Amyttosa insectivora Naskrecki, 2008, n. sp.
Creators: name: Naskrecki, Piotr
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2008
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Tettigoniidae
Amyttosa
Amyttosa insectivora

description: Amyttosa insectivora n. sp.
(Figs. 1G–K; 4H, R; 5D, E; 7G)
Differential diagnosis. This species is most closely related to A. mutillata (Karsch), but can be distinguished by the combination of a unique shape of the male cercus (Fig. 1I –K), the length of the tegmina (tegmina clearly exceeding apices of hind knees in A. mutillata, not reaching the hind knees in A. insectivora), and the shape of the female subgenital plate (subgenital plate with two elongate, apical lobes in A. mutillata.) From A. nimbana Chopard it differs in the shape of the male cerci (cercus straight and strongly narrowed apically in A. nimbana), and from A. brevipennis Beier this new species differs in the development of wings (in A. brevipennis tegmina do not reach the middle of the abdomen) and the shape of the male cerci.
Description.
General. Body small, relatively robust; macropterous (Fig. 7 G).
Head. Fastigium of vertex triangular, blunt apically, not reaching apex of antennal sockets, flat dorsally; antennae about twice as long as body; frons flat, vertical; eyes circular, weakly protruding.
Thorax. Lateral lobe about as long as wide; humeral sinus of pronotum absent; anterior margin of pronotum flat; metazona weakly convex; posterior edge of metazona narrowly rounded.
Legs. Legs slender. Front tibia unarmed dorsally, with 5 spines on posterior and 4 on anterior ventral margin; tympanum bilaterally open; genicular lobes of front femur unarmed; front femur unarmed ventrally. Mid tibia unarmed dorsally; thickened in proximal 3/4. with 4 spines on posterior and 5 on anterior ventral margin; mid femur unarmed ventrally; genicular lobes of mid femur unarmed. Hind femur unarmed ventrally; genicular lobes of hind femur unarmed.
Wings. Tegmen slightly surpassing apex of abdomen but not reaching apex of hind femur; anterior margin straight; hind wing slightly longer than tegmen. Costal field wide, evenly narrowing towards wing tip; veins Sc and R slightly diverging towards apex of tegmen; vein Rs branching off in middle of tegmen, with 2 apical branches; right stridulatory area with small but well developed mirror; left stridulatory area with small, roughly rectangular mirror (Fig. 4 R). Stridulatory file elevated on thickened vein, straight, with 73 teeth, very short, only 0.27 mm long, 0.03 mm wide (Fig. 4H).
Abdomen. Tenth tergite with posterior edge sclerotized, slightly raised, and with small, triangular incision. Cercus with large, flat, almost rectangular inner lobe, bent inwards; apex slightly flattened dorso-ventrally (FigS. 1I, J); paraprocts forming large, paired structure, with upper, bulbous, and lower, finger-like parts (Fig. 1K); epiphallus not sclerotized. Subgenital plate unmodified, broadly trapezoidal and slightly convex apically; styli cylindrical, about 4 times as long as wide, parallel (Fig. 1I). Female subgenital plate wide, with broad, shallow apical incision (Fig. 1H).
Ovipositor. Ovipositor strongly reduced; straight, only as long as 1/4 of hind femur; apex blunt, with both valvulae smooth, dorsal edge of upper valvula convex in middle (Fig. 1G, H).
Egg. Egg nearly spherical one end slightly flattened), about 1mm in diameter, with paired, collar-like capitula on both ends; chorion densely reticulate, its surface covered with regularly distributed, small tubercles (Figs. 5 D, E).
Coloration. Coloration light green; antennae with dark annulation; eyes uniformly colored; face without darker markings; occiput without markings; pronotum without markings; prozona green; tegmen without markings; without any markings; hind wing hyaline; hind legs uniformly colored; abdominal sterna and subgenital plate without markings.
Measurements (2 males, 6 females). body w/wings: male 16, female 17.5–20.5 (18.6±1.3); body w/o wings: male 14, female 15–17.5 (16.4±.9); pronotum: male 5, female 4.5–5.5 (5±.3); tegmen: male 11–11.5 (11.3±.4), female 12.3–15.5 (13.6±1.4); hind femur: male 10.5–11.5 (11±.7), female 10.5–14 (12±1.5); ovipositor: 2.5–4.5 (3.3±.8) mm.
Material examined. GHANA: Eastern Region, Atewa Range, Asiakwa, main road, elev. 817 m (6°15'.7''N, 0°33'53.7''W), 7–11.xii. 2007, coll. P. Naskrecki, V. Awotwe-Pratt and N. Jengre - 1 male (holotype) (ANSP), 3 females (paratypes) (ANSP, MCZ); Asiakwa (North), elev. 769 m (6°16'16.4''N, 0°33'52.8''W), 16–24.vi. 2006, coll. P. Naskrecki (Camp 3) - 1 female (paratype) (MCZ); Asiakwa (South), elev. 690 m (6°15'44.3''N, 0°33'18.8''W), 11–16.vi. 2006, coll. P. Naskrecki (Camp 2) - 8 females, 2 males (incl. 9 paratypes) (ANSP, MCZ); Atiwiredu, elev. 795 m (6°12'24.7''N, 0°34'37.2''W), 6–10.vi. 2006, coll. P. Naskrecki (Camp 1) - 1 female (paratype) (MCZ); Ajenjua Bepo Forest Reserve, elev. 300–320 m (6°22'2.3''N, 1°1'58''W), 26–30.viii. 2006, coll. P. Naskrecki, V. Awotwe-Pratt and M. Bakowski (Camp 1) - 1 female; Mamang Forest Reserve, elev. 130 m (6°15'1.4''N, 1°2'25.4''W), 30.viii. – 5.ix. 2006, coll. P. Naskrecki, V. Awotwe-Pratt and M. Bakowski (Camp 2) - 1 female (paratype) (MCZ).
Etymology. Named after the insectivorous feeding behavior of this species.
description: Published as part of Naskrecki, Piotr, 2008, New species of arboreal predatory katydids from West Africa (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Meconematinae), pp. 1-28 in Zootaxa 1732 on pages 9-10, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.181351