Paraphasma
Creators: name: Chiquetto-Machado, Pedro I.
name: Morales, Adriana C.
name: Cancello, Eliana M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Phasmida
Pseudophasmatidae
Paraphasma

description: Key to the species of Paraphasma
Males
1. Anterior region of subgenital plate with a pair of lateral projections, sometimes covered by tergite IX (Fig. 41B,D: arrows; Fig. 45E: arrowhead)..................................................................................... 2
- Anterior region of subgenital plate without lateral projections (Figs 3, 8, 12, 21, 27, 31, 36).......................... 3
2. Tegmina with apical margin distinctly acuminate and shoulder pads developed into large, triangular, somewhat dull spines (Fig. 40); anterior region of subgenital plate with a pair of large, digitiform lateral projections surpassing the posterior margin of tergite IX (Fig. 41B,D: arrows); posterior margin of subgenital plate acuminate (Fig. 41B,C)... Paraphasma trianguliferum
- Tegmina with apical margin rounded and shoulder pads developed into sharp spines (Fig. 44); anterior region of subgenital plate with a pair of small, approximately styliform lateral projections entirely covered by tergite IX (Fig. 45E: arrowhead); posterior margin of subgenital plate truncate in lateral view and V-shaped in caudal view (Fig. 45B,D).................................................................................................... Paraphasma umbretta
3. Posterolateral regions of tergite X with a pair of spiniform projections (Fig. 36B–D: arrows); cerci strongly incurved, with acuminate apex (Fig. 36A–D); posterior margin of subgenital plate acuminate (Fig. 36B,C)..................................................................................................... Paraphasma spinicauda sp. nov.
- Tergite X without spiniform projections; cerci straight or slightly incurved, with spatulate apex (Figs 3, 8, 12, 21, 27, 31); posterior margin of subgenital plate truncate, laterally forming a pair of approximately triangular expansions with malleable aspect (Figs 3, 8, 12, 21, 27, 31: arrows)................................................................... 4
4. Apex of cerci internally concave (Figs 12, 31); in the phallic organ, sclerite of the ventral lobe restricted to the central region of the inner face of the ventral lobe, bearing two rounded protuberances (Figs 14, 32, in green)......................... 5
- Apex of cerci not concave (Figs 3, 8, 21, 27); in the phallic organ, sclerite of the ventral lobe covering the entire inner face of the ventral lobe and slightly reaching the outer face, bearing one to three protuberances (Figs 4, 9, 22, 28, in green)....... 6
5. In the phallic organ, sclerite of the ventral lobe roughly oval in dorsal view, with the right protuberance directed anteriorly and the left one directed caudally (Fig. 14, in green)............................................. Paraphasma laterale
- In the phallic organ, sclerite of the ventral lobe oblong in dorsal view, with the two protuberances positioned side by side and projected towards each other (Fig. 32, in green).................................... Paraphasma sooretama sp. nov.
6. Tegmina shoulder pads spiniform or dull; in the phallic organ, sclerite of the ventral lobe bearing three protuberances (i.e., apical, left basal and right basal protuberances), all of them undivided (Figs 22, 28: ap, lp, rp)........................ 7
- Tegmina shoulder pads spiniform; in the phallic organ, sclerite of the ventral lobe bearing one or two protuberances (right basal protuberance absent) (Fig. 4: ap, lp; Fig. 9: lp), with the left basal one partially or completely divided in two............ 8
7. Tegmina shoulder pads spiniform or dull; in the phallic organ, sclerite of the ventral lobe roughly triangular in dorsal view, with somewhat acuminate posterior margin (Fig. 28B), and with the three protuberances blunt and conspicuous (Fig. 28: ap, lp, rp).................................................................................... Paraphasma minus
- Tegmina shoulder pads dull; in the phallic organ, sclerite of the ventral lobe roughly semicircular in dorsal view, with rounded posterior margin (Fig. 22B), and with the three protuberances as follows: apical protuberance large and rounded (Fig. 22: ap), left basal one strongly protruding (Fig. 22: lp), and right basal one inconspicuous, restricted to a gentle bulge (Fig. 22: rp)................................................................................... Paraphasma marginale
8. In the phallic organ, sclerite of the ventral lobe bearing two protuberances: the apical one, which is narrow and elongate (Fig. 4: ap), and the left basal one, which is rounded and partially divided in two (approximately saddle-shaped) (Fig. 4: lp).................................................................................... Paraphasma conspersum
- In the phallic organ, sclerite of the ventral lobe bearing only the left basal protuberance (Fig. 9: lp), which is divided into two regions, the anterior larger and approximately lamellate, and the posterior small and rounded................................................................................................... Paraphasma indistinctum sp. nov.
Females
1. Praeopercular organ strongly pronounced, developed into a distinct bulge with blunt apex, sometimes surpassing the posterior margin of sternite VII (Fig. 38G,H)............................................ Paraphasma spinicauda sp. nov.
- Praeopercular organ fairly discreet (Fig. 5F,G, 23F,G, 33G, 47F,G), developed into a small, longitudinal protuberance not surpassing the posterior margin of sternite VII.............................................................. 2
2. Tegmina with apical margin distinctly acuminate and shoulder pads developed into large, triangular, somewhat dull spines (Fig. 42A–C); combined length of metathorax and median segment about 2.5x the length of mesothorax.................................................................................................. Paraphasma trianguliferum
- Tegmina with apical margin rounded or weakly acuminate and shoulder pads developed into sharp spines or dull protuberances (Figs 5C,D, 10D, 23D, 29C, 33D, 47D); combined length of metathorax and median segment at most 2x the length of mesothorax......................................................................................... 3
3. Posterior margin of sternite VII straight; tegmina shoulder pads spiniform (Fig. 47A,D); body lacking the pair of light lateral stripes extending along head, prothorax, mesothorax and costal region of tegmina and hind wings (Figs 47A–D, 49)......................................................................................... Paraphasma umbretta
- Posterior margin of sternite VII with a rounded indentation; tegmina shoulder pads spiniform or dull; body with a pair of light lateral stripes extending along head, prothorax, mesothorax and costal region of tegmina and hind wings (Figs 15C, 19A, 23B, 25, 33B,D)......................................... Paraphasma conspersum, Paraphasma indistinctum sp. nov., Paraphasma laterale, Paraphasma marginale, Paraphasma minus, Paraphasma sooretama sp. nov. (examination of the male is necessary for distinguishing among these species)
description: Published as part of Chiquetto-Machado, Pedro I., Morales, Adriana C. & Cancello, Eliana M., 2022, Taxonomic revision of Paraphasma Redtenbacher, 1906 (Phasmatodea, Pseudophasmatidae) based on phallic and external morphology, pp. 1-80 in Zootaxa 5122 (1) on pages 68-69, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5122.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/6399540