Parapetasia rammei Sjostedt 1923
Creators: name: Yetchom Fondjo, Jeanne Agrippine
name: Husemann, Martin
name: Nzoko Fiemapong, Armand Richard
name: Missoup, Alain Didier
name: Kenne, Martin
name: Tindo, Maurice
name: Hawlitschek, Oliver
name: Duressa, Tarekegn Fite
name: Xu, Sheng-Quan
name: Zhu, Wenhui
name: Hemp, Claudia
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Pyrgomorphidae
Parapetasia
Parapetasia rammei

description: Parapetasia rammei Sjöstedt, 1923
Figs 1 C, D, 2 B, E, H, 6 B, E, H, K, 7 B, E, H
Holotype.
Cameroon • ♀; Bare-Dschang, [Stockholm]
Paratypes.
Cameroon • 1 ♂, Bamenda; Adametz S. G. leg.; MfN URL: http://cool.mfn-berlin.de/u/bb659e [MfN]. • 1 ♀; Bangwe; 1000 m; Mitte V-Mitte VI. 99 [mid-May. – mid-Jun. 1999]; G. Conrau S. leg.; MfN URL: http://cool.mfn-berlin.de/u/d4c8af [MfN].
Material examined.
Cameroon. • 1 male; Bamenda; Adametz S. G. leg.; URL: http://cool.mfn-berlin.de/u/bb659e (MfN). • 1 female; Bangwe; 1000 m; Mitte V – Mitte VI. 99 [mid-May. – mid-Jun. 1999]; G. Conrau S. leg.; URL: http://cool.mfn-berlin.de/u/d4c8af (MfN). • 1 female; Fotouni, West; 5.362°N, 10.246°E; 15 Jun. 2020; J. A. Yetchom Fondjo; SMNK; CMJ 678. • 1 female; Fotouni, West; 5.362°N, 10.246°E; 13 Aug. 2020; J. A. Yetchom Fondjo leg.; SMNK; CMJ 61. • 2 males, 2 females; Fotouni, West; 5.362°N, 10.246°E; 16 Jan. 2021; J. A. Yetchom Fondjo; SMNK; CMJ 679. • 1 female; Fotouni, West; 5.362°N, 10.246°E; 14 Mar. 2022; J. A. Yetchom Fondjo; SMNK; CMJ 63. • 2 females; Fotouni, West; 5.362°N, 10.246°E; 15 Mar. 2022; J. A. Yetchom Fondjo; SMNK; CMJ 64.
Redescription.
Male. Body: robust, depressed, with strongly rugose and tuberculated integument. Head (Fig. 2 B, E, H): acutely conical; fastigium of vertex slightly curved upwards, flat, slightly concave in basal part, distinctly triangular and narrowing toward apex; antennae thick, shorter than head and pronotum together, with short transverse or subtransverse segments, the last apical segment being distinctly longer than others. Thorax (Fig. 2 E, H): pronotum with large inflation in front of first sulcus, strongly and intensely rugose with more pointed tubercles; median carinae interrupted, lateral carinae absent; inferior margins of lateral lobes of pronotum straight; prozona shorter than metazona; posterior margin of metazona slightly emarginate in the middle; prosternal process very short, subacute; mesosternal interspace wider than long. Legs (Figs 1 D, 2 E, H): hind femur slender, its external area not expanded; upper-median margin of hind femora distinctly raised; obliquely expanded area at the base of hind femur strongly pronounced; external apical spine of hind tibiae present; hind tarsal segments not elongate. Elytra (Fig. 1 D, 2 E, H): less reticulated, shortened or brachypterous, oval, semilobed, reaching dorsally the third abdominal tergite, anterior margins rather curved, with very broadly rounded posterior margins. Abdomen (Figs 1 D, 2 E, H): often annulated; abdominal tergites each with a trigonal medio-dorsal tubercle; male subgenital plate compressed toward apex above, margins slightly incised, parallel; male supra-anal plate conical; male cerci (Fig. 7 B) conical, straight. Epiphallus (Fig. 6 B): bridge narrow, its anterior margin curved emarginate, posterior margin almost straight; anterior projections small; lateral plates oblique or divergent, its external margins fairly expanded; appendices of epiphallus narrow, subparallel, with apical lobes having only broader terminal processes, smaller processes absent, attached marginally to the basal part of external expansion of lateral plates, lying marginally to the external expansion of lateral plates; lophi very small or short, slightly curved, and anteriorly directed with acute apex. Ectophallus (Fig. 6 E, H, K): central membrane fairly narrow, subtriangular, marked at its lateral margins by furrows; zygoma broadly transverse, not extending halfway along the cingulum; suprazygomal plate rather U-shaped, slightly shorter than the zygoma; apodemal plates strongly produced ventrally, the apices fairly close to each other; valves of cingulum of smaller size, narrow, divergent in dorsal view; rami of cingulum narrow in dorsal view; dorsal cleft of cingulum large, ventral cleft narrow; suprarami well developed, large; sheats of moderate size, the inner margins separated from each other; ventral process of cingulum broadly triangular, slender, almost exceeding beyond endophallic apodemes in ventral view; basal emargination of cingulum very deep; Endophallus (Fig. 6 E, H, K): endophallic apodemes of medium size, strongly produced forwards ventrally, exceeding beyond the basal emargination of cingulum; aedeagal valves small, short with button-like apices, with ventrolaterally directed process in its distal part; aedeagal sclerites narrow and of moderate size; pseudoarch small; spermatophore sac small, ovoid, not extending beyond the lateral limits of endophallic apodemes; gonopore at the middle.
Female. Similar to male but larger. Abdomen (Fig. 7 E): ovipositor valves large, not sinuate; subgenital plate without carina, narrowed posteriorly, slightly emarginate at apex; egg guide prominent, conical, and slightly elongated; median longitudinal groove of genital chamber slender. Genitalia (Fig. 7 H): spermatheca thick, lacking an apical pocket, with a laminated appearance in the apical part; spermatheca duct short, secondary diverticulum of spermathecal appendage of varying shape.
Color. Predominantly grayish; eyes red dark or entirely black in adults; labium, labrum, and mandibles red; hind knee entirely black in adults; elytra yellow-brown with brown veins; cerci yellowish or blackish; abdominal segments all separated by red lines; lower external, lower internal, mid internal, and upper internal hind femoral areas bright black.
Female. Pronotum testaceous brown with blood-like colored tubercles, more or less blackish below; antennae and legs reddish brown, more or less outlined with red; the outer-medial and upper-external area slightly variegated with yellowish brown, the margins more or less red, the tips of the femora black; hind tibiae all reddish brown, sometimes outlined with a blood-like color.
Male. Apex of antennae, apical 2 / 3 of hind tibiae, and ankles with blood-like colored tubercles; margin of vertex, lower part of antennae, fore and median femora, upper-external and medio-external areas of hind femora, anterior and median tibiae, and basal part of hind tibiae marked with yellow, especially on ribs.
Nymph with entirely black antennae, hind knees completely yellow.
Measurements.
Male. Body length 32.83–35.37 mm; Female. Body length 43.22–49.73 mm. Adult individuals of P. rammei exhibit very large size variations in both sexes (Table 1).
Geographical distribution.
Parapetasia rammei (as shown in Fig. 8) is limited to Cameroon. The species has been primarily observed in highland zones and grass fields, specifically in Bare-Dschang (the type locality), Bamenda, Bangwe, Fotouni, and Mt. Manengouba.
Ecology.
Parapetasia rammei is typically associated with highland ecosystems. The species is commonly found on bare ground, low vegetation, and sometimes on shrubs in open vegetation, such as cultivated farms and fallows, as well as in steppe habitats. In its natural habitat, it can be observed throughout the year, with adults being particularly abundant during the rainy season. Nymphs are more commonly found during this period as well. Foamy secretions on tergites 7 and 8 are notable characteristics of the species and are also common in other pyrgomorphid species.
description: Published as part of Yetchom Fondjo, Jeanne Agrippine, Husemann, Martin, Nzoko Fiemapong, Armand Richard, Missoup, Alain Didier, Kenne, Martin, Tindo, Maurice, Hawlitschek, Oliver, Duressa, Tarekegn Fite, Xu, Sheng-Quan, Zhu, Wenhui & Hemp, Claudia, 2024, Integrative taxonomic revision of the grasshopper genera Parapetasia Bolívar, 1884, and Loveridgacris Rehn, 1954 (Orthoptera, Pyrgomorphidae), with description of a new species of Loveridgacris, pp. 265-287 in Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 71 (2) on pages 265-287, DOI: 10.3897/dez.71.125877