Parapetasia femorata Bolivar 1884

Parapetasia femorata Bolívar, 1884 Figs 1 A, B, 2 A, D, G, 6 A, D, G, J, 7 A, D, G Holotype. Gabon • ♀; 6687; Natural History Museum Vienna, Austria. Synonyms. Parapetasia (Parapetasia) calabarica Rehn, 1953: 121, 122–124, pl. 2: f. 17, pl. 3: f. 26. Kevan et al. (1974): 229; Kevan (1977): 318 (new synonym). Parapetasia rammei Sjöstedt, 1923, p. 10 –11, pl. 1: f. 1, 2. Kevan et al. (1974): 229; Kevan (1977): 318 (new synonym). Material examined. Cameroon • 1 male, 1 female; Iboti in the Ebo Forest; 4.450°N, 10.450°E; 736 m; 07 Jan. 2022; J. A. Yetchom Fondjo leg. and A. R. Nzoko leg.; SMNK; CMJ 244. • 1 female; Iboti in the Ebo Forest; 4.450°N, 10.450°E; 736 m; 07 Jan. 2022; J. A. Yetchom Fondjo leg.; SMNK; CMJ 245. • 1 female; Somalomo in the Dja Biosphere Reserve; 3.371°N, 12.733°E; 06 Jun. 2022; A. R. Nzoko leg.; SMNK; CMJ 1439. • 1 male; Bekob in the Ebo Forest; 4.350°N, 10.420°E; 936 m; 20 Mar. 2021; J. A. Yetchom Fondjo leg.; SMNK; CMJ 598. • 6 females; Mukondje Farm, Mundame-Mungo Fluss; 25 Nov. 1904; R. Rohde leg.; ZMH. • 1 male, 4 females and 1 nymph; Esosung, Bakossi-Gebirge; 10 Sep. 1909; C. Räthke leg.; ZMH. • 3 males, 4 females, 4 nymphs; Esosung, Bakossi-Gebirge; 01 Nov. 1912; R. Rohde leg.; ZMH. • 1 male; Esosung, Bakossi-Gebirge; 1913; ZMH. • 2 females; Esosung, Bakossi-Gebirge; 1930; O. Kröber leg.; ZMH. • 3 males; Buea, south-West; 1891; S. Preuss leg.; MfN. • 1 male, 3 females; South; 1891; S. Preuss leg.; MfN. • 1 male, 1 female; Station Jaunde [Yaoundé], Centre; Mar. 1997; V. Carnap S. G. leg.; MfN. • 1 male, 1 female; Dibongo of Sanaga, Littoral; Ld. Kam leg.; MfN. • 1 male, 1 female; Lolodorf, South; L. Conradt S. leg.; MfN. • 1 female; Victoria [Limbe], south-West; S. Preuss leg.; MfN. • 1 female; Barombi station, south-West; Preuss S. leg.; MfN. • 1 male; Duala [Douala], Littoral; Dr Schäfer leg.; MfN. • 1 female; Nlobe-Ndunge; 500–700 m from Edea-Douala, Littoral; Dr Schäfer leg.; MfN. • 1 female; Longi; Jun. 1904; MfN. • 1 nymph; Japoma, Littoral; Dr Schäfer leg.; MfN. • 1 nymph; Victoria [Limbé], south-West; Jan. 1898 –1899; MfN. • 2 females; north Mundame, Elephantensee; 21 Jan. – 15 Feb. 1996; S. Conradt leg.; MfN. • 1 female; Buea, south-West; MfN. • 1 female; Mundame; 1896; MfN. • 2 males; Bissika, Span. Guinea; Dr Escherich leg.; MfN. Redescription. Male. Body: robust, depressed, with very finely or moderately rugose and tuberculated integument. Head (Figs 1 A, 2 A, D, G): acutely conical; fastigium of vertex slightly curved upwards, flat, slightly concave in basal part, distinctly triangular, narrowing toward apex (Fig. 2 D); frontal carina hardly visible; antennae thick, shorter, or only slightly longer than head and pronotum together, with short transverse or subtransverse segments, the last apical segment being distinctly longer than others. Thorax (Fig. 2 D, G): pronotum with large inflation in front of first sulcus, strongly tuberculated in anterior part of prozona and posterior part of metazona, with the posterior part of the prozona and anterior part of the metazona being very finely tuberculated; median carinae inconspicuous and interrupted, lateral carinae absent; inferior margins of lateral lobes of pronotum straight; prozona shorter than metazona; posterior margin of metazona strongly emarginate; prosternal process very short, subacute or obtuse-angular; mesosternal interspace wider than long. Legs (Fig. 2 D, G): hind femur slender, its external area not expanded, its upper-median margin distinctly raised; obliquely expanded area at the base of hind femur strongly pronounced; external apical spine of hind tibiae present; hind tarsal segments not elongate. Elytra (Fig. 2 G): strongly reduced, micropterous, not reaching point of insertion of metathoracic legs, with rounded posterior margins. Abdomen (Fig. 2 D): often annulated; abdominal tergites each with a trigonal medio-dorsal tubercle; male supra-anal plate subtriangular; male subgenital plate compressed toward apex above, margins slightly incised, parallel; male cerci conical (Fig. 7 A). Epiphallus (Fig. 6 A): bridge narrow, its anterior margin emarginate; anterior projections large, fairly prominent, not broadly rounded; appendices broad, subparallel, with apical lobes having smaller and broader processes, attached marginally to the basal part of the lateral plates; lateral plates subparallel, almost straight, directed posteriorly, with external margins not expanded; lophi large, strongly curved upward, anteriorly directed with acute apex. Ectophallus (Fig. 6 D, G, J): central membrane fairly narrow, rather triangular or subtriangular, marked at its lateral margins by furrows; zygoma broadly transverse, not extending halfway along the cingulum; suprazygomal plate widely rounded, moderately wide, highly shorter than the zygoma; apodemal lobes only slightly produced ventrally, the apices fairly wide apart; valves of cingulum small, narrow, and divergent in dorsal view; rami of cingulum rather broad in dorsal view, extending into sheath; dorsal cleft of cingulum rather narrow, ventral cleft small; suprarami well developed; basal emargination of cingulum shallow; sheats rather well developed; ventral process of cingulum short, not reaching the apex of endophallic apodemes nor the basal thickening of cingulum in ventral view. Endophallus (Fig. 6 D, G, J): endophallic apodemes broad or stout, rather short, not reaching the basal emargination of cingulum in ventral; aedeagal valves narrow, slender with button-like apices; aedeagal sclerites stout and shorter, ventrally directed; spermatophore sac small, ovoid, not extending beyond the lateral limits of endophallic apodemes; gonopore at the middle. Female. As in male, but larger. Abdomen (Fig. 7 D): subgenital plate in female without carina or keel, its posterior margin rounded and smooth; egg guide prominent, conical, and slightly elongated; ovipositor valves large, not sinuate. Genitalia (Fig. 7 G): spermatheca thick, lacking an apical pocket, with a laminated appearance in the apical part; median longitudinal groove of genital chamber reduced; spermatheca duct short, with an elongate, terminally thickened region; secondary diverticulum of spermathecal appendage of varying shape. Color. Predominantly brownish, sometimes with orange or red markings; eyes entirely black in adults; antennal scape black; head brownish, margin of vertex, antennae light brown or dark brown in some parts in adults; sternum light brown and black in some parts; dorsal part of mesothorax with a broad black band bordered laterally by the elytra; elytra dark brown; first and / or second abdominal segments with a lateral black band behind the insertion points of the femora; lower external, lower internal, and medial internal hind femoral areas blackish; fore and middle femora, outer-medial, upper-external and upper-internal areas of hind femora dark-brown; hind tibiae light brown; tarsi light brown; cerci black. Nymph (Fig. 1 A). Eyes dark-red; antennae predominantly black with yellow apex; hind knee predominantly yellow with black median mark. Measurements. Male. Body length 37.80–40.45 mm; Female. Body length 45.98–62.69 mm. Adult P. femorata individuals exhibit very large size variations in both sexes. Additional information on the measurements is given in Table 1. The measurements represent the average value of the different body parts plus the standard deviation (SD). The range reffers to the minimum and maximum values. Geographical distribution (Fig. 8). Parapetasia femorata has been recorded from Gabon, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Equatorial Guinea. In Cameroon, P. femorata was discovered in two localities within the proposed Ebo Forest, namely, Bekob and Iboti, as well as in Somalomo, a location within the Dja Biosphere Reserve, and Ngoutadjap and Zamakoe. Ecology. Parapetasia femorata is distributed throughout the lowlands of West and Central Africa and is exclusively found in forest habitats with a closed canopy and close proximity to marshy areas, where litter is abundant. Within forest habitats, the species is geophilous. Parapetasia femorata is present throughout the year in Cameroon, with the highest abundance observed during the dry season from November to January. This species is known to produce foamy secretions on tergites 3 and 4.