Pteropera missoupi 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 missoupi

description: Pteropera missoupi Yetchom & Husemann sp. nov.
Fig. 14 A – M
Materials examined.
Holotype. Cameroon • ♂; Iboti, in the Ebo forest; 4 ° 27.001 ' N, 10 ° 27.002 ' E, 731 m a. s. l.; 7 Jan. 2022; J. A. Yetchom Fondjo leg.; SMNK, SMNK - ORTH- 0000003. Paratypes. Cameroon • 1 ♂; Ongot; 3 ° 51.517 ' N, 11 ° 22.367 ' E; 20 March 2020; J. A. Yetchom Fondjo leg.; SMNK. Cameroon • 5 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀; Ongot; 3 ° 51.517 ' N, 11 ° 22.367 ' E; 15 Jun. 2020; J. A. Yetchom Fondjo & A. R. Nzoko Fiemapong leg.; SMNK). Cameroon • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; Ongot; 3 ° 51.517 ' N, 11 ° 22.367 ' E; 5 Dec. 2021; J. A. Yetchom Fondjo leg.; SMNK. Cameroon. • 2 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀; Iboti, in the Ebo forest; 4 ° 27.001 ' N, 10 ° 27.002 ' E, 731 m a. s. l.; 7 Jan. 2022; J. A. Yetchom Fondjo leg.; SMNK.
Diagnosis.
Pteropera missoupi sp. nov. differs from Pteropera balachowskyi Donskoff, 1981 (Figs 3 C, D, 8 C, D) in the following features: subocellar facial spot fused, single (divided in P. balachowskyi); dorsal and ventral areas of abdomen yellowish or greenish (brownish in P. balachowskyi); male cerci with a short inner lobe (male cerci simple in P. balachowskyi); male genitalia differ in its U-shaped and close dorsal arch of the cingulum (strongly open in P. balachowskyi); upper ectophallic sheath short, not bent (bent and globular in P. balachowskyi).
The new species is similar to Pteropera jeanninae Donskoff, 1981 (Figs 4 E, F, 9 C, D) from which it differs in that its subocellar facial spot is single (divided into two in P. jeanninae); its meso- and metathoracic episternites are pale (yellowish, conspicuous in P. jeanninae); its hind femur has a pale green internal area, with a yellowish median band extending towards the lower margin (uniformly dark green in P. jeanninae); male genitalia differ in its U-shaped dorsal arch of the cingulum (V-shaped in P. jeanninae); and the upper ectophallic sheath is short, not bent (elongate in P. jeanninae).
The new species is also similar to Pteropera carnapi Ramme, 1929 (Figs 3 A, B, 8 A, B), from which it differs in the following characteristics: meso- and metathoracic episternites are pale (yellow in the middle in P. carnapi); hind tibia dark green (green bluish in P. carnapi); inner lobe of male cerci shorter than the outer one (as long as or longer than the outer lobe in P. carnapi); and male genitalia differ in its U-shaped, close dorsal arch of cingulum enveloping, apodemes reaching the apex of endophallic sclerites (open forward, apodemes not exceeding the point of separation of endophallic valves in P. carnapi).
The new species Pteropera missoupi sp. nov. is similar to Pteropera mirei Donskoff, 1981 (Figs 5 C, D, 10 A, B) from Cameroon in terms of coloration and the shape of the male cercus. However, it can be distinguished from P. mirei by the following characteristics: median subocellar facial spot single not divided in both sexes, but divided in males, sometimes confluent in females of P. mirei; basal pale bands on the lateral lobes of the pronotum narrowed and not interrupted in front of the second transverse groove, but interrupted in P. mirei; and male genitalia differ in the following characteristics: in Pteropera missoupi sp. nov., the two membranous tips at the end of the aedeagus belong to the upper valve, whereas in P. mirei, each of the two membranous tips at the end of the aedeagus belongs to a separate valve. In addition, in Pteropera missoupi sp. nov., the end of the lower tip caps the upper tip, whereas the end of the upper tip caps the lower tip in P. mirei.
Description.
Male: Body and legs with inconspicuous hairs; integument moderately rugous dorsally and smooth ventrally; eyes prominent; antennae thin, filiform, longer than head and pronotum together; large subocellar facial spot fused in a single spot; vertex, dorsal area of pronotum, external upper area of hind femur pale brown; dark longitudinal median band on pronotum disc absent; basal pale band on lateral lobes of pronotum narrowed in front of the second transverse sulcus but not interrupted; prozona longer than metazona; prosternal process conical in its apical part; meso- and metathoracic episternites pale; tegmina lobiform, only slightly reaching the third abdominal segment; mesosternal interspace open; dorsal and ventral area of abdomen yellowish; fore- and middle legs, external and upper inner areas of hind femur dark green; median and lower inner areas of hind femur yellow; knee brownish; hind tibiae dark blue in fresh specimens; male cerci with a short inner lobe; subgenital plate obtusely rounded in dorsal view; pallium and supra-anal plate of male raised. Epiphallus (Fig. 14 H): oval sclerites smaller; ancorae smaller, incurved; lateral margins divergent. Phallic complex (Fig. 14 I – K): dorsal arch of the cingulum U-shaped, close, apodemes only reaching the apex of the endophallic sclerites but not exceeding them; rami bent at an obtuous angle; lateroventral sclerites triangular; zygoma reduced; upper aedeagus valve not bent; upper ectophallic sheath short, not bent; lower ectophallic sheath of smaller size, enveloping the base of the rami; aedeagus short, curved; free end of the aedeagus, outside the ectophallic sheaths, bifid, with broad-sized tips; two membranous tips at the end of the aedeagus belonging to the upper valve; and the end of the lower tip capping the upper tip.
Female: As male but larger; cerci short conical; subgenital plate (Fig. 14 L) subrectangular, with straight anterior margins; anterior apodemes narrow and short; egg-guide thin and long; the recurrent distal trunk of lateral spermathecal diverticulum almost 2.5 × longer than the proximal trunk; spermathecal ampulla narrowed at apex; spermathecal duct very long; the base of the copulatory bursa at least as far from the basivalvar sclerites arc as the distance between them; copulatory bursa straight; the base of the spermathecal duct slightly enlarged; copulatory bursa tapering to mid-height; angle formed by the two basivalvar sclerites rounded (Fig. 14 M).
Measurements.
Males (mm) (n = 8): total length of body 18.97–22.91; length of pronotum 3.95–4.74; length of hind femur 12.65–13.77; length of elytra 3.11–4.27. Females (mm) (n = 7): total length of body 24.41–28.70; length of pronotum 5.14–5.62; length of hind femur 15.43–17.36; length of elytra 4.32–5.40; length of ovipositor 2.28–3.75. Additional measurement information is shown in Table 1.
Etymology.
The species is dedicated to Prof. Alain Didier Missoup in recognition of his work and achievements in the systematic and evolutionary biology of small mammals in Cameroon.
Habitat.
Dense evergreen forests in the Ebo forest; degraded forests and along the forest edges.
Distribution.
Iboti in the Ebo forest; Ongot in the Centre region, Cameroon (Fig. 18 A).
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