Pharmacus senex Hegg & Morgan-Richards & Trewick 2022, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Hegg, Danilo
name: Morgan-Richards, Mary
name: Trewick, Steven A.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Rhaphidophoridae
Pharmacus
Pharmacus senex

description: Pharmacus senex sp. nov.
urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act: 0F63FF1F-2CC1-4920-816F-1AA57AB7B907
Figs 1–2, 6, 8C, 9F, 11A–C, 13A–C, 15A–B, 17B, 18E
Diagnosis
A mid-sized cave wētā known only from the rock tors on the wind-swept tops of the Old Man, Old Woman and Dunstan Ranges in Central Otago. Typical of Pharmacus in its habitus, it is differentiated from all other species by its short hind legs. It does not share the habitat with any other Rhaphidophoridae that we are aware of.
Etymology
‘ Senex ’ is Latin for ‘old’ (of a person), after the Old Man and Old Woman Ranges in Central Otago. Pharmacus senex means ‘old sorcerer’.
Material examined (see also Supp. file 1: Table S8)
Holotype NEW ZEALAND • ♂, adult; Central Otago (CO), Near Obelisk, Old Man Range; 45.32567° S, 169.20826° E; 1680 m a.s.l.; 1 Dec. 2017; D. Hegg leg.; cracks in rock tors; night search + insect net; NMNZ AI.052294 (prev. MPN CW3867).
Paratype NEW ZEALAND • 1 ♀, adult; Central Otago (CO), Old Woman Range; 45.23048° S, 169.05058° E; 1630 m a.s.l.; 3 May 2019; D. Hegg leg.; cracks in rock tors; night search + insect net; NMNZ AI.052295 (prev. MPN CW4408).
Other material
NEW ZEALAND – Central Otago (CO) • 1 ♀; Near Obelisk, Old Man Range; 45.334° S, 169.210° E; 1650 m a.s.l.; Jan. 2013; T. Jewell leg.; in cracks in rock bluffs; GenBank: OM293680; MPN CW2580 • 1 ♂; same collection data as for preceding; GenBank: OM293681; MPN CW2582 • 1 ♂, 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; MPN CW2581, CW2583 • 1 ♀; The Obelisk, Old Man Range; 45.323° S, 169.207° E; 1680 m a.s.l.; 21 Jan. 2014; S. Trewick leg.; in cracks in rock bluffs; GenBank: OM293676; MPN CW279 • 1 ♂; same collection data as for preceding; GenBank: OM293677; MPN CW284B • 1 ♀; same collection data as for preceding; GenBank: OM293678; MPN CW285 • 1 ♂, 2 ♀♀, 1 nymph; same collection data as for preceding; MPN CW278A, CW278B, CW280, CW284A • 8 ♂♂, 7 ♀♀, 4 nymphs; same collection data as for holotype; MPN CW3860 to CW3866, CW3868 to CW3879 • 1 ♂; same collection data as for paratype; GenBank: OM293715; MPN CW4389 • 4 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀, 3 nymphs; same collection data as for paratype; MPN CW4386 to CW4388, CW4390, CW4406, CW4407, CW4409, CW4491 to CW4493 • 1 ♂; Dunstan, Dunstan Mountains; 45.04471° S, 169.37418° E; 1670 m a.s.l.; 10 May 2019; D. Hegg leg.; in cracks in rock bluffs; night search + insect net; GenBank: OM293714; MPN CW4382 • 4 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀, 4 nymphs; same collection data as for preceding; MPN CW4381, CW4383 to CW4385, CW4402 to CW4405, CW4506 to CW4509.
Description
MEASUREMENTS. See Table 1.
HEAD. As per generic description. Eyes grey or brown. Antennae brown.
THORAX. As per generic description.
LEGS. All legs coloured a variegated reddish brown in adults, dull in nymphs. Hind tibiae approx. three quarters of body length in females; just over 80% of body length in males. This makes the hind legs of P. senex the shortest (proportionally to body size) in all Pharmacus species (Fig. 9F). Fore femora generally unarmed at the apex. One specimen (female) out of 29 examined had a prolateral spine at the apex of the fore femur. Mid femora armed with one retrolateral spine at the apex; prolateral apical spine absent. The first hind tarsus segment is armed with a variable number of linear spines above (up to seven); the second hind tarsus segment is only rarely armed with dorsal linear spines.
ABDOMEN. Tergites glabrous or sparsely tomentose, coloured chequered a vibrant yellow/brown in adults (Fig. 15A–B), dull brown in nymphs. A thin, pale median line along the whole length of the insect is generally present.
MALE TERMINALIA. Subgenital plate deep like in P. montanus when seen from the side, but not covered by a membrane in the distal half; square-ended and hairy at the vertex. Styli long, reaching almost to the end of the subgenital plate (Fig. 11A–C).
FEMALE TERMINALIA. Subgenital plate bilobed and wide, similar to the one in P. cochleatus comb. nov. (Fig. 13A). Ovipositor on average 70% of body length, nearly straight; lower valve with 5 to 7 teeth below at the apex (Fig. 13B–C).
description: Published as part of Hegg, Danilo, Morgan-Richards, Mary & Trewick, Steven A., 2022, High alpine sorcerers: revision of the cave wētā genus Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae: Macropathinae), with the description of six new species and three new subspecies, pp. 1-58 in European Journal of Taxonomy 808 (1) on pages 41-43, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2022.808.1721, http://zenodo.org/record/6419368