Toliaridectes Hugel 2019, n. gen.
Creators: name: Hugel, Sylvain
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2019
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Tettigoniidae
Toliaridectes

description: Genus Toliaridectes n. gen.
Type species. Toliaridectes antsycurvis n. gen., n. sp, here designated.
Distribution. South-Eastern Madagascar.
Diagnosis. Toliaridectes n. gen. is characterized by: Fastigium of vertex narrower than antennal scape (Fig. 1–3; as broad or broader in Zuludectes, Anarytropteris, Namaquadectes, Thoracistus, Alfredectes), no fastigial gap (Fig. 4–6; with a gap in Arytropteris). Pronotum little modified (Fig. 1–6; elongate in males of Thoracistus, Alfredectes, some Arytropteris), not exceeding first abdominal segment. Ventral surface of fore and mid femora armed with minute teeth (Fig. 1; unarmed in Zuludectes). Fore tibia unarmed dorsally (Fig. 10–15; armed in all other Arytropteridini). Mid tibia armed with 3 dorsal posterior spurs, not armed on dorsal anterior surface (Fig. 16–21; armed in all other Arytropteridini). Male forewings with fewer than 45 teeth (Fig. 27, 30, 33; when known,> 49 in all Arytropteridini except Zuludectes).
Description. Body size average for the tribe, form robust.
Color. General coloration brown with dark and light patterns (Fig. 68–71). Face with sagittal black pattern from antennal sockets to labrum tip. Black retro-ocular patterns often edged with dorsal light pattern. Scapus and pedicel with black patterns. Pronotum folds (see Rentz 1988) with black pattern in line with retroocular black lines, often edged dorsally with light stripes; ventral and posterior rims of lateral lobes black. Abdomen with black patterns laterally, often edged dorsally with light stripes. Hind femur outer field with a dark or black longitudinal pattern.
Head. Head in frontal view 1.4–1.8 times higher than wide, narrower than pronotum in dorsal view (Fig. 1–3). Fastigium verticis narrower than scapus (Fig. 1–3), triangular in frontal view (Fig. 7–9), no fastigial gap between fastigium verticis and fastigium frontis, fastigium frontis contacting the fastigium verticis in a narrow ridge (Fig. 4–9). Median ocellus very distinct, in line with ventral part of antennal scrobus (Fig. 7–9). Genae with no carinae. Scapus unarmed. Thorax. Pronotum little modified, slightly different in males and females, in both cases not exceeding first abdominal segment, not producing posteriorly, without median carina, without lateral carinae, rims of lateral lobe and disk not enlarged; disk flat in side view, arched in cross section; anterior margin inconspicuously concave; posterior margin broadly rounded; surface of disk smooth, faintly shining; disk prozona traversed by a transverse sulcus shaped as a curly bracket (Fig. 1–3). Prosternum armed with a pair of broadly spaced blunt erected spines; meso and metasternum with a pair of more robust processes.
Wings. Forewings present in males, absent in females.
Legs. Leg surface covered with numerous minute imprints, often pigmented and bearing small setae. Fore coxa with one median antero lateral spine, relatively flattened (Fig. 1–3). Fore femora with 1–4 minute spinules in anterior and posterior ventral margins (rarely none on posterior margin of T. antsycurvis n. gen. n. sp.); fore femora genicular lobes with 2 very small spinules on both sides. Fore tibia (Fig. 10–15): with 6 ventral inner spurs (including apical spur); with 6 ventral outer spurs (including apical spur); without dorsal apical and subapical spurs. Auditory foramen narrow, slit shaped, visible in side view (Fig. 10–15). Mid coxa with a short ventral blunt process. Mid femora with 2–5 minute spinules in anterior and posterior ventral margins (rarely absent on posterior margin of T. antsycurvis n. gen. n. sp.); mid femora genicular lobes with 2 very small spinules on both sides. Mid tibia (Fig. 16–21): with 3 dorsal posterior subapical spurs; without dorsal apical spurs; with 6 ventral inner spurs (including apical spur); with 6 ventral outer spurs (including apical spur). Hind coxa with a short ventral blunt process. Hind femora with 6–10 spines on ventral inner and ventral outer carinae (Fig. 22–24); hind femora genicular lobes with a minute spine on each side.
Abdomen. Tergites with inconspicuous longitudinal carina (Fig. 1–3).
Male. Pronotum (Fig. 1–6) reaching the middle of the first abdominal segment; disk more arched in cross section than in females, leaving room for the wings. Forewings (Fig. 1–3, 25–33) slightly exceeding hind margin of pronotum, reaching the distal margin of the first abdominal segment; visible part of the forewing white or light green; file with 38–42 teeth, largest on the middle. Xth abdominal tergite posterior end with a median quadrangular notch of variable width separating two pointing lobes (Fig. 36, 43, 50). Paraprocts very small, with a ventral-median projection variable in size (Fig. 35, 42, 49). Subgenital plate (Fig. 34, 41, 48): broadly triangular in ventral view, with a shallow median notch between styli; with distinct styli. Cercus (Fig. 37–40, 44–47, 51–54) elongate, proximal half broad, distal half narrow, with two projections on the middle: one dorsal lobe pointing toward midline, one median projection pointing toward midline. Titillators well sclerotized, external (distal) part pointing (Fig. 55, 56) or enlarged (Fig. 57) distally in dorsal view, with minute denticles; internal (proximal) part with two branches forming an inverted Y or T (Fig. 55–57).
Female. Pronotum hardly reaching metathoracic posterior margin, disk more flattened posteriorly than in males. Wings absent. Suranal plate small, triangular or rounded, with or without a longitudinal sulcus. Subgenital plate (Fig. 58, 60, 62) of variable shape, posterior end with a median emargination of variable width and depth separating two pointing lobes. Ovipositor (Fig. 59, 61, 63) flattened proximally, upcurved distally; the flattened part of variable length.
Derivation of name: Named after the Malagasy province “ Toliara ” where all known species of Toliaradectes n. gen. occur (Fig. 72).
description: Published as part of Hugel, Sylvain, 2019, First record of shield-backed katydids in Madagascar with the description of a new genus and three new species (Orthoptera: Ensifera: Tettigoniidae: Tettigoniinae Arytropteridini), pp. 546-560 in Zootaxa 4706 (4) on pages 547-548, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4706.4.4, http://zenodo.org/record/3616903