Cooloolagraecia gubbi Rentz, Su and Ueshima 2021, Gen. et sp. nov.
Creators: name: Rentz, Dcf
name: Su, You Ning
name: Ueshima, Norihiro
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Tettigoniidae
Cooloolagraecia
Cooloolagraecia gubbi

description: Cooloolagraecia gubbi Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov.
ANIC number Gen. Nov. 30, sp. 3
(Fig. 1G; Fig. 16 A-I; Fig. 20 J; 22b C; Table 2, Map 4)
Common name. Gubbi-Gubbi Wallum Katydid
Type species: Cooloolagraecia gubbi Rentz, Su and Ueshima Gen. et sp. nov., here designated.
Holotype male. 1. “ 25.59S 153.04E Searys Ck., 2km N. of Camp Milo, Cooloola Nat. Park, QLD. 24.x.1978 D. C. F. Rentz & J. Balderson, Stop 127”. 2. “ D. C. F. Rentz Cytol. prep. 78-167” 3. Series on Xanthorrhoea flowers”. 4. “ ANIC database #14008755”. Holotype in Australian National Insect Collection, Canberra. Paratypes. Queensland. 25.59S 153.04E Seary’s Ck., 2km N. of Camp Milo, Cooloola Nat. Park, QLD. 24.x.1978 D. C. F. Rentz & J. Balderson, Stop 127, 8 males, Cytol. prep. 78-164; 6 females, ANIC).
Measurements. Table 2
Type locality. The type locality is the same as that for C. wallum p. 20.
Differential diagnosis. Body shape robust to slender (Fig. 16A), small size for genus (Table 2). Colour of most specimens similar, dorsal stripe strong and present on all specimens. Head. Very strongly slanting, produced well in front of pronotum (Figs 16A, B); frons smooth, shining, without any trace of sculpture; with a large dark brown or black triangular patch; fastigium of vertex short, with broad median sulcus; eye prominent, positioned high and well in front of head; median ocellus small but distinct, lateral ocelli absent. Fastigium of vertex short, conical, dorsal surface with a broad longitudinal sulcus. Antennal scape produced dorsally on internal margin, dark brown on anterior surface, posterior surface much lighter, remainder of body dark yellow brown (Fig. 16A); eye dark (Fig. 16A) or with golden dorsal portion (Fig. 16B). Tegmina (Fig. 16G) of both sexes similar, short, overlapping, protruding from pronotum for a distance much less than half the length of pronotum.
Female. Females with tenth tergite with as feeble V-shaped median indentation; subgenital plate broader than long, lateral projections thick; ovipositor falcate, apically unarmed. and without internal venation, stridulatory vein very faint. Thorax. Pronotum smooth except for central region of minute pits, no carinae; lateral lobes very shallow. Ventral margin concave, surface minutely rugulose, lateral lobe with a swelling over auditory foramen; anterior margin of disk straight to very feebly concave, posterior margin truncate; posterior margin of lateral lobes indented. Thoracic auditory foramen elongate, slanting cephalically, almost completely concealed by pronotum. Prothorax unarmed; mesothorax bearing a small tooth on each side of lateral margin; metathorax unarmed. Legs. Legs of normal length. Fore coxa with a short tooth. Foreleg with femur armed on anterior margin of ventral surface with 3 minute teeth, these positioned in distal one-third; tibia unarmed dorsally, ventral surface with 5 spines on each side. Midleg with femur laterally compressed, armed ventrally similar to fore femur but spines or teeth much larger; tibia unarmed dorsally, ventral surface armed as in fore tibia. Hind leg with femur extending to or slightly beyond apex of abdomen at rest, ventral surface armed with 4 or 5 spines on external surface, internal surface unarmed; tibia with many spines dorsally and ventrally, apex armed dorsally and ventrally with one pair of spurs. Genicular lobes of all femora armed on both sides with small spines, those of middle femur often minute. Tegmina. Tegmina represented as small pads, mostly concealed by pronotum, with an expended costal region, with 2 prominent elongate veins,?subcosta and media, other veins reticulate, heavy (Fig. 16G); stridulatory area with mirror triangular Abdomen. Tenth tergite with shallow median incision. Male cercus very robust (Figs 16 C-E) apically broad, indented dorsally; tenth tergite with a shall median indentation; subgenital plate (Fig. 16H) about as broad as long, styles very short, shorter than length of one side of medial indentation. Phallic complex (Fig. 16F) with lightly sclerotised membranous area at base of arms with a circular area on each side (Fig. 16I); arms slender, convergent to slightly beyond the middle then divergent, the arms at this point splayed.
Female. Differs from male only in slightly larger size (Table 2) and aspects of external genitalia. Cerci elongate; subgenital plate broad basally, apex with short, stout lateral projections; ovipositor short (Table 2).
Colouration. Overall colour brown or yellow brown, frons dark brown to black (Figs 16A, B). Head with eye golden with dark median stripe (Fig. 16B); scape and pedicel of antenna darker anteriorly than posteriorly, flagellum light brown, not annulate; vertex light brown, central portion of occiput with a darker brown patch; abdomen bearing a dark brown median longitudinal stripe; thorax with pronotum brown, with some faint mottling; meso- and metathorax dark brown to black. Ovipositor slightly darker dorsally but this is variable.
21 Named in honour of the long-suffering Gubbi people, an indigenous group native to south-eastern Queensland. They are now considered in one of the Muri language groups.
Measurements. Table 2
Distribution. Known only from Seary’s Creek, Cooloola National Park, Qld, (Map 4).
Habitat. Found feeding at night on the flowering Xanthorrhoea. It was noted that the katydids “mouthed” the flowers, apparently feeding on the pollen and nectar but not otherwise damaging the flowers. This species seemed sensitive to torch-light and retreated to the opposite side of the flowers when exposed to the light.
Seasonal occurrence. Found only in October.
Stridulatory file. (Fig. 20J). File consists of a long, thin, arching band of closely spaced teeth, (Fig. 20J). The teeth are slightly broader than those of C. wallum and number around 100.
Song. We have no sound recordings of this species.
Karyotype. 2n male =29 (2m + 26t +xm). Fig. 22b C Upper karyotype, lower left first metaphase with x, middle 2 nd metaphase with x, right 2 nd metaphase without x.
Comments. This species was common at the time of its original collection in the wallum. After dark individuals ascended the flowering stalk of Xanthorrhoea and fed on pollen and nectar but did not damage the flowers (Fig. 16A). Both Cooloolagraecia species were observed carefully mouthing the anthers and not damaging the floral parts. The katydids had pollen on their bodies and, therefore, have the potential to be pollinators of the food plant. (Rentz Fieldnotes, ANIC, 1978). Other katydids feeding on the Xanthorrhoea included Zaprochilus australis (Brullé) as well as C. wallum. However, C. gubbi katydids were restricted to the flowering plants along the meadow lowlands of the wallum close to water. C. wallum seemed to be more generally distributed in the habitat. Also noted was that the Zaprochilus katydids fed on the entire flower, destroying petals, and anthers as well as imbibing the nectar.
C. gubbi is placed in Cooloolagraecia based on the similarity of body structure, especially the tegmina, prosternal armature and the make phallic complex. That the two species occur together at the same habitat at the same time of the years is unusual but not unique.
description: Published as part of Rentz, Dcf, Su, You Ning & Ueshima, Norihiro, 2021, Studies in Australian Tettigoniidae: New short-winged Agraeciini from Australia (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae; Conocephalinae; Agraeciini), pp. 1-72 in Zootaxa 5059 (2) on pages 29-30, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5059.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5602508