Medaura: Stål 1875: 69. [as a subgenus of Stheneboea Stål, 1875]. -Kirby 1904: 341. [designated Stheneboea (Medaura) brunneri as type species]. -Brunner von Wattenwyl 1893: 94. [elevated to genus]. -Brock and Cliquennois 2001: 11. [revision of genus]. -Hennemann and Conle 2008: 73. [genus transferred from Clitumnini to a new tribe, Medaurini].

Menaka: Wood-Mason 1877: 342. [genus established]. -Kirby 1904: 341. [as a synonymy of Medaura].

Table 1

Female. Medium-sized. Body slender. General colouration brown (Fig. 1 A-B).

Figure 1.  

Medaura aculeiformis sp. n. A-G Holotype, female: A habitus, dorsal view; B habitus, lateral view; C head, dorsal view; D head, lateral view; E terminalia, dorsal view; F terminalia, lateral view; G terminalia, ventral view; H-J Paratypes, females ♀; H head, dorsal view, adult; I head, dorsal view, nymph; J terminalia, dorsal view, nymph.

Figure 2.  

Medaura jobrensis Brock & Cliquennois, 2001. A-C Holotype, male (from Phasmida Species File 2022, photos by Paul Brock, published under CC BC -ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence): A habitus, dorsal view; B head and thorax, lateral view; C end of abdomen, lateral view; D & E Paratype, male (from Phasmida Species File 2022, photos by Paul Brock, published under CC BC -ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence): D habitus, dorsal view; E paratype data labels.

Head. Squarish, longer than wide, vertex slightly concave and with two small granules between compound eyes. Compound eyes rounded, occupying 1/4 of the genae. Occiput centre slightly convex, covered with sparse and small granules (Fig. 1C, D, H and I). Antennae filiform, 14 segments, shorter than half the length of fore femora; scapus rectangular and flattened, longer than pedicellus, almost 3x length of pedicellus; pedicellus flattened oval and longer than the third segment (Fig. 1H and I). Thorax. Pronotum nearly rectangular, slightly longer than width, almost 1/2 length of head, with sparse small granules; transverse and longitudinal sulci crossing at middle area and distinctly. Mesonotum longer than width, anterior narrowed and gradually widened posteriorly, about 4.5x length of pronotum; with distinct median longitudinal carina and sparse small granules; a row of small granules on the lateral carina of mesonotum. Metanotum nearly rectangular, almost 2/3 length of mesonotum, median area narrow, median longitudinal carina distinct; 2-3 small granules on the lateral carina of metanotum (Fig. 1A and B). Abdomen. Cylindrical, with slightly granulated, median longitudinal carina distinct. Median segment rectangular, wider than length, almost 1/4 length of metanotum, obviously segmented. Tergum II-VI robust and each segment gradually becoming longer. Tergite VII gradually narrowed. Tergite VIII narrowed in median area and broadened posteriorly, about 3/4 length of tergite VII. Tergite IX about 1/2 length of tergite VIII. Tergites II-IX with distinct lateral carina on both sides of median longitudinal carina. Anal segment gradually narrowing, about 1.5x length of tergite IX, end of anal segment with a deeply V-shaped incision in centre (Fig. 1A, B, E-G and J). Sternite VII with a distinct needle-like praeopercular organ (Fig. 1B, F and G). Operculum not surpassing posterior margin of anal segment, scoop-shaped and tapering posteriorly (Fig. 1E-G). Cerci short, slightly lanceolate and hidden beneath anal segment (Fig. 1H). Legs. All long and moderately slender, covered with sparse and short bristles; profemora distinctly curved basally, with minor serrations in dorsal carina; mesofemora with five round-lamellar lobes; metafemora smooth. Pro- and meta-femora shorter than corresponding tibiae; mesofemora about as long as mesotibiae. Protibiae smooth; meso- and meta-tibiae with a few small serrations (Fig. 1A and B).

The new species is similar to M. scabriuscula and M. jobrensis, but can be separated by the fewer antennal segments, ornamentation between the compound eyes, serrations or lobes on legs and the incised shape at end of the anal segment. The new species with two small granules between the compound eyes; antennae 13-14 segments; mesofemora with five round-lamellar lobes and mesotibiae with few tiny serrations; anal segment longer than 9^th segment and end with deep and narrowed V-shaped incision in centre (Fig. 1). In M. scabriuscula, two bold spines between the compound eyes; antennae 18-19 segments; mesofemora with three large dentate foliaceous lobes dorsally and three small spines on the central carina, mesotibiae with two smaller foliaceous lobes at the proximal end; anal segment longer than 9^th segment and tip boldly triangular incised in centre, giving it the appearance of having two leaf-like lobes. In M. jobrensis, with two bold spines on raised ridge between the compound eyes; antennae 21-22 segments; mesofemora with three large dentate foliaceous lobes dorsally and three small spines on the central carina, mesotibiae with two smaller foliaceous lobes at the proximal end and other minor spines; anal segment same length as 9^th segment and tip slightly and unevenly triangularly incised in centre; end of 9^th segment with large twin tubercles in centre (Figs 3, 4; Brock and Cliquennois 2001).

Figure 3.  

Medaura jobrensis Brock & Cliquennois, 2001. A-D Paratype, female (from Phasmida Species File 2022, photos by Paul Brock, published under CC BC -ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence): A habitus, dorsal view; B head and thorax, lateral view; C end of abdomen lateral view; D female, paratype data labels; E habitus, dorsal view (Modified from Brock and Cliquennois 2001).

Figure 4.  

Medaura makassarinus (Westwood, 1859). A-F Holotype, male (from Phasmida Species File 2022, photos by Paul Brock, published under CC BC - ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence): A habitus, lateral view; B head and thorax, lateral view; C head and thorax, ventral view; D end of abdomen, dorsal view; E end of abdomen lateral view; F end of abdomen, ventral view.

The name (lat. aculeiformis = needle-like) refers to the needle-like praeopercular organ on sternite VII of female.

China (Yunnan).

Antennal segments of new species have 14 in adult, 13 in the last instar nymph. Three last instar nymphs fed on Rosa chinensis Jacq. (Rosaceae) and Nephrolepis auriculata (L.) Trimen (Nephrolepidaceae) in the lab, but these may not be the real host plants. One nymph died, two nymphs turned into adults and died soon afterwards without spawning. Adults bite each other, causing the posterior margin of the anal segment to be incomplete. Thus, the egg is unkown.

Fig. 1

Lonchodes austeni: Wood-Mason 1875: 216. [original description].

Promachus austeni: Kirby 1904: 326. [transferred genus].

Medaura austeni: Brunner von Wattenwyl 1907: 241. [transferred genus]. Mandal and Yadav 2010: 31. [Redescribed from literature].

As the type specimen of Medaura austeni, deposited in NZSI, has been lost (Mukherjee and Sirinivasan 2013), we did not provide the photos here. From literature, only the male characters were described including: head and thorax with minute granules; mesonotum, metanotum and abdomen with carina and strong spines; anal segment small, fused at base, rounded; subgenital plate compressed and hood-shaped; middle and posterior femora at base below with single spine (MandaI and Yadav 2010).

Medaura jobrensis: Brock and Cliquennois 2001: 19. [original description] ­Delfosse 2008: 3 [biology]. ­Brock et al. 2016: 178. [type data].

The type specimen of Medaura jobrensis was deposited in NHMW. The original literature provides a detailed description of male, female and egg (Brock and Cliquennois 2001).

Fig. 2, Fig. 3

Bacillus makassarinus: Westwood 1859: 179. [original description].

Medaura makassarinus: Kirby 1904: 341. [transferred genus].

The type specimen of Medaura makassarinus was deposited in OUMNH. As only the male was simply described in literature, we organised photos of the male from PSF, but unfortunately the photo of the abdomen dorsal view is unclear.

Fig. 4

Bacillus scabriusculus: Wood-Mason 1873: 55. [original description].

Menaka scabriuscula: Wood-Mason 1877: 342. [transferred to new genus].

Medaura scabriusculus: Kirby 1904: 341. [catalogue of species]. ­Brock and Cliquennois, 2001: 15. [redescription, first description male and egg, synonymy]. Delfosse 2008: 3. [biology].

Synonym: Stheneboea (Medaura) brunneri: Stål 1875: 69. [original description]. Wood-Mason 1877: 342. [listed as a synonym of Menaka scabriuscula]. Kirby 1904: 341. [type species designation, listed as synonym of Medaura scabriusculus].

Synonym: Medaura nimia: Brunner von Wattenwyl 1907: 241. [original description]. Brock 1998: 46. [type data]. Brock and Cliquennois 2001: 15. [listed as synonym of Medaura scabriuscula].

Synonym: Medaura subintegra: Carl 1913: 1. [original description]. Brock and Cliquennois 2001: 15. [listed as synonym of Medaura scabriuscula].

All type specimens of Medaura scabriuscula were deposited in NZSI, NMW and MHNG. However, only the female was simply described in the original literature. Subsequently, Brock and Cliquennois (2001) described the male and provided a supplementary description of the female and egg.

Fig. 5

Figure 5.  

Medaura scabriuscula (Wood-Mason, 1873). A female, holotype; B-D female, show the holotype of the synonym Stheneboea (Medaura) brunneri (all from Phasmida Species File 2022. A photo by Tushar Mukherjee, B-D photos by Paul Brock, published under CC BC -ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence): A habitus, dorsal view; B habitus, dorsal view; C head and thorax, lateral view; D end of abdomen lateral view.