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| Live Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893 in their natural environments. A–B. Pharmacus senex sp. nov. A. Adult ♂, B. Adult ♂ and ♀. C. Pharmacus notabilis sp. nov. Adult ♂, D. P. concinnus sp. nov. Adult ♂. E. Pharmacus perfidus sp. nov. Adult ♀ and ♂, F. P. vallestris sp. nov. Adult ♀. Hegg, Morgan-Richards & Trewick, 2022 |
ABSTRACT
The New Zealand alpine cave wētā genus Pharmacus was first described by Pictet & de Saussure (1893) as a monotypic taxon. Three species were added to the genus by Richards in 1972. Here we clarify the status and appearance of all known species of Pharmacus. Based on morphology and mtDNA sequences we determine that the species Pharmacus brewsterensis Richards, 1972 is better placed within the genus Notoplectron Richards, 1964. We also resolve the species Isoplectron cochleatum Karny, 1935 and show that it belongs to the genus Pharmacus. Additionally, we describe six new species and three new subspecies from the southern regions of South Island, New Zealand. We provide key traits and known distributions for all known species and subspecies in this alpine genus. New combinations: Pharmacus brewsterensis Richards, 1972 becomes Notoplectron brewsterense (Richards, 1972) comb. nov.; Isoplectron cochleatum Karny, 1935 becomes Pharmacus cochleatus (Karny, 1935) comb. nov. New species and subspecies: Pharmacus cochleatus rawhiti subsp. nov., Pharmacus cochleatus fiordensis subsp. nov., Pharmacus cochleatus nauclerus subsp. nov., Pharmacus concinnus sp. nov., Pharmacus cristatus sp. nov., Pharmacus notabilis sp. nov., Pharmacus perfidus sp. nov., Pharmacus senex sp. nov. and Pharmacus vallestris sp. nov. New synonyms: Pharmacus dumbletoni Richards, 1972 = Pharmacus montanus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893 syn. nov.; Pharmacus chapmanae Richards, 1972 = Pharmacus cochleatus (Karny, 1935) syn. nov.
Keywords: cave wētā, Pharmacus, Rhaphidophoridae, systematics, Mount Cook flea, New Zealand
Order Orthoptera Latreille, 1793
Superfamily Rhaphidophoroidea Walker, 1869
Family Rhaphidophoridae Walker, 1869
Subfamily Macropathinae Karny, 1930
Tribe Macropathini Karny, 1930
Genus Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893
Etymology: ‘Pharmăcus’ is Latin for ‘sorcerer’. The noun’s gender is masculine.
Pharmacus montanus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893
Pharmacus cochleatus (Karny, 1935) comb. nov.
Pharmacus cochleatus cochleatus (Karny, 1935) comb. nov.
Pharmacus cochleatus nauclerus subsp. nov.
Etymology: ‘Nauclērus’ is Latin for ‘skipper’, after the Skippers Range in South Westland.
Pharmacus cochleatus fiordensis subsp. nov.
Etymology: ‘Fiordensis’, inhabits Fiordland, the geographical region in the south-west corner of New Zealand.
Crowe (2002) refers to this insect as ‘black tumbling cave wētā’ in light of his observations of how “to escape danger, it leaps, then rolls down the scree to tumble into a gap between the stones”.
Pharmacus cochleatus rawhiti subsp. nov.
Etymology: ‘Rāwhiti’ is Te Reo for ‘eastern’ – this subspecies inhabits mountain ranges east of the Southern Alps.Unaware of the fact that it belongs to the same species as his ‘black tumbling cave wētā’,
Crowe (2002) refers to this insect as ‘Remarkables cave wētā’. We discourage the use of this common name, since there are at least four species of cave wētā found in The Remarkables, including two species of Pharmacus. The range of Pharmacus cochleatus rawhiti subsp. nov. extends well beyond The Remarkables, as far south as the Garvie and Umbrella Mountains, and west to the Livingstone Mountains.
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| Live Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893 in their natural environments. A–B. Pharmacus senex sp. nov. A. Adult ♂, Dunstan, Dunstan Mountains, 1670 m a.s.l. B. Adult ♂ and ♀. The Obelisk, Old Man Range, 1680 m a.s.l. C. Pharmacus notabilis sp. nov. Adult ♂, Remarkables Ski-field Access Road, Wakatipu, 1200 m a.s.l. D. Pharmacus concinnus sp. nov. Adult ♂, Symmetry Peaks, Eyre Mountains, 1500 m a.s.l. E. Pharmacus perfidus sp. nov. Adult ♀ and ♂, Spence Peak, Takitimu Mountains, 1450 m a.s.l. F. Pharmacus vallestris sp. nov. Adult ♀, French Ridge, Matukituki River West Branch, 1700 m a.s.l. (MPN CW5145). |
Pharmacus cristatus sp. nov.
Etymology: ‘Cristātus’ is Latin for ‘tufted’. Named after the prominent hair tufts on the vertex of the male subgenital plate (Fig. 10G–H).
Pharmacus notabilis sp. nov.
Etymology: ‘Nŏtābĭlis’ is Latin for ‘remarkable’, after the location where the species was first discovered, The Remarkables near Queenstown. Pharmacus notabilis means ‘remarkable sorcerer’.
Pharmacus senex sp. nov.
Etymology: ‘Senex’ is Latin for ‘old’ (of a person), after the Old Man and Old Woman Ranges in Central Otago. Pharmacus senex means ‘old sorcerer’.
Pharmacus concinnus sp. nov.
Etymology: ‘Concīnnus’ is Latin for ‘pleasing’, ‘elegant’, also ‘symmetrical’, after the Symmetry Peaks in the Eyre Mountains where it was first discovered. Pharmacus concinnus means ‘elegant sorcerer’.
Pharmacus perfidus sp. nov.
Etymology: ‘Perfĭdus’ (noun) is Latin for ‘criminal’, ‘crook’. Pharmacus perfidus means ‘criminal sorcerer’. Try scrambling on the jagged, crumbly ridgelines of the Takitimu Mountains at night and you will know why. It is also banished to an isolated mountain range, a great distance away from all other Pharmacus species (see Fig. 6).
Pharmacus vallestris sp. nov.
Etymology: ‘Vallestris’ is Latin for ‘of the valley’. In contrast to sympatric species that inhabit the mountain tops.
Danilo Hegg, Mary Morgan-Richards and Steven A. Trewick. 2022. High Alpine Sorcerers: Revision of the Cave Wētā Genus Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae: Macropathinae), with the Description of Six New Species and Three New Subspecies. European Journal of Taxonomy. 808(1), 1–58. DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2022.808.1721