or pyramidal; mesosternal interspace open; meso- and metathoracic episternites entirely yellow; tegmina lobiform, narrow, brown in the lower half and yellow in the upper half, covering the tympanum; wings less developed; fore and middle legs entirely yellow, more or less pale; hind femur almost entirely dark brown, with a pregenicular yellow spot on the external and inner areas; dorsal carinae of hind femora with slight tooth; hind tibiae dark yellow, basal ring absent; external apical spines of the hind tibiae absent; spines on the hind tibiae varying from seven to eight in both external and internal sides; male subgenital plate acute in dorsal view; the pallium and supra-anal plate of male is not raised; the male cerci long, conical, incurved and exceeding beyond the supra-anal plate. Epiphallus (Fig. 13 H): large; bridge narrow, arched; ancorae small, strongly curved, interiorly directed; lateral plates domed, extending back from the bridge; anterior projections triangular. Phallic complex (Fig. 13 I – K): Dorsal arch of cingulum closed, U-shaped, its apical 2 / 3 overlapping with endophallic sclerites; apodemes of the cingulum incurved and extending beyond endophallic apodemes; rami slightly bent; lateroventral sclerites narrow, as high as long; aedeagus of larger size, curved, forming a quarter circle; membranous apex of aedeagus, outside endophallic sheaths, supported by a longitudinal division of upper valve, short, broad; apex of aedeagus with a ridge-like expansions; membranous apex of aedeagus subtriangular, downcurved in lateral view; upper ectophallic sheath not enlarged at its base and tightly molding the aedeagus valves; lower ectophallic sheath broad, capping the base of rami.
Female: As male but larger; cerci short conical; subgenital plate (Fig. 13 L) pentagonal, broad, with rounded posterior margins; anterior apodemes thin, acute; egg-guide broad with acute apex; distal recurrent trunk of lateral spermathecal diverticulum 3 × longer than proximal trunk; spermathecal ampulla elongate; base of spermathecal duct narrow (Fig. 13 M).
Measurements.
Males (mm) (n = 4): total length of body 20.57–21.79; length of pronotum 4.17–4.33; length of hind femur 13.48–13.56; length of elytra 3.90–4.63. Females (mm) (n = 2): total length of body 27.25–28.05; length of pronotum 5.39–5.55; length of hind femur 15.91–16.89; length of elytra 4.95–6.10; length of ovipositor 2.96–3.30. Additional measurement information is shown in Table 1.
Etymology.
The species was named after Mr. Danilo Matzke, an important taxonomist for Dermaptera in Germany for his dedication and scientific contributions to the taxonomy of earwigs.
Habitat.
Dense evergreen forest in the Congo Basin, in the forest along the Dja River.
Distribution.
At present, the species is known only from Somalomo in the Dja Biosphere Reserve, Cameroon (Fig. 17 B).
description: Published as part of Yetchom Fondjo, Jeanne Agrippine, Nzoko Fiemapong, Armand Richard, Tindo, Maurice, Duressa, Tarekegn Fite, Ivković, Slobodan & Husemann, Martin, 2024, Taxonomic review of the grasshopper genus Pteropera Karsch, 1891 (Orthoptera, Acrididea, Catantopinae) with description of three new species and a preliminary phylogeny of the Cameroonian species, pp. 219-264 in ZooKeys 1216 on pages 219-264, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1216.130270