Luridiblatta cyprica Bohn 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Bohn, Horst
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Blattodea
Ectobiidae
Luridiblatta
Luridiblatta cyprica

description: 8. Luridiblatta cyprica, sp. nov.
Figs. 2E, 4B,C, 5C,D, 6B, 25A–L, 26A–D, 27A,B, 28A–E, 33E–G, 34G–K, 35G,H, 43
Diagnosis. In the male sex distinguished from the preceding species by a further specialised hook having a strongly enlarged crest with two antlerlike processes; from L. beybienkoi and L. graeca, which have the same type of hook, in both sexes distinguishd by the shape of the mesal dark stripe of the pronotum, female moreover by the slight, but distinctly convex apex of the tegmina.
Etymology. The name of the species refers to its—presumably exclusive—occurrence on the island Cyprus.
Material studied. Type material. Holotype, ♂, ex L, CYPRUS, Moni Agiou Neofytou, N Pafos, 450 m, 15.V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (completely on two slides: Cy 18/1). (Coll. Bohn, ZSMC).
Addional material. CYPRUS. ex L: 1♂, 6L, Ieoron Apollonos, near Episkopi (W Lemesos), 100 m, 11. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (slide: ♂, Cy 4/1); ex L: 1♂, 2♀, 4L, 1 km E Moni Agiou Nikolaou (E Akrotiri), 0 m, 11. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (slides: ♂, Cy 5/1; ♀, Cy 5/2); ex L: 1L, Pentadactylus Range, E slope of Mt. Kyprissavouni (= Alemdag), N 35°19’05” / E 33°07’01”, 870 m, 12. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (Cy 8); ex L: 1♂, 1♀, Pentadactylus Range, 3.5 km SE Agios Illarion (near Kyrenia = Girne), 350 m, 13. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (slides: ♂, Cy 11/1; ♀, Cy 11/2); ex L: 2L, Pentadactylus Range, Vouno–Moni Panagias Apsinthiotissas (N Lefkosia), 400 m, 13. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (Cy 13); ex L: 10L, Pentadactylus Range, 3.5 km N Kythrea (= Deǧirmenlik), 300 m, 14. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (Cy 14); ex L: 2♂, 2♀, 1L, Region of Pentadactylus Range, 2 km E Agios Dimitrianos, near Agios Amvrosios (E Kyrenia = Girne), N 35°21’01” / E 33°35’40, 50 m, 14. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (slides: ♂, Cy 16/1; ♀, Cy 16/2); ex L: 4♂, 4♀, Kantara Forest, Pass btw. Flamoudi (= Mersinlik) & Ardana (= Ardahan), 450 m, 14. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (slides: ♂, Cy 17/1; ♀, Cy 17/2,3); 1L, Moni Agiou Neofytou, N Pafos, 450 m, 15. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (Cy 18); ex L: 3♂, 1♀, 8L, Tilliria, Gialia (10 km NE Polis), 150 m, 15. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (slides: ♂, Cy 20/1; ♀, Cy 20/3; L, Cy 20/2); ex L: 2L, Troodos Mts., 3 km N Kalapanagiotis, 400 m, 17. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (Cy 22); ex L: 3♂, 1L, Troodos Mts., Adelphi Forest, Panagia (Peristerona– Platanistasa), 500 m, 17. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (slide: ♂, Cy 23/1); ex L: 3♂, 1♀, 2L, Troodos Mts., Adelphi Forest, Panagia Forviotissa (Asinou), 500 m, 18. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (slide: ♂, Cy 24/1); ex L: 4♂, 4♀, 2L, Troodos Mts., 2 km E Pera Pedi (S Platres), 700 m, 18. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (slides: ♂, Cy 25/1; ♀, Cy 25/2,3); ex L: 2♂, Pyrgos Kitiou, near Kiti (S Larnaka), 20 m, 19. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (slide: ♂, Cy 27/1); ex L: 5♂, 4♀, 4L, Agia Napa (SE Famagusta), 50 m, 19. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (slides: ♂, Cy 28/1; ♀, Cy 28/2); ex L: 2♂, 2♀, 2L, Troodos Mts., Adelphi Forest, Stavros tou Agiasmati (N Platanistasa), 800 m, 20. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (slides: ♂, Cy 29/1; ♀, Cy 29/2,3); ex L: 6♂, 3♀, Pafos, Tombs of the Kings, 25 m, 22. V.2004, leg. B. & H.Bohn (slides: ♂, Cy 30/1; ♀, Cy 30/3). (Coll. Bohn, ZSMC)
Description. Size. Male. Length of pronotum 1.50–1.73 (mean 1.61) mm, length of tegmina 3.33–3.81 (mean 3.67) mm. (N = 12/12). Female. Length of pronotum 1.54–1.79 (mean 1.69) mm, length of tegmina 1.66–1.98 (mean 1.80) mm. (N = 5/12). T6 of male: Distance between the anterior bristle stripes in % of the tergite breadth: range 21.6–31.9, mean 25.7. (N = 13).
Female tegmina. Apical border weakly convex (Figs. 25H, 26B).
Male abdomen. Tergites: Fig. 25A–F. T 6 Highly specialised as described under characters of the genus and the beybienkoi -group (Figs. 2E, 4B,C, 5C,D, 6B). T7. Pit opening with gutters (gu, Fig. 33E–G), pit size: up to size 4 (Fig. 26C), anterior pit wall (aw) with a narrow stabilising bracelet (s, Figs. 27B, 28D,E), window frame (wf) with well developed transversal folds (tf) (Figs. 26D, 27B, 28E); posterior pit wall (pw) with a pair of wide and shallow bulges (bu, Fig. 28B); glandular pouches long, considerably surpassing T7 (gp, Figs. 26C, 27A), tubules short, not reaching the lateral borders of the tergite (tu, 27B, 28D,E). Genital hook. Shaft (sh), especially in the upper part, well sclerotised, upper end right of the insertion of the claw (cl) more or less in full breadth elevated to an apically rounded process (ap); claw at the base less strongly curved than in the preceding species, strongly broadening towards a large crest (cr) having two unregularly shaped antlerlike processes (an) with wrinkled surface; darkened upper half of the shaft often with an indistinct network of whitish lines somehow resembling the colouration of giraffes (Fig. 25K, s. also Figs. 29L, 31K).
Colouration as a rule darker than in the other species of the beybienkoi- group: dark stripes of pronotum in both sexes usually broader, the mesal one additionally distinguished by two intermitted slight broadenings, near to the anterior end suddenly strongly narrowing (Fig. 34G–K); tergites 1–5 always with a dark mesal patch (Fig. 25A), T6 and 7 often with more or less extended darkenings (Figs. 25C, 27A, 28A).
Distribution. Occurrence of the species restricted to the island Cyprus, where it is widely distributed.
Remarks. Unfortunately, all available imagines were grown in the laboratory from relatively young larval stages, conditions which may cause abnormal imaginal moultings. Indeed, some of the imagines show crumpled wings due to incomplete stretching. Since, however, the majority of the specimens appears normal and uniform in all important characters it appears justified to erect a new species for the Cypric representatives. There are two more arguments for the assumption that the breeding conditions did not noticeably influence the normal expression of the specific characters: (1) The unusually dark colouration of the Cypric representatives in comparison with other species of the beybienkoi -group; usually, specimens moulted in captivity rather have a lighter than a darker colouration. (2) Numerous of the specimens of L. beybienkoi and L. quadrivittata from Israel had also been collected as larvae (though in a slightly later stage than those from Cyprus); none of the corresponding imagines showed remarkable differences in the specific characters.
description: Published as part of Bohn, Horst, 2022, Revision of the genus Luridiblatta (Blaberoidea, Ectobiidae, Ectobiinae), pp. 1-72 in Zootaxa 5215 (1) on pages 19-20, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5215.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/7403385