Research Article |
Corresponding author: Bruno Massa ( bruno.massa@unipa.it ) Academic editor: Fernando Montealegre-Z
© 2016 Bruno Massa.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Massa B (2016) The identity of the tropical African Polichne mukonja Griffini, 1908 (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae, Phaneropterinae). ZooKeys 621: 37-44. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.621.9725
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Polichne mukonja Griffini, 1908 from Cameroon was hitherto known only from the holotype preserved at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels. This was probably due to the fact that the genus Polichne Stål, 1874 distributed only in Australia and Papua New Guinea. In view of this distribution, the tropical African species was therefore overlooked in the African literature. The recent discovery of two specimens at the Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna, now provides us with a better understanding of the identity of this taxon, which is related to the African genus Catoptropteryx Karsch, 1890. Polichne mukonja is here transferred to a new genus Griffinipteryx and both taxa are proposed to be included in the new tribe Catoptropterigini.
Catoptropterigini trib. n., distribution, Griffinipteryx gen. n., taxonomy, tropical Africa
A recent study of the material preserved at the Naturhistorisches Museum of Vienna revealed two specimens, both females (like the holotype). These were probably collected towards the end of 1800s, prior to the description of the species by
The material examined (see below) is preserved at the Naturhistorisches Museum of Vienna (
Griffinipteryx mukonja (= Polichne mukonja Griffini, 1908).
Griffinipteryx is characterized by slender body, lateral lobes of pronotum as deep as wide, ovipositor much reduced (Figs
1 The Holotype of Polichne mukonja Griffini, 1908, now included in the new genus Griffinipteryx (photo by Jerome Constant, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels) 2 Griffinipteryx mukonja, female from Cameroon (Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna) 3 Face in frontal view of the same 4 Lateral view of the ovipositor of Griffinipteryx mukonja 5 Lateral view of the ovipositor of Catoptropteryx extensipes Karsch, 1896.
Head and antennae: fastigium of vertex narrow and pointed, much narrower than the first antennal segment. Eyes round, prominent, face smooth without fronto-genal carinae, higher than wide.
Thorax: pronotum just longer than high, with a well-developed humeral excision, lateral lobes are as deep as wide.
Legs: long (ratio body length/length hind femur: 0.9), fore coxae armed with a fine spine, fore, mid and hind femora unarmed, fore, mid and hind tibiae with ventral and dorsal spines. Fore tibiae with anterior and posterior open tympana.
Tegmina elongated, well developed, shorter than hind wings.
Ovipositor very reduced, crenulated on upper apex.
Griffinipteryx (Griffini + pteryx) is dedicated to the late Achille Griffini (1870–1932), distinguished Italian entomologist, who studied many African collections of Orthoptera and described Polichne mukonja; the Greek suffix pteryx (wing) is a reminder of the genus Catoptropteryx.
Catoptropteryx is certainly the only other African genus related to Griffinipteryx. In particular, some C. punctulata Karsch, 1890 specimens have a similar colour pattern in the pronotum (Fig.
Cameroon, Mukonje Farm (♀ holotype) (
Cameroon, Johann-Albrechtshöhe [near Lake Barombi, ca. 80 km from Mukonje], Rhode (2♀) (coll. Brunner von Wattenwyl,
Yellow-brownish, a black stripe from behind the eye on the head through the lateral lobes of the pronotum and gradually broadening along the tegmina. Abdomen yellow with some brown spots; legs yellow with many black dots; tympanum with a black anterior margin; fore and mid tarsi black, hind tarsi yellow with a black base.
Female. Fastigium of vertex sulcate above; face smooth without fronto-genal carinae, higher than wide. Pronotum without lateral carinae, surface shiny, with a well-developed humeral excision on the lateral lobes. Anterior margin of pronotum straight, posterior margin gently rounded, pronotum lobes rounded on posterior margins. Fore coxae armed with a fine spine; a very small spine is present at the base of the ventral inner margin of fore and of ventral outer margin of the mid femora, hind femora unarmed; fore tibiae with 3 black spines on ventral inner margin, 3 spines + 1 apical spur on ventral outer margin, 1 spine dorsal on fore tibia above tympanum + 1 apical spur; mid tibiae with 4-5 black spines on ventral inner margin + 1 apical spur, 6 black spines ventral on outer margin + 1 apical spur, 1 dorsal inner black spine + 1 apical spur; hind tibiae with 9-10 black spines ventral on both margins + 2 apical spurs on each side; dorsal margins of hind tibiae with many black and yellow black tipped spines + 1 apical spur on each side. Abdomen: styli pointed, ovipositor very short with crenulated dorsal apex. Subgenital plate triangular and short, as long as wide, apically rounded.
Male: unknown.
See Table
Measurements of two females of Griffinipteryx mukonja (Griffini, 1908); measurements in brackets recorded by
Body length | 22.7–24.5 (20) |
Pronotum length | 4.8–4.9 (4.7) |
Pronotum height | 4.3–4.4 |
Length of hind femur | 25.8–26.0 (26.5) |
Tegmina length | 27.5–29.2 (27) |
Tegmina width | 3.4 (3.7) |
Length of hind wing | 31.8–33.5 (31.3) |
Ovipositor | 3.2–3.3 (2.4) |
Catoptropteryx Karsch, 1890.
Currently the genus Catoptropteryx Karsch, 1890 belongs to the species group Ephippithytae Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878, together with another eleven genera found in Australia and Papua New Guinea. This group of species is very heterogeneous and probably the sole character that brings them together is the reduction of the female ovipositor, even if its structure is much different in some of them. To include the African genus Catoptropteryx in this heterogeneous group of Australasian genera seems like a biogeographical nonsense. As a first step, the comparison of the African species P. mukonja described by
When the first species of Catoptropteryx were discovered, they were described within the Australian genus Caedicia Stål, 1874 (e.g.: afra: Karsch 1888; apicalis:
Presently, in the light of the revision of the genus Catoptropteryx by
Characters of the tribe are the following. Fastigium narrower than first antennal segment, furrowed, face smooth without fronto-genal carinae, eyes round, very small spines or unarmed lower margins of fore and mid femora, hind femora with few small spines or unarmed, tegmina longer than wings, ovipositor very reduced.
In 1908 the Italian entomologist Achille Griffini described the katydid Polichne mukonja from Cameroon. Incomprehensibly he described this taxon within the Australian genus Polichne, which does not show any morphological affinities with it. Only the holotype was known (specimen preserved at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels), and later on this taxon was no longer cited. When an opportunity arose to study the African material preserved in the Naturhistorisches Museum of Vienna, during a Synthesys project, two other specimens of this taxon were discovered and it was possible to understand its identity. Polichne mukonja resulted as belonging to a newly established genus (Griffinipteryx) and is rather related to the tropical African genus Catoptropteryx, for which the new tribe Catoptropterigini is here proposed. This present work continues to demonstrate that Natural History museums preserve interesting treasures that are still waiting to be discovered.
This research received support from the Synthesys Project, which is financed by the European Community Research Infrastructure Action under the FP7 “Capacities” Programme at the Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna (2016: AT-TAF-5324), the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid (CSIC) (2013: ES-TAF-2438) and the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin (2014: DE-TAF-4109). I am especially indebted to Jerome Constant (Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels), Suzanne Randolf and Harald Bruckner (Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna), Mercedes Paris (Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid), Michael Ohl (Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin), Roberto Poggi, Maria Luisa Tavano and Giuliano Doria (Museo Civico di Storia Naturale ‘G. Doria’, Genoa), who all facilitated the study of specimens preserved in their museums. I am also very much indebted to Philippe Moretto, who kindly made available the material collected during 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015 from central and west African countries. I am also grateful to Claudia Hemp and Klaus-Gerhard Heller for their improvements to a first version of the manuscript, and to John J. Borg for revising the English.
Ephippithyta Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878 is a synonym.