Eupholidoptera smyrnensis (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1882)

Willemse, Luc, Tilmans, Jos, Kotitsa, Nefeli, Trichas, Apostolos, Heller, Klaus-Gerhard, Chobanov, Dragan & Ode, Baudewijn, 2023, A review of Eupholidoptera (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae) from Crete, Gavdos, Gavdopoula, and Andikithira, ZooKeys 1151, pp. 67-158 : 67

publication ID	https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1151.97514
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5FEDE55D-C9AF-47D5-9125-9F1758AE2A18
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/644A8541-49AD-5A73-A962-430469FC7C3B
treatment provided by	ZooKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Eupholidoptera smyrnensis (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1882)
status

Treatment

Eupholidoptera smyrnensis (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1882) View in CoL View at ENA

Figs 8 View Figures 8–10 , 11 View Figures 11–24 , 25 View Figures 25–38 , 39 View Figures 39–52 , 53 View Figures 53–66 , 69 View Figures 69–82 , 83 View Figures 83–96 , 97 View Figures 97–110 , 111 View Figures 111–125 , 126 View Figures 126–139 , 140 View Figures 140–153 , 154 View Figures 154–167 , 168 View Figures 168–181 , 182 View Figures 182–197 , 198 View Figures 198–212 , 253 View Figures 247–253 , 254 View Figures 254, 255 , 256 View Figure 256 , 259 View Figure 259

Thamnotrizon smyrnensis Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1882: 336.

Olynthoscelis smyrnensis (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1882): Bolivar 1899: 601.

Pholidoptera smyrnensis (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1882): Ebner 1919: 157.

Eupholidoptera smyrnensis (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1882): Ramme 1951: 198.

Eupholidoptera smyrnensis Morphological description. Brunner von Wattenwyl 1882: 336; Willemse 1980: 59.

Eupholidoptera smyrnensis Bioacoustics. Heller 1988: 132; Çiplak et al. 2009: 27, 54.

Examined specimens.

9 ♂, 5 ♀ (for details see Suppl. material 2).

Diagnostics features.

Frontal part of head (Fig. 11 View Figures 11–24 ) pale, dark spots enlarged and merged into a mosaic pattern; pronotal disc (Fig. 25 View Figures 25–38 ) completely pale chestnut brown; abdomen pale, each tergite with tiny central dot on hind margin. Male (Fig. 253 View Figures 247–253 ) - stridulatory file with 78 teeth (including proximal and distal ones) ( Çiplak et al. 2009 report a stridulatory file with 100 teeth), density of teeth in middle two thirds of the file 19 teeth per mm; anal tergite (Figs 69 View Figures 69–82 , 83 View Figures 83–96 , 97 View Figures 97–110 ) oblong, distally bend downward forming two strong spines pointing downward, separated by a very wide semi-ellipsoid excision; cerci (Figs 111 View Figures 111–125 , 126 View Figures 126–139 ) 3 × longer than wide, basal half conical, apical half cylindrical, curved inward, in profile straight, armed with strong basal inner side-tooth; subgenital plate (Figs 140 View Figures 140–153 , 154 View Figures 154–167 ) ca. as wide as long, halfway widest, sides unrimmed, in profile distally narrowing, straight, pointing backward, tip apical lobes emarginate with protuberance at inner margin and two small upward pointing teeth, with V-shaped median excision along half the total length; styli (Fig. 168 View Figures 168–181 ) long, one third as long as cerci, 2-3 × longer than wide, cylindrical, inserted at ventro-outer tip of apical lobes, pointing distad and outward; titillator (Figs 182 View Figures 182–197 , 198 View Figures 198–212 ) symmetrical, apical arms mostly fused, from narrow base plate-like expanded, apically divided into two long parallel or diverging spines, in profile moderately upcurved. Female - subgenital plate (Figs 39 View Figures 39–52 , 53 View Figures 53–66 ) as long as wide, in ventral view strongly convex, hind margin converging to two pointed apical lobes separated by wide V-shaped excision a third to a quarter as deep as the total length, in profile triangular, upper and lower margin converging to a pointed apex.

Measurements.

See Tables 6 View Table 6 , 7 View Table 7 .

Bioacoustics.

Based upon the sound recordings of one specimen (10 syllables measured) from Crete, the song of E. smyrnensis , as in all species of Eupholidoptera , consists of isolated syllables produced in long series with the opening hemisyllable much shorter and weaker than the closing hemisyllable. In E. smyrnensis , the syllable duration is ~ 40 ms, the shortest in Cretan Eupholidoptera . In the present recordings, the syllable repetition rate is 2/s at maximum. The song is also characterised by syllables that are produced in compact series of 3-10s followed by a longer silence after which another series follows. The first few syllables in a series are weaker than the following ones. This pattern has so far not been found in other species of Eupholidoptera in Crete. Recordings from other Greek Islands (Rhodes and Naxos) and published by Çiplak et al. (2009) show a comparable syllable duration (35-45 ms) and repetition rate (2-3/s). For details of sound recordings of Eupholidoptera smyrnensis from Crete see Suppl. material 3.

Differential diagnosis.

Males differ from congenerics in the stout, inward curved cerci (Figs 111 View Figures 111–125 , 126 View Figures 126–139 ) with a strong basal side-tooth, in the subgenital plate (Figs 140 View Figures 140–153 , 154 View Figures 154–167 ) slightly narrowing, tips with two small upward pointing teeth, the inner margin of the excision with a protuberance, in the long, apically inserted, backward pointing styli (Fig. 168 View Figures 168–181 ), in the anal tergite (Figs 69 View Figures 69–82 , 83 View Figures 83–96 , 97 View Figures 97–110 ) medially bend downward forming two strong, widely separated, downward pointing spines and in the fused wing-like expanded basal part of the apical arms of the titillator (Figs 182 View Figures 182–197 , 198 View Figures 198–212 ), apically divided into two long parallel or diverging spines. Females differ from congenerics in the strongly convex subgenital plate (Figs 39 View Figures 39–52 , 53 View Figures 53–66 ) with narrow, acute apical lobes, hind margin with wide excision as deep as a quarter or third of the length. In colouration E. smyrnensis differs from its Cretan congenerics in the black dots on the frons of the head merged into a mosaic pattern (Fig. 11 View Figures 11–24 ), the unicolourous pale pronotal disc and a tiny central black dot along the hind margin of the abdominal tergites (Fig. 8 View Figures 8–10 ). For more details differentiating E. smyrnensis from other Cretan Eupholidoptera see Table 5 View Table 5 .

Distribution.

Eupholidoptera smyrnensis is one of the most widespread species of the genus. Its range covers western Anatolia and the southern Balkan (southern Bulgaria, southeastern Republic of North Macedonia, and north-western Greece) ( Çiplak et al. 2009). Beside mainland Greece it has also been reported from a number of Aegean islands to the north (Thasos, Limnos), east (Samos, Nysiros, and Rhodes) as well as Evvoia ( Monnerat et al. 1999: 65) and more to south from the Cyclades islands of Tzia ( Willemse and Willemse 2008) and Naxos (unpublished data 2019). Much to our surprise, a single large population was discovered in 2017 in a small neglected patch of agricultural land full of blackberries ( Rubus ) amidst olive orchards southeast of Doxaro and west of the hamlet of Makrigiannis, central Crete in the lowlands south of the Taleon Mts. The species was collected again in 2019 in the southwestern most corner of Crete near the village of Lagkadas. Furthermore, pitfall catches from 1996 and 1997 revealed the presence of the species near Kavallos at the edge of Limni Kourna (Fig. 254 View Figures 254, 255 ). Cretan E. smyrnensis are smaller than mainland E. smyrnensis , but overall colour pattern and shapes of cercus, anal tergite, subgenital plate, and titillator fit with E. smyrnensis from other parts of Greece. For a complete list of localities, specimens, and repositories see Suppl. material 1.

Habitat.

Although on the Greek mainland E. smyrnensis is found up to 1200 m, in Crete, it has only been found between 25 m and 340 m. Unlike most other Eupholidoptera species in Crete, E. smyrnensis is not found in spiny shrubs on the ground but lives in taller spiny bushes like blackberries ( Rubus ).

Phenology.

Based on hand and pitfall catches E. smyrnensis becomes adult in June and near Limni Kourna adults have still been trapped after 20 August, probably being active well into September and possibly October.