Africalolampra stipata Mbia & Ngon & Legendre & Menbohan 2024, comb. nov.
Creators: name: Mbia, Donald-L'or Nyame
name: Ngon, Eric Belmond Biram à
name: Legendre, Frédéric
name: Menbohan, Samuel Foto
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Blattodea
Blaberidae
Africalolampra
Africalolampra stipata

description: Africalolampra stipata (Walker, 1868) comb. nov.
Figs 8–9; Table 3
Epilampra stipata Walker, 1868: 208.
Epilampra stipata – Kirby 1904: 123. — Shelford 1910: 14. — Princis 1958: 63; 1963a: 138. Rhabdoblatta stipata – Weidner 1969: 101. — Kumar 1975: 80.
Material examined
Holotype
REPUBLIC OF GUINEA • ♀; “ holotype; Epilampra stipata Walker ”; BMNH, # BMNH (E)878073 [pictures only].
Additional specimens
REPUBLIC OF GUINEA • 1 ♂; “Nimba (Guinea), 9 Db”; MNHN-EP7593 • 2 ♂♂; “Nimba (Guinée), Yalanzou; II VI 42; M. Lamotte ”; MNHN-EP7594, MNHN-EP7595 • 2 ♀♀; same data as for preceding; MNHN-EP7611, MNHN-EP7612 • 1 ♂, largely damaged; “Nimba (Guinée), Nion; II.VI.42, 1969 1491; M. Lamotte ”; LUHM.
Differential diagnosis and history
This species was described initially by Walker (1868), from what has been initially thought to be a male specimen but later identified as a female (Princis 1958). Princis (1963a) complemented this description and described the male for the first time, with a drawing of the male subgenital plate. He notably underlined the strongly specialized tarsal claws and described the tergal gland located on the first tergite, two characters that are, however, found in several species of Africalolampra. This species differs nonetheless from the congeneric species by the very strong intensity of the specialization of the tarsal claws (males and females), the shape of the subgenital plate (asymmetric, concave on the right side but convex on the left side), and the shape of the male tergal gland (i.e., a pit with two transverse fold-like elevations that meet mesally – Fig. 8D). In addition, we here illustrate its male genitalia (Fig. 9). For females, Kumar (1975) underlined that A. stipata can be distinguished from other species by the following combination of characters: wings fully developed, absence of a median brown longitudinal band on the subgenital plate, its size, and the strongly serrated claws.
Description of male genitalia (Fig. 9)
Left phallomere R complex (L1 of MK64 and R70, and R2+R3+N of G96): cleft between R1T and R2 with large protuberance at its base. Sclerite L2d with its basal sclerite rod-shaped, broader at its base (L1 of G96); apical sclerite of L2d (L2vm of MK64, L2v of R70 and L1 of G96) in two parts, with a rounded sclerite in the hollow of the crescent-like sclerite (visible in caudal view). Sclerite L3 (R2 of MK64, R70, and L2d of PG96) long, with a slender hook deeply bent and a membranous outgrouth (m.o.); inner margin of the basal part of L3 slightly crenulated along most of its length. L4U large, broadly trapezoidal.
Measurements of adults
Male (n = 3): pronotum length ×width: 3.6–4.1 ×4.9–5.3, tegmina length: 15.8–16.5, overall length ×width: 13.1–15.3× 5.4–5.9.
Female (n = 2): pronotum length ×width: 4.1–4.4 ×5.1–5.3, tegmina length: 18.2–18.9, overall length ×width: 16.3–16.5× 6.4–6.6
Habitat
This species has been reported as a water-dwelling cockroach (Weidner 1969).
Distribution
This species is known from Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and the Republic of Guinea (Fig. 1). Details of localities are provided in Table 3.
description: Published as part of Mbia, Donald-L'or Nyame, Ngon, Eric Belmond Biram à, Legendre, Frédéric & Menbohan, Samuel Foto, 2024, Semi-aquatic Epilamprinae cockroaches (Blattodea: Blaberidae) in Cameroon: towards a revision of continental African species of Rhabdoblatta Kirby, 1903 and Africalolampra Roth, 1995, pp. 1-57 in European Journal of Taxonomy 946 (1) on pages 14-19, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2024.946.2615, http://zenodo.org/record/13177205