Scolocerca tomhasi Massa 2021, n. sp.

Scolocerca tomhasi n. sp.

(Figs. 28-35)

Material examined. Côte d’Ivoire, Taï National Park, Research Station, 5°50’00”N, 7°20’32.0”W (light)

20.III.2017, B. Massa (1 ³ holotype, 1♀ paratype) (BMPC).

Measurements (mm). Male (N = 1). Body length: 13.2; Length of pronotum: 3.1; Height of pronotum: 2.6; Hind femora lacking; Length of tegmina: 16.3; Width of tegmina: 2.8. Female (N = 1). Body length: 14.1; Length of pronotum: 3.5; Height of pronotum: 3.1; Hind femora lacking; Length of tegmina: 18.1; Width of tegmina: 3.1; Length of ovipositor: 5.2.

Diagnosis. Typical species of Scolocerca, characterized by the presence in the male of a little median spine on 9 th tergite and the subgenital plate upcurved and deeply bilobed, and in the female by abdominal tergites toothed and a little median spine on 9 th tergite.

Male description. Color. Green with brown and reddish spots on pronotum, legs and abdominal tergites. Antennal scapus green, 2 nd segment black, remaining segments brown. Hind wings reddish. Stridulatory area reddish.

Small species (Fig. 28). Head typical of the genus, eyes round prominent, fastigium of vertex as broad as 1 st antennal segment, sulcate above, not contiguous with fastigium of frons. Antennae longer than hind wings. Pronotum without lateral carinae, anteriorly just incurved, posteriorly rounded, longer than high. Both pairs of wings welldeveloped. Tegmina about 5.8 times longer than broad, rounded at tips. Hind wings extending beyond tegmina by about one fourth of latter. Legs. Fore coxae armed, fore femora unarmed, fore tibiae furrowed dorsally, with 1 apical spur on both ventral margins, and 1 spur on inner dorsal margin, open tympana on both sides. Mid femora unarmed with sparse hairs, mid tibiae with 6 spines on both ventral margins + 1 spur on each ventral side. In the holotype the hind legs are lacking. Abdomen. Eighth abdominal tergite with a small central protrusion, 9 th tergite with a central small spine, covered by hairs (Fig. 29). Cerci as long as subgenital plate, apically narrowed and incurved, with a pointed brown tip. Subgenital plate triangular, up-curved, apically deeply divided into two pointed out-curved lobes. Styli absent (Figs. 30-31).

Female. Same characters as the male (Figs. 32-33), but larger in size, less hairy, dorsal abdomen reddish; abdominal tergites toothed in the middle, 8 th with a median spine covering one fourth of the 9 th, which has a median spine as long as the depth of the tergite (Fig. 34). Ovipositor gently up-curved, entirely toothed on upper margin, and with about 20 apical teeth on ventral margin (Fig. 34). A ventral hollow in the gonocoxa (Fig. 35, arrow). Subgenital plate small, triangular, pointed (Figs. 34-35). Also the female specimen is lacking of the hind legs.

Etymology. Scolocerca thomasi n. sp. is dedicated to my dear friend, forestry and ornithologist, Tommaso La Mantia, who has always shown a brotherly affection towards me.

Distribution. Presently it is known only from the Taï National Park (Côte d’Ivoire).

Discussion. Only another species, also west-African, is known in the genus Scolocerca, S. fusciala, which has a different male subgenital plate and cerci, and the female 9 th abdominal tergite with a longer spine than that of S. thomasi n. sp. (Ragge 1980).