Corresponding authors: Madan Subedi (
Academic editor: Daniel Petit
Aryal’s Ten Avatar Groundhopper,
Subedi M, Kasalo N (2023)
Nepal is a country of rich geography and biodiversity owing to its unique position at the junction of the Palaearctic and Palaeotropical biogeographic realms extending from an altitude of 59 m.a.s.l to the highest point on the Earth, Mount Sagarmatha (8848.86 m.a.s.l) in a mere distance of under 200 km (
The tribe
The aim of this paper is to describe a new genus and species of
The type series was pinned using Phusis stainless steel insect pins (size #1) and deposited in
The newly described species was compared to the others present in the region using the material available on the
The herein described species shares many similarities with members of
The new species does not fit with the type species of any of the relevant genera and is thus described under its own genus. It is possible that the subsequent revisions will recognize more species that belong in this genus, so it is important that the genus be defined by a well-documented species.
Patronymic. The genus is named in honor of the late Bhairav Aryal (Nepali: भैरव अर्याल), an iconic satirist of Nepali literature popularly known as the Emperor of Laughter (Nepali: हाँस्य सम्राट). The second part of the name, -donta, derives from the Greek word “ὀδών”, meaning “tooth,” and is a reference to Bhairav Aryal’s iconic smile. The genus name is of feminine gender.
Thus far, only the type species is known.
Currently known only from Nepal, from the type locality (Fig.
Map of Nepal with the type locality marked. Gorkha District is shown in red, and the precise place of the type locality is indicated by the blue dot. The map is adapted after Sagarjkhatri, own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia commons.
The generic diagnosis is provided as a comparison of the type species of the tribe
From
From
From
The specific epithet is derived from the Nepali word “itishree”, which is the title of one of Bhairav Aryal’s books and translates to “The End”. The name is also a reference to the tragic end of Bhairav Aryal’s life, as well as to his unyielding belief that an end is an invitation to a new beginning. The name is Latinized with the suffix “-a” to form a noun in the nominative case and is feminine in gender.
Aryal’s Ten Avatar Groundhopper (Nepali: अर्यालको दश औतारी भुइँफड्के).
Named after one of Bhairav Aryal’s masterpieces, Dash Autar (Nepali: दश औतार; English transl. Ten Avatars). The name symbolically refers to the many color forms observed among individuals of this species.
Amaldarchaur, Ghyalchok, Gorkha, Nepal (Nepali: अमलदारचौर, घ्याल्चोक, गोरखा, नेपाल) situated at an altitude of 465 ± 10 m asl (approximate) with GPS coordinates
Type material.
Numerous photographs of the individuals in their natural habitat, taken by the first author.
The specimens of the type series in their natural habitat can be seen in Fig.
Type specimens of
Known only from the type locality and the surrounding areas.
This species is differentiated from all other
(Fig.
Holotype (♀) of
Paratype 1 (♂) of
Paratype 2 (♀) of
Paratype 3 (♂) of
Antennae: Filiform. As long as length between anterior margin of head and humeral angles. 14 antennomeres, apical one consisting of fused segments, possibly 2 or 3.
Pronotum: Macropronotal. Lateral surfaces of pronotum moderately converge dorsally. Pronotum widest at humeral angles. Dorsal surface mostly flat. Prozonal carina weakly elevated, slightly visible. Prozona sulcated with sulci of irregular shape. Apex of lateral lobe rectangular with slight protrusion in caudal part. Ventral and tegminal sinus in shape of a right angle. Humero-apical carina moderately visible. Infrascapular area subrectangular, a little narrower in anterior half. Lateral area progressively widening caudally. Median carina slightly elevated at transition between prozona and metazona, otherwise flat. Tubercles present throughout surface of pronotum. Entire surface covered with small nodules and larger tubercules. Anterior margin of pronotum truncated. Prozonal carinae composed of small nodules, weakly visible, converging caudally. Median carina continuous, reaching the apex of the pronotum, weakly visible in some areas. Lateral lobes projected laterally, rectangular with small protrusion caudally and sharp tip laterally. Humeral angles blunt. Last third of pronotum strongly narrowing. Before the narrowing, internal lateral carinae barely concave, revealing very narrow lateral area. Caudally of the narrowing, internal lateral carinae progressively converging towards apex. Apex of pronotum bluntly rounded.
Wings: Alae reaching apex of pronotum. Tegmina oval, entirely visible.
Legs: Front legs: Femora long and slim. Dorsal margin of femora slightly convex; ventral margin straight. Tibiae smooth. Middle legs: Femora long and slim; expanded in the proximal half, narrowing distally. Tibiae smooth. Hind legs: Femora smooth. Dorsal external area with slight parallel elevations. Antegenicular teeth moderately sized, triangular. Genicular teeth moderately sized, rectangular, parallel to bottom margin of femur. Tibiae smooth with several small spines. First tarsal segment longer than third. Pulvilli triangular, sharp; distal one two times larger than proximal two.
No dimorphism observed between sexes except for the more expanded proximal parts of mid femora in males, and different terminalia. Female: Ovipositor valves elongated. Bottom valve narrow and serrated. Top valve expanded distally, serrated. Apices of valves acute, hook-like. Male: Elongated subgenital plate enclosing reproductive organs. Blunt apex.
Due to the position of the head during the fixation process of the holotype and the way it was pinned, its eyes do not reach the anterior margin of the pronotum. In other observed specimens, the eyes reach (or nearly reach) the anterior margin of the pronotum, which is the way this character appears when the animal is in a resting state.
The shape of the lateral carinae of the vertex is variable. These carinae usually form a u- or v-shaped structure in the anterior view but the parts of the carinae that are closer to the medial carina can be variably developed, i.e., the length of that part is variable.
The proximal part of the midfemora is expanded in all specimens, but this character is much more apparent in males than in females and can be considered to represent sexual dimorphism.
The basic shape of the lateral lobes is rectangular with more- or less-expressed protrusions laterally and caudally. In some cases, the lateral protrusion can form a short tooth or spine. The variability of this character is presented in Fig.
The lateral lobe variability of
For the most part, the nymphs resemble the adults, with the obvious exception of the nymphs being brachypronotal and lacking wings and antegenicular teeth. All carinae in nymphs are better expressed than in adults. The lateral lobes in all the observed nymphs are of a basic shape, lacking the finer structures present in adults. The colors of nymphs are more saturated than those of adults. Nymphs of this species can be seen in Fig.
Different nymphal instars of
Many different patterns of coloration have been observed and can be seen in Fig.
Variability of coloration in
The key measurements of the holotype and the paratypes are presented in Table
Measurements (in mm) of the holotype (HT) and the paratypes (PT) of
Body parts | HT(♀) | PT1 (♂) | PT2 (♀) | PT3 (♂) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Body length | 10.75 | 8.39 | 10.59 | 7.97 |
Vertex width | 0.50 | 0.44 | 0.50 | 0.38 |
Eye width | 0.80 | 0.64 | 0.70 | 0.63 |
Scutellum width | 0.19 | 0.14 | 0.15 | 0.10 |
Pronotum length | 16.73 | 14.62 | 16.24 | 12.06 |
Pronotum lobe width | 5.00 | 4.38 | 5.16 | 3.63 |
Pronotum height | 2.54 | 1.86 | 2.24 | 1.66 |
Tegmen length | 1.84 | 1.39 | 1.89 | 1.42 |
Tegmen width | 0.69 | 0.57 | 0.74 | 0.57 |
Alae length | 12.44 | 10.57 | 13.34 | 10.62 |
Fore femur length | 2.09 | 1.58 | 2.18 | 1.74 |
Fore femur width | 0.56 | 0.51 | 0.55 | 0.44 |
Mid femur length | 2.30 | 2.14 | 2.44 | 1.78 |
Mid femur width | 0.66 | 0.50 | 0.62 | 0.44 |
Post femur length | 6.15 | 5.29 | 6.64 | 5.56 |
Post femur width | 2.16 | 1.77 | 2.24 | 1.76 |
Hind tibia length | 5.40 | 4.61 | 5.59 | 4.45 |
First tarsal segment (basal) length | 1.10 | 0.94 | `1.07 | 0.85 |
Third tarsal segment (apical) length (without claws) | 0.73 | 0.67 | 0.74 | 0.60 |
Subgenital plate length | – | 0.80 | – | 0.84 |
Subgenital plate width | – | 0.47 | – | 0.50 |
Ovipositor dorsal valve length | 1.68 | – | 1.32 | – |
Ovipositor dorsal valve width | 0.34 | – | 0.39 | – |
Ovipositor ventral valve length | 1.43 | – | 1.21 | – |
Ovipositor ventral valve width | 0.24 | – | 0.24 | – |
All measurements follow
Frontal view of
(Fig.
Type locality and habitat of
(Fig.
Different
(Fig.
Individuals of
(Fig.
Feces of
Wasps: (Fig.
Mites: (Fig.
The gathered data on feeding habits (Fig.
The wasps, tentatively identified as
Mites are commonly spotted on tetrigids, but the taxonomy of the group associated with
The herein described genus and species,
Considering the state of
In this paper, we presented a detailed account of observations pertaining to
MS conducted the fieldwork. MS and NK analyzed the data, wrote the manuscript, and created the figures. Both authors are equal in contribution.
The authors are thankful to Josip Skejo, Sigfrid Ingrisch, Josef Tumbrinck, and Daniel Petit for valuable discussions and for their suggestions that greatly improved the manuscript. The authors are also grateful to the Orthopterists’ Society for their support in publishing this paper.