Nocaracris palandoken Unal, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Ünal, Mustafa
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2016
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Pamphagidae
Nocaracris
Nocaracris palandoken

description: Nocaracris palandoken Ünal, sp. nov.
(Figs. 73, 580, 588–589, 683–686, 845)
Paranocaracris rubripes rubripes (Fischer de Waldheim, 1846): Demirsoy 1973: 425, partim.
Type locality. Turkey: Erzurum, Palandöken Dağları. Holotype: male (AİBÜEM).
Material examined. TURKEY: Erzurum, Palandöken Dağları, 2710 –2750 m, 39.50.561 N, 41.17.486 E, 13.7.2013, 10♂ (including Holotype), 15♀, plus 3♂, 8♀ in alcohol (leg. M. Ünal & A. Erden) (AİBÜEM); Erzurum, Palandöken, 2200 m, 21.6.1994, 1♀ (leg. E. Yıldırım) (EMET); Palandöken, 8.8.1988, 1♀ (leg. H. Özbek) (EMET); Bingöl, 3.10.1974, 1♀ (EMET); Erzurum, Karagöbek Dağları, 2200 m, 5.7.1989, 2♀ (leg. H.
Özbek) (EMET); Bingöl Dağları, Şevti Yaylası, 1.8.1954, 4♀ (leg. N. Şişli), 1♀ (leg. T. Karabağ) (NHMUK); Bingöl Dağları, Batı Bölgesi, Hılhıl Deresi, 2.8.1954, 1♀ (leg. T. Karabağ) (NHMUK); Bingöl Dağları, Batırma Yaylası, 2.7.1959, 1♀ (leg. N. Şişli) (NHMUK); Bingöl, 19.8.1908, 1♀ (leg. F. Oswald) (NHMUK); Erzerum [Erzurum], 1866, 1♀ (leg. Malinovsky) (det. Ramme as Nocaracris bodenheimeri) (NMW).
Additional Material: Erzurum, Büyükgüney Dağı, 3000 m, 28.8.1948, 2♀ (leg. C. Kosswig); Erzurum, Palandöken Dağı etekleri, 15.7.1963, 2♀ (leg. N. Şişli) (AÜZM); Erzurum, Büyükgüney Dağı, 2800 m, 28.8.1948, 1♀ (leg. C. Kosswig) (NHMUK).
Description. Male (Holotype): Body (Figs. 683, 684) small, slender, relatively compressed laterally. Fastigium of vertex narrow, elongated, slightly depressed and distinctly sloping. Vertex between the eyes narrow, 1.4 times narrower than vertical diameter and 1.1 times narrower than transversal diameter of eye; in lateral view convex; carinulae distinct; supraocular foveola closed type; median carinula grooved, very long reaching to the beginning of frontal sulcus on fastigium. Antennae with 12 segments. Pronotum (Figs. 683, 684) slightly compressed laterally, with distinct lateral carinae; median carina raised with a thin longitudinal sulcus, distinctly wider at anterior end; convex in lateral view; anterior margin narrowly convex, posterior margin slightly protruded in dorsal view. Anterior margin of prosternum raised as a narrow collar, in some males narrow, triangularly protruded but never sharply pointed like a spine. Frontal ridge not narrowed and not incisied below the median ocellus. Mesosternal interspace almost 2 times wider than its length and as wide as mesosternal lobes. Hind femur (Fig. 683) 2.8 times longer than its height, dorsal and ventral margins almost parallel in proximal part, narrowing towards genicular lobes, ventral margin slightly expanded; the widest point in the middle part. Hind tibia with 8–9 inner, 9 outer spines. Median carinae of mesonotum and metanotum with a thin groove. Abdominal tergites (Figs. 683, 684) simple, very slightly raised, never protruded posteriorly; lateral carinae distinct on the first 3–4 segments. Tympanum absent. Phallus (Figs. 73 a, b) slender, small; arch of zygoma widened apically; posterior lobes of zygoma narrow and short; tumida of zygoma narrow and sharp; apodemes wide with a distinct apical notch, in some males apical notch weak; basal valves of penis narrow; pseudolophi (Fig. 73 c) separated with 8–12 spines.
Female: Body (Figs. 685, 686) small and slender in typical forms, stouter and slightly larger in Bingöl populations. Fastigium of vertex (Fig. 588) wide and short, slightly depressed and sloping. Vertex (Fig. 588) between the eyes 1.05 times wider than vertical diameter and 1.2 times wider than transversal diameter of eye; vertex with distinct carinulae; supraocular foveola closed type; median carinula as in male. Antennae with 12 segments. Pronotum (Figs. 588, 589, 685) slightly compressed laterally, subcylindrical; lateral carinae weak or indistinct; median carina slightly raised, with a distinct longitudinal sulcus slightly widened at anterior end; in lateral view slightly convex or straight with a weak concavity in the middle part. Anterior margin of prosternum (Fig. 580) collar-shaped, with a wide tongue-like median projection or blunter, never sharply pointed. Mesosternal interspace 3 times wider than its length and slightly narrower than mesosternal lobes. The shape of hind femur as in male but 2.7 times longer than its height. Hind tibia with 9 inner, 9–10 outer spines. Abdominal tergites (Figs. 685, 686) as in male. Tympanum absent. Subgenital plate longer than wide.
Coloration. Male: Body dark brown, with black, milky-brown pattern. Vertex and behind eyes black with small milky-brown spots and stripes. Gena, frons milky-brown with sparse black spots. Antennae brown, its apical half dark brown. Pronotum blackish-brown, typical light bands on paranota distinct. Legs pale light brown, with sparse black spots. Anterior margins of abdominal sternites and subgenital plate black, remaining parts yellowishcream. Dorsal surface of abdomen brown, typical median light band weak; lateral sides of abdomen black. Inner and ventral surfaces of hind femur mainly black with red tinge basally; inner ventral genicular lobe with red spot. Inner and dorsal surfaces of hind tibia dark (blood) red, with black spines; basal end black, in some males dorsal surface of hind tibia more blackened basally. Tarsus red. Female: body unicolor pale yellowish light brown or more creamish with small black spots. All sternites and somewhat posterior half of abdomen without black spots. Inner and ventral surfaces of hind femur black, with a red spot on ventral margin of inner surface basally. Inner and dorsal surfaces of hind tibia completely black including spines with a red spot at the apical end dorsally, in some females dorsal surface blackish-blue. Tarsus red.
Diagnosis. This new species is similar to N. karadagi sp. nov. by the slender body and hind leg coloration. But the less depressed pronotum dorso-ventrally and its thin longitudinal sulcus (distinctly more depressed and with clearly wider longitudinal sulcus in N. karadagi), the stouter female pronotum with weak or indistinct lateral carinae (more slender, with very distinct lateral carinae in the female of N. karadagi), the details of phallic complex are different. It is different from N. monticolus sp. nov. by the coloration of hind legs in both sexes, the prosternum with collar-like blunter anterior margin (more or less pointed and mainly tridentate in N. monticolus), the stouter female pronotum with weak or indistinct lateral carinae (pronotum slender, with very distinct lateral carinae in N. monticolus). This new species has somewhat similar prosternum and hind leg colors with some Turkish populations of N. rubripes (Motschulsky). But, they are not belonging to the same species group, the smaller and slender body (much stouter and larger in N. rubripes), the less depressed pronotum (much more depressed dorsoventrally in N. rubripes), the female pronotum with weak or indistinct lateral carinae (very distinct in female of N. rubripes), the smaller and slender phallic compex, the prolonged and wider arch of zygoma apically (clearly narrow in N. rubripes), the short posterior lobes of zygoma (clearly longer in N. rubripes) are different.
Measurements (mm). Holotype (male): body length 19.5; pronotum length 4.4; pronotum height 4.1; pronotum width anterior 4.2; pronotum width posterior 5.9; hind femur length 8.3; hind femur height 3. Paratypes: body length: male 17–20.3, female 26–34.2; pronotum length: male 3.9–4.4, female 5.1–7; pronotum height: male 3.8–4.5, female 6.2–8; pronotum width anterior: male 3.9–4.4, female 5.8–6.8; pronotum width posterior: male 5.7–6.4, female 7.7–10.3; hind femur length: male 7.8–8.3, female 9.6–12.5; hind femur height: male 2.9–3.1, female 3.4–4.8.
Etymology. “ Palandöken ” is the type locality of this new species.
Remarks. Demirsoy (1973) recorded this species from Büyükgüney Dağı and Palandöken as Paranocaracris rubripes rubripes (Fischer).
description: Published as part of Ünal, Mustafa, 2016, Pamphagidae (Orthoptera: Acridoidea) from the Palaearctic Region: taxonomy, classification, keys to genera and a review of the tribe Nocarodeini I. Bolívar, pp. 1-223 in Zootaxa 4206 (1) on pages 166-168, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4206.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/208260