Review of Psorodonotus Specularis Group (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae, Tettigoniinae): two new species from North-east Anatolia

Abstract

The Anatolio-Caucasio-Balkan genus Psorodonotus (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae) presently includes 13 species belonging to three species groups. In the present study we review the Specularis group and describe two new species-P. rize Kaya & Ciplak sp. n. and P. giresun Kaya & Ciplak sp. n.. Data obtained of 21 different populations from the North-eastern Anatolia and the Caucasus are used for descriptive and analytical purposes. Morphology of this group has been studied both qualitatively and quantitatively using linear metric data of the hind femur and geometric data of male and female pronotum, male cerci and ovipositor. Male calling songs are described and statistically analysed. Qualitative and/or quantitative morphology and male calling song suggested seven taxonomic units: P. specularis specularis, P. specularis inermis, P. inflatus, P. davisi, P. soganli, P. rize sp. n., P. giresun sp. n.. Our results suggest closest relationships of P. rize sp. n. with P. davisi and of P. giresun sp. n. with P. soganli.

The Balkan Psorodonotus (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae): Testing the existing taxa confirmed presence of three distinct species

“…Therefore, we conducted a geometric morphometrics analysis of all of these structures except the titillators. Illustrations of the pronotum and Kaya et al (2013Kaya et al ( , 2014 (Fig. 1).…”

“…Modified from Heller et al, 2004;kaya et al, 2014. Calling song: the song produced by an isolated male; phrase: a group of densely arranged song elements or syllables forming main discrete part of the song; syllable: sound produced during one cycle of movements of tegmina (opening -often quiet -and closing -typically loud); here we termed the main distinguishable part of the song a syllable, which may be a single repeated unit of the phrase used by Kaya et al (2014); element: a distinguishable compact oscillographic component that can be practically measured; syllables repetition rate: reciprocal of the syllable period (unit Hz = 1/s); syllable period: the duration of a syllable and the following silent interval until next syllable starts; syllable duration: the time interval starting from beginning of one repeated unit to its end; impulse: a recognizable undivided transient train of sound waves produced by the stridulatory tooth striking the plectrum (the anal edge of the opposite tegmen).…”

“…This is the main difference between the P. caucasicus group and the P. specularis and P. venosus groups, in which two or more syllables are grouped into phrases (oscillographically consisting of three or more song elements) (Kaya et al, 2013(Kaya et al, , 2014.…”

“…Later on, Brunner von Wattenwyl (1882) included in this genus also Pterolepis specularis Fischer de Waldheim, 1839 (also described under Peltastes). At present, the genus is thought to include 22 valid taxa (15 species) (Eades et al, 2014;Kaya et al, 2014), distributed in the mountainous regions of the Caucasus, Anatolia and the Balkan Peninsula. The highest diversity of species is concentrated in Eastern and Northeastern Anatolia and the Caucasus-Transcaucasus region.…”

“…Heller (1988) used parameters of the male calling song in addition to general morphology to define the subspecies relationships of the three taxa, a view that is currently accepted (Eades et al, 2014). Recent studies on related taxa in Anatolia (Ünal, 2013;Kaya et al, 2013Kaya et al, , 2014Taylan et al, 2014) revealed new distinct lineages in the genus with morphological and acoustic differences of the same order, which showed significant genetic differences (Kaya et al, data in prep.). Thus, the aim of the present study is to test the hypotheses concerning the taxonomic status of the Balkan taxa and reveal their relationships using molecular, morphological and acoustic data.…”