Nicephora acumina Liu, Su & Shi, 2024, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Liu, Qing
name: Su, Jie
name: Shi, Fuming
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Tettigoniidae
Nicephora
Nicephora acumina

description: Nicephora acumina sp. nov., Chinese name: 尖ƂNJdz
(Figs. 1; 3C)
Description. Male. Body small and thin (Fig. 3C).
Head. Fastigium verticis lamellate, apex rounded (Fig. 1B). Apical segment of maxillary palpus equal in length to subapical one, apex slightly inflated. Eyes ovoid, slightly protruding forwards and outwards (Fig. 1A–B).
Thorax. Anterior margin of pronotum almost straight, posterior margin protruding semicircularly (Fig. 1B); lateral lobe longer than deep, humeral sinus indistinct (Fig. 1A).
Wings. Tegmina elongate, reaching apices of hind femora; hind wings almost as long as tegmina (Fig. 3C).
Legs. All femora unarmed on ventral surfaces. Fore tibiae with 4–5 internal and 2–3 external spines on ventral surfaces, tibial tympana open on both sides. Middle tibiae with 4 spines on both sides of ventral surfaces respectively. Hind tibiae with 16–20 internal and external spines severally on dorsal surfaces, bearing 1 pair of dorsal apical spurs and 1 pair of ventral apical spurs.
Abdomen. Posterior margin of tenth abdominal tergite with a triangular concavity in the middle. Cercus compressed; dorsal surface of basal half extanded dorsad, the middle with 2 incurved spines; ventral surface faintly extanded ventrad at basal half; apical area observably curved inwards and downwards, apex spiniform (Fig. 1C–F). The centre of basal area of subgenital plate membranous, basal area broad; apical area of subgenital plate tapering with a pair of slender lateral lobes, which lightly curved outwards with apices acute; styli absent (Fig. 1F).
Coloration. Body yellowish green, probably light green when alive (Fig. 3C). Eyes reddish brown. Pronotum with a pair of longitudinal yellow stripes on lateral margins of the disc (Fig. 1B). All spines and spurs of hind tibiae with apices dark brown.
Female. Unknown.
Material examined. Holotype: ♂, Daweishan, Pingbian, Yunnan, China, 8 August, 2021, collected by Yanhao Duan.
Measurements (mm). Body length: ♂ 8.3; pronotum length: ♂ 3.9; tegmen length: ♂ 9.1; hind femur length: ♂ 6.3.
Discussion. The new species is similar to the known species of Nicephora in appearance except for the concealed male genitalia and absence of styli. It is also similar to the species of Leptoteratura Yamasaki, 1982 in its lamellate fastigium verticis.
Based on the two spines near the middle of male cercus, the new species is in accord with the generic characters of Nicephora, and it is tentatively assigned to the genus. However, the new species cannot be ascribed to any subgenera of Nicephora. We are unable to observe clearly whether the male genitalia is sclerotized or not. Once more specimens are obtained, we can make further comments on this structure.
Etymology. The name of the new species is named for male subgenital plate with a pair of acute spiniform processes on apical area, Latin “ acumin- ”, means acute.
Distribution. Yunnan (China).
description: Published as part of Liu, Qing, Su, Jie & Shi, Fuming, 2024, Contribution to the genus Nicephora Bolívar, 1900 (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Meconematinae) with one new species from Yunnan, China, pp. 445-450 in Zootaxa 5512 (3) on pages 446-447, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5512.3.8, http://zenodo.org/record/13849034