Revision of the Rhaphidophoridae (Orthoptera) of New Zealand

Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand : Zoology, Volume 1, Issue 24, 22 December 1961, Page 323

Revision of the Rhaphidophoridae (Orthoptera) of New Zealand

Aola M. Richards,*

By

Part IX—The Genus Gymnoplectron Hutton, 1897

Plant Diseases Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Auckland

[Received by the Editor, May 18, 1961.]

Abstract

The genus Pachyrhamma Brunner is synonymised with the genus Macropathus Walker, and the genus Gymnoplectron Hutton re-established. The species Hadenoecus edwardsii Scudder is shown to be synonymous with Pachyrhamma fascifer (Walker), and the species must now be known as Gymnoplectron edwardsii (Scudder).

Introduction

The genus Gymnoplectron Hutton contains the largest New Zealand members of the subfamily Macropathinae, and has a wide distribution in caves and bush throughout the country. Therefore it is not surprising that it should contain the first species of the Macropathinae to be described from New Zealand. It is also not surprising .that long and complicated synonymy has followed. After examination of all type material from the British Museum (Nat. Hist.), the Geneva Museum and the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, I hope that all confusion has finally been resolved.

Genus Gymnoplectron Hutton, 1897

1897. Gymnoplectron Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 29: 229.

1897. Pachyrhamma (Brunner) Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 29: 230-231.

1954. Macropathus Walker, Richards, Trans. Roy. Soc. N.Z., 82: 740-742.

1958. Pachyrhamma Brunner, Richards, Trans. Roy. Soc. N.Z., 85: 466.

In 1954, I revised Walker's genus Macropathus and synonymised the genus Pachyrhamma Brunner, 1888 and the genus Pachyrhamma (Brunner) Hutton, 1897 with it. Four years later, I was able to examine the type material of Walker's genus Macropathus (Richards, 1958 a). This proved to be a monotypic species, Macropathus filifer, so the name of the genus Macropathus as redescribed by myself in 1954 was changed back to Pachyrhamma.

In 1888, without examining specimens of it, Brunner took Scudder's species Hadenoecus edwardsii and made it the type species of his new genus Pachyrhamma. I have recently been able to examine Brunner's type material from the Geneva Museum and have shown (Richards, 1959 a) that Pachyrhamma edwardsii (Scudder) is a synonym of Macropathus fUifer Walker. Consequently the genus Pachyrhamma Brunner becomes a synonym of the genus Macropathus Walker.

In 1897, Hutton erected the new genus Gymnoplectron, placing in it Golenso's species Hemideina longipes. Comparison of Hutton's description with the redescription of the genus Macropathus (Richards, 1954) indicated that the genus Gymnoplectron should be sunk in the synonymy of the genus Pachyrhamma Brunner (Richards, 1958 b). However, as the genus Pachyrhamma has now been synonymised with Macropathus, the genus Gymnoplectron must be re-erected as the next available genus for all the species previously placed in the genus Pachyrhamma Brunner. As Hutton's description of the genus is incomplete, the present author's description as for .the genus Macropathus (Richards, 1954) still stands, with the name of the genus changed to Gymnoplectron.

Type species for the genus: Gymnoplectron longipes (Colenso).

Gymnoplectron edwardsii (Scudder, 1869). Plate 1, figs. 1,2.

IRfiQ Hadenne.r.us edwardsii Scudder, Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist. 12: 408-409.

1003. nuuenueoui euwumjii uvuuuwj ±.w ~w. ~~~. .. —. ---""--- 1869. Macrobathus fascifer Walker, Cat. Derm. Salt. Blat.: 206-207.

1869. Macropathus alius Walker, Cat. Derm. Salt. Blat.: 207-208.

IRRI Hemideina sbeluncae Colenso, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 14: 280-281.

1888 Pachyrhamma novae-seelandiae Brunner, Monog. Steno. Gryll. Verh. z-b Wien. XXXVIII, P. 302, PL VII, fig. 29.

1897. Pachyrhamma 'speluncae (Colenso, 1881) Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 29: 231-232. „ „„ . nn non

1897. Pachvrhamma fascifer (Walker, 1869) Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 29: 232.

1897. Macropathus edwardsii (Scudder, 1869) Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 29: 24U.

1899! Pleioblectron edwardsii (Scudder, 1869) Hutton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., 31: 41.

1901. Gymnoplectron stephensiensis Alfken, Abhand, Naturwiss. Ver. Bremen, XVII, Band 1 Heft.: 150-152.

1923. Pachyrhamma fascifer (Walker, 1869) Chopard, Trans. Roy. Soc. N.Z., 54: 231-233. . ; . » . „ ■ „ ■ . „-.„„„

1954. Macropathus filifer (Walker, 1869) Richards, Trans. Roy. Soc. N.Z., 82: 742-748. _ „ „„ M

1958. Pachyrhamma fascifer (Walker, 1869) Richards, Trans. Roy. Soc. N.Z., 85: 466. ■•• .._■._;.._ „ ' „ „ „ nm

1959. Pleioplectron edwardsii (Scudder, 1869) Richards, Trans. Roy. Soc. N.Z., 87: 326.

On April 28, 1869, Scudder described "A New Cave Insect from New Zealand " as Hadenoecus edwardsii. It was described from one damaged specimen collected by Mr Henry Edwards from " a limestone cave at Collingwood, Massacre Bay, Middle Island, New Zealand". Unfortunately Scudder's account of it is very inadequate, and this has led to much confusion among later workers who were unable to examine the original material (Richards, 1958 a).

On May 1, 1869, Walker erected the genus Macropathus and placed in it the three species filifer, fascifer and alius.

Through the courtesy of Dr P. J. Darlington, of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, I have recently been able to examine Scudder's species Hadenoecus edwardsii. This proves to be synonymous with Walker's species Macropathus fascifer and Brunner's species Pachyrhamma novaeseelandiae, which were synonymised by the author as Pachyrhamma fascifer (Walker) (Richards, 1954; Richards, 1958 a). However, as Scudder's description of the species .edwardsii was published on April 28, 1869, it has two days' priority

TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF N.Z. ERRATUM: ZOOLOGY, Vol. 1, No. 24, A. M. RICHARDS

The attached plate should be inserted into this paper.

over Walker's species fascifer which was described on May 1, 1869, and the species must now be known as Gymnoplectron edwardsii. The complete synonymy of Walker's species fascifer has already been described (Richards, 1954; Richards 1958 a; Richards, 1959 b) and, apart from listing it above, it is not repeated here.

Scudder's type specimen of Hadenoecus edwardsii is in perfect condition, except for the absence of the external genitalia, and he states, " the sex of my specimen cannot be determined ". However, on the basis of the spination of the antennae, it is possible to sex the insect as an adult male.

Except for the length of the prono.tum, Scudder's measurements of G. edwardsii agree with those made by myself. Scudder gives the length of the pronotum as 6 mm instead of 9 mm.

Confusion has arisen among later workers through Scudder making no reference to the spination of the legs. Hutton wrote to Scudder asking him to reexamine the type material. Scudder's reply was published by Hutton in 1899. He confined his remarks to the apical spines. Now that I have been able to examine the material, it appears that Scudder's description does not agree with it. He says, " the fore femora have an apical spine on the outer side only", whereas they have a prolateral apical spine. He claimed that the hind femora were without apical spines. Using this character, he placed the species in the genus Pleioplectron Hutton. The hind femora actually possess a prolateral and a retrolateral apical spine, which with the other characters places them in the genus Gymnoplectron Hutton. The complete spination of the legs of Scudder's type edwardsii is given in Table I, and by comparison it agrees very well with those given for Macropathus filifer (Richards, 1954) now known as Gymnoplectron edwardsii.

In December, 1954, I collected several species of Rhaphidophoridae from limestone caves at Rockville, near Gollingwood. One species, which was then identified as Pachyrhamma fascifer, was quite common. The Te Anaroa caves have been known in the district for at least 100 years, and it is very probable that this was the type locality for Hadenoecus edwardsii. Describing the locality Scudder says, " The cave is close to the seashore and near a very large coal deposit, which occasionally crops out in the interior. The Hadenoeci were rather numerous, but very difficult to catch, disappearing in the crevices of the rocks on the approach of lights. They appeared to be most abundant near the streams of water which percolated through the rocks." The specimens collected by myself were not found in the large tourist cave, but in smaller cavelets within a radius of a few yards of the main cave.

Gymnoplectron edwardsii is common throughout the Nelson district, and has a wide range of distribution in the North and South Islands (Richards, 1954).

Acknowledgments

I should like to thank Dr P. J. Darlington, Curator of Insects at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, for permission to examine Scudder's type specimen of Hadenoecus edwardsii. I should also like to thank Mr J. Lash for permission to collect insects on his property at Rockville.

Literature Cited

Hutton, F. W., 1897. The Stenopelmatidae of New Zealand. Trans. N.Z. Inst. 29: 223-240.

1899. Supplement to the Stenopelmatidae of New Zealand. Trans. N.Z. Inst., 31: 40-43.

Richards, Aola M., 1954. The Systematics and Ecology of the Genus Macropathus Walker, 1869 (Orthoptera, Rhaphidophoridae). Trans. Roy. Soc. N.Z., 82: 739-762.

1958 a. Revision of the Rhaphidophoridae (Orthoptera) of New Zealand. Part 11. The Genus Macropathus Walker in the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) Collection. Trans. Roy. Soc. N.Z., 85: 465-470.

1958 b. Revision of the Rhaphidophoridae (Orthoptera) of New Zealand. Part 111. The Genera Pachyrhamma Brunner and Pallidoplectron n.g. Trans. Roy. Soc. N.Z., 85: 695-706.

1959 a. Revision of the Rhaphidophoridae (Orthoptera) of New Zealand. Part IV. The Rhaphidophoridae of the Thames Gold Mines. Trans. Roy. Soc. N.Z., 87: 27-33.

1959 b. Revision of the Rhaphidophoridae (Orthoptera) of New Zealand. Part V. The Genus Pleioplectron Hutton, 1897. Trans. Roy. Soc. N.Z., 87: 319-327.

Scudder, S. H., 1869. A New Gave Insect from New Zealand. Proc. Bost. Soc. Nat. Hist., 12: 408-409.

Dr Aola M. Richards, School of Biological Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney.

* Present address: Zoology Department, University of New South Wales, Sydney.

Apical Spines Linear Spines L. R. L. R. Fore Femur Inf. Pro. Retro. 1 0 1 0 6 0 6 0 Fore Tibia Sup. Pro. Retro. 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 Fore Tibia Inf. Pro. Retro. 1 1 1 1 4 4 4 4 Fore Tarsus Pro. Retro. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mid. Femur Inf. Pro. Retro. 1 1 1 1 3 2 3 2 Mid. Tibia Sup. Pro. Retro. 1 1 1 1 7 3 6 3 Mid. Tibia Inf. Pro. Retro. 1 1 1 1 4 4 3 4 Mid. Tarsus Pro. Retro. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Hind Femur Inf. Pro. Retro. 1 1 1 1 10 4 11 4 Hind Tibia Sup. Pro. Retro. 4 4 4 4 34 39 33 36 Hind Tarsus 1 Sup. Pro. Retro. 1 1 1 1 3 3 2 4 Hind Tarsus 2 Sup. Pro. Retro. 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

Table I. SPINATION OF THE LEGS OF THE TYPE SPECIMEN OF HADENOECUS EDWARDSII SCUDDER