Socotracris kleukersi Felix & Desutter-Grandcolas, 2012

Felix, Rob, Bouwman, Jaap, Odé, Baudewijn, Ketelaar, Robert, Pham, Duc Minh & Bailey, James, 2025, The grasshoppers and crickets (Orthoptera) of the Socotra Archipelago (Yemen): a comprehensive overview and a description of a new Oecanthus Tree Cricket (Oecanthidae), Contributions to Entomology 75 (1), pp. 21-166 : 21-166

Socotracris kleukersi Felix & Desutter-Grandcolas, 2012

Figs 178 , 179

References for Socotra.

Desutter-Grandcolas and Felix 2012: 57–65; Chintauan-Marquier et al. 2016: 62, 69, 72; Hugel et al. 2021: 204.

Diagnostic notes.

Socotracris kleukersi is the only known cave-dwelling cricket on Socotra. It is unmistakable for its light colour, with an apparent orange head and long legs. Males have dark brown tegmina reaching tergite III (Fig. 178 ) and females have small, scale-like tegmina reaching the distal margin of the metanotum.

Taxonomic notes.

Socotracris Desutter-Grandcolas, 2012 is a monotypic phalangopsid cricket genus whose taxonomic position is close to Homoeogryllus Guérin-Méneville, 1847 and Meloimorpha Walker, 1870 , settled together with Phaeogryllus Bolívar, 1912 and most members of Gryllomorphini forming one clade ( Chintauan-Marquier et al. 2016).

Distribution and occurrence.

Endemic to Socotra. Only known with certainty from the type locality (Fig. 179 ). One juvenile of possibly the same species, depicted in Cheung and DeVantier (2006), was collected in 2004 in Dilhaile Cave, Dixam Plateau, four kilometres from the type locality (K. Van Damme, in litt.). The two sites are located in strongly karstified limestone, which would allow the species to disperse by a subterranean network.

In 2009, we visited some other caves: Hoq Cave (12.5877°N, 54.3545°E) at Momi Plateau and Dejub Cave (12.3849°N, 54.0156°E) on the southern edge of Dixam, but no crickets were found ( Desutter-Grandcolas and Felix 2012).

Habitat and biology.

Specimens were found in a small cave on a cliff along the right bank of Wadi Zerik. The cave is approximately 30 m long and some 10 m high. Most individuals were found where external light was almost absent, two to four metres high on vertical walls. The species seemed less abundant in deeper parts of the cave.

On all three visits to the cave, the species appeared numerous, occurring in tens of individuals. On the visit on 21 Feb 2009, only nymphs were found. On both visits in November 2010, apart from tens of nymphs, several adults were collected. We did not observe any specimens outside the cave during the day.

The species may be active at night near the entrance of the cave. Due to the habitat, S. kleukersi can be defined as troglobitic, confirmed by its light colouration and reduced eyes.

S. kleukersi is predated by spiders. Potential other predators present in the cave are bats (Rhinopoma cystops ssp. arabium ) and whip spiders (Amblypygi, Charinidae) ( Desutter-Grandcolas and Felix 2012).

Bioacoustics.

Based on a well-developed stridulatory file, the species is expected to produce sound, but the authors never observed it.

Remarks.

One of the paratypes has been genetically analysed by Chintauan-Marquier et al. (2016) and stored in GenBank (accession numbers KR 904052.1, KR 903862.1, KR 903700.1, KR 903528.1, KR 903357.1, KR 903177.1, KR 903026.1).

Figures

Figure 178. Socotracris kleukersi Felix & Desutter-Grandcolas, 2012, male at the type locality. Cave Wadi Zerik, Socotra, 6 Nov 2010 (photograph Rob Felix).

Figure 179. Distribution of Socotracris kleukersi in the Socotra Archipelago.