Eurycorypha pseudovaria Hemp 2017, n. sp.
Creators: name: Hemp, Claudia
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Phaneropteridae
Eurycorypha
Eurycorypha pseudovaria

description: Eurycorypha pseudovaria n. sp.
(Figs. 21–23)
http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: Orthoptera.speciesfile.org:TaxonName:500282
Holotype male. Tanzania, West Usambara Mountains, Lutindi Mental Hospital, submontane forest, 1250 m, February 2015. Depository MfN. Paratype. One female, same data as holotype but March 2016, depository MfN. Further paratype material studied: All Tanzania. 1 female, West Usambara Mountains, Lutindi Mental Hospital, submontane forest, 1250 m, March 2016; 4 females, East Usambara Mountains, Nilo Forest Reserve, Febuary 2016, April 2016. 1 male, East Usambara Mountains, Zigi Trail, November 2015. 1 male, 3 females, same data as holotype but March and August 2016 (CH 8293, 8292, 8294). 2 males (CH 8290, 8291), 4 females, East Usambara Mountains, Nilo Forest Reserve, March, April and August 2016. 1 male, 6 females, East Usambara Mountains, Nilo Forest Reserve, reared from nymphs, March–May 2017. 2 females, East Usambara Mountains, Amani Nature Reserve, February 2017. Collection C. Hemp.
Description. Male. General habitus & colour. Uniformly green and shiny (Fig. 21 A) to dark green with veins whitish and thus forming contrasting net on dark green ground (21 C). Head and antennae: Scapus green, remaining part of antennae dark; very thin and reaching tips of folded tegmina. Fastigium of vertex more than three times as wide as scapus of antenna; fastigium of vertex meeting equally broad fastigium of frons along horizontal line with shallow median sulcus; face with callous frontogenal carinae interrupted about midway by sulcus. Eyes typical for Eurycorypha, elongate and oval, green with white and brownish fasciae so that eyes are striped and often with numerous white dots (colour pattern fading in preserved individuals). Yellowish line starting on head and running through upper part of eyes over lateral sides of pronotal disc of pronotum in most individuals present. Thorax: Pronotum with well developed lateral carinae with almost smooth surface; anterior margin of pronotum shallowly and evenly curved inwards, posterior margin broadly rounded. Wings: Both pairs of wings fully developed; tegmina elongated with broad rounded posterior margin, about 2.5 times as long as broad. Alae shiny with green area near tips which surpass tegmina when folded. Legs: Fore coxa with short slightly curved spine. Fore tibiae with open tympanum and without dorsal spines on fore and mid femora. Fore femora with 5 outer ventral dark spines, mid femora with 6 outer ventral dark spines and hind femora with 6 very stout and short spines getting longer distally. Hind tibiae, as typical for most Eurycorypha, with three slender apical spurs on each side. Abdomen: Green to yellowish-green without any pattern. Last abdominal tergite with almost straight posterior margin, with median depression and thus lateral prominent edges. Cerci slender, slightly incurved with sclerotized ridge at apex (Fig. 22 A). Subgenital plate longish with v-shaped incision at posterior margin and tiny styli (Fig. 22 C).
Female. As male but with slightly broader tegmina and thus with more rounded compact body shape (Fig. 21 B). Ovipositor well developed and curved up-wards (Fig. 23 A). Subgenital plate triangular with v-shaped incision at posterior margin (Fig. 22 B, 23 B). Lateral beside subgenital plate bi-dentate processes present (Fig. 23 B). Cerci stout, at tips incurved.
Measurements (mm). Male (N = 6). Body length 15.9–19.7. Median length of pronotum 4.2–4.5. Posterior femur length 13.5–14.7. Length of tegmina 25.5–28.5. Width of tegmina 8.4–9.8.
Measurements (mm). Female (N = 6). Body length 19.2–20.1. Median length of pronotum 4.5–4.8. Posterior femur length 15.5–16.5. Length of tegmina 30.3–31.3. Width of tegmina 10.7–12.1.
Nymphs. L1–L2 nymphs resemble black ants; from L3 onwards nymphs are more and more like adults gaining more green colour. L4 (Fig. 21 D) and L5 stages are already very similar to the adult, the ant-like behaviour has changed to seeking camouflage rather that fidgeting around like an ant. The nymphs were reared on strawberry leaves.
Diagnosis. Very similar to E. varia from the Mts Meru / Kilimanjaro area. Morphological differences are small, found only in the genitalic system. The cerci in male E. varia end in a pointed sclerotized tip (Fig. 24 A) with 1–2 small dents while in E. pseudovaria n. sp. the tips of the cerci wear a transverse sclerotized ridge (Fig. 22 A). Differences are also found in the male subgenital plates. In E. varia the subgenital plate is broader over its length while in E. pseudovaria n. sp. the subgenital plate is narrowing more strongly towards its apex. The posterior margin in E. varia is evenly rounded inwardly (Fig. 24 B), the tiny styli are inserted directly laterally at the margins. In E. pseudovaria the posterior margin of the subgenital plate is v-shaped incised forming thus two lateral processes at which ends the tiny styli are inserted (Fig. 22 C).
Bioacoustically the songs of E. varia and E. pseudovaria n. sp. differ extremely thus also supporting species status (Heller et al., in prep.).
The females can be distinguished by comparing the subgenital plates. E. pseudovaria n. sp. has a triangular subgenital plate with a v-shaped incised posterior margin (Fig. 23 B) while the apex in E. varia forms two shallow and broadly rounded lobes (Fig. 24 C). In E. varia lateral beside the subgenital at the ovipositor base two slender processes or finger-like projections are formed (Fig 24 C) while in E. pseudovaria n. sp. stout bi-dentate structures are located; the bi-dentate structures of E. pseudovaria n. sp. are often marked in reddish-brown colour in the living insect (Fig. 22 B).
Habitat. Lowland wet to submontane forest.
Etymology. Morphologically similar to Eurycorypha varia therefore – pseudovaria.
Distribution. Tanzania, West and East Usambara Mountains (Lutindi Forest Reserve, Zigi and Amani Nature Reserves; Nilo Forest Reserve).
description: Published as part of Hemp, Claudia, 2017, New Eurycorypha species (Orthoptera: Tettigonoidea: Phaneropteridae; Phaneropterinae from East Africa, pp. 471-493 in Zootaxa 4358 (3) on pages 487-491, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4358.3.5, http://zenodo.org/record/1068743