Grantiatra douglasi Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares, 2025

Cadena-Castañeda, Oscar J., Quintana-Arias, Ronald Fernando, Infante, Ivette Coque, Silva, Daniela Santos Martins & Tavares, Gustavo Costa, 2025, Studies on pygmy grasshoppers: On the current Metrodorinae sensu lato classification (Orthoptera: Tetrigidae) with emphasis on American and Malagasy taxa, Zootaxa 5597 (1), pp. 1-265 : 111-116

Grantiatra douglasi Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares , sp. nov.

( Figs. 73–76 , Maps 1 and 2)

Type material. Holotype. Male. COLOMBIA, Amazonas , PNN Amacayacu, 70 m, G. Morales leg. ( CAUD).

Paratypes. 3 Females with the same data as holotype ( CAUD) .

Description. Male. Small-size (7.8 mm) and robust ( Fig. 73 ). Coloration predominantly brown, with some brown, gray, and black spots. Head dark brown; medial and fascial carinae outlined in dark yellowish brown; labrum dark brown, clypeus dark yellowish brown, and similarly, the palpi, outlined in blackish brown ( Figs. 74A, B ). Fore and mid femur brown, slightly outlined with grayish brown; tibiae without alternating spots, completely brown ( Figs. 74D, E ); hind femur brown, with the dorsal magin and ventro-external carina alternating with brown, black, and yellow spots; ventral external area dark brown; all tarsomeres light brown with the distal margin of the last tarsomere dark brown ( Fig. 73A ). Head taller than wide, eyes occupying a third of the cephalic capsule ( Fig. 74A ); space between the eyes less than one times the width of one of the eyes ( Fig. 74C ); medial carina protruding in the middle of the eyes in lateral view and curved forward and downward, transversal carinae produced and visible in lateral view in the middle of the eyes, not exceeding the median length of the medial carina ( Fig. 74B ); scutellum very narrow; fascial carinae straight and parallel, protruding in lateral view and almost straight; lateral ocelli small, located near the fork of the frontal costa ( Fig. 74A ). Antennae incomplete. Thorax. Anterior margin of the pronotum moderately produced anteriorly over the head ( Fig. 74B ); prozonal carinae developed, and pronotal apex acute in dorsal and lateral views ( Figs. 73B, C ). Median carina moderately elevated, giving the pronotum a tectiform appearance in lateral view ( Fig. 73A ); internal lateral carinae curved in lateral view; external lateral carinae finely denticulated and curved; infrascapular area widened; lateral lobes noticeably expanded ( Fig. 73B ); lower margin of lateral lobes triangular-shaped, and pointed; posterior margin of lateral lobe straight ( Fig. 74C ). Legs. Fore femur moderately widened, dorsal margin curved, ventral margin almost straight, with a distal constriction ( Fig. 74D ); mid-femur rectangular, dorsal margin curved, ventral margin slightly wavy ( Fig. 74E ); hind femur with the antegenicular and genicular teeth moderately developed ( Fig. 73A ); hind tibia armed with four or five small spines on each dorsal margin ( Fig. 73C ). Abdomen unmodified. Terminalia covered mainly by the apex of the pronotum ( Fig. 74F ). Cerci conical, tapering towards the apex; penultimate sternite long-sized, 2.5 times longer than subgenital plate, slightly upcurved ( Fig. 74F ); subgenital plate short, triangular, upcurved, and apex with a mid-notch ( Fig. 74G ).

Female. Similar in shape and size to the male ( Fig. 75 ), differing in ambisexual characters: Last tergite dorsally divided, connecting with the epiproct; the division consists of four plates, the first is ovoid and divides the last tergite, then two lateral hexagonal plates, and finally a triangular one ( Fig. 75C ). Cerci robust, divergent, with a thin apex covered by conspicuous hairs. Valves of the ovipositor thin, with serrated edges, and covered with hairs ( Fig. 75D ). Subgenital plate rectangular, longer than wide, with a medial triangular extension on the posterior edge (fig. 75E).

Measurements (in mm) male/females: CFP: 7.8 / 8.0–8.5. PL: 6.5 / 7.5–8.0. PLB: 5.3 / 5.5–5.8. FF: 1.8 / 2.0–2.2. FL: 1.6 / 1.8–2.0. MFL: 2.2 / 2.2–2.5. MTL: 2.3 / 2.4–2.5. HL: 4.5 / 4.5–4.8. HW: 1.8 / 1.8–2.0. HL: 4.2 / 4.0–4.5.

Remarks. This species is the most robust and differentiated of all known so far in Miriatrina . So far, only specimens from PNN Amacayacu have been studied (Maps 1 and 2). However, on iNaturalist, there is a record of what appears to be a male on the Colombian-Brazilian border ( Fig. 76 ), equidistantly located between Leticia ( Colombia) and Tabatinga ( Brazil), in São Sebastião do Uatumã (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/76679059).

Etymology. This species is dedicated to Robert Douglas in recognition and gratitude for his timely help in developing several of our contributions, opportunely sharing data and photographs of the entomological collection of UMO, Oxford, United Kingdom.

Figures

FIGURE 73. Grantiatra douglasi Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares gen. nov. et sp. nov. Male holotype habitus. A–B. Lateral view. C. Habitus in dorsal view.

FIGURE 74. Grantiatra douglasi Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares gen. nov. et sp. nov. Male holotype. A. Frons. B–C. Head and thorax in lateral and dorsal views respectively. D. Fore femur. E. Mid femur. F–G. Terminalia in lateral and axial views respectively.

FIGURE 75. Grantiatra douglasi Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares gen. nov. et sp. nov. Female paratype. A. Habitus in lateral and, B. Dorsal views. C. Terminalia in dorsal, D. Lateral and, E. Ventral views.

FIGURE 76. Grantiatra douglasi Cadena-Castañeda & Tavares sp. nov. From São Sebastião do Uatumã, Amazonas State, close to Colombia-Brazil border. Photo: Esteban Diego Koch https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/76679059. CC BY-NC- ND 4.0 DEED.