Spalacomimus talpa ( Gerstaecker, 1869 )

Heller, Klaus-Gerhard, Chobanov, Dragan, Warchałowska-Śliwa, Elżbieta & Hemp, Claudia, 2022, Review of song patterns and sound production in armoured ground crickets (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Hetrodini) with karyological data and taxonomic notes, Zootaxa 5120 (4), pp. 451-481 : 474

Spalacomimus talpa ( Gerstaecker, 1869)

Material examined: all TANZANIA, all Kilimanjaro Region: 1 male [ CH 7699 (SR, SF, TI)], Mt Kilimanjaro , August/ September 2013, leg. C. Hemp ; 1 male [CH7354 (SR, SF)], TANZANIA, Lake Chala Lodge, 1000 m, eastern slopes Mt Kilimanjaro, September 2010, leg. C. Hemp ; 1 male ( TI), Rau Forest near Moshi , August 2017, leg. C. Hemp ; 1 male ( TI), North Pare Mts, Lembeni , September 2015, leg. C. Hemp ; 2 males, ( CH 7626, CH 7625), March 2013, plantation belt southern slopes Mt Kilimanjaro , 1430 m, leg. C. Hemp.

References: Hemp 2021

Bioacoustics. Tegmina ( Fig. 3 ), stridulatory file ( Table 1 ), and spectrum of the song ( Fig. 6 ) do not show large differences to the typical Hetrodini pattern. The calling song consists of a long, uninterrupted trill (song type A) with a SRR of about 22 Hz ( Fig. 10G ; see Table 2 ).

Genitalia. The genitalic sclerites are similar to that of S. stettinensis . However, the lateral sclerites are even larger than in this species and the titillator is pointed at the tip ( Fig. 11D ).

Chromosomes: 2n = 24 (22 +XY), FN = 24; pair 1–11 and both sex chromosomes acrocentric [4 males described earlier ( Warchałowska-Śliwa et al. 2015: CH 7354, CH 7525, CH 7626, CH 7699)]; thin C-positive paracentromeric bands in all chromosomes and an interstitial one on the long pair and the neo-Y chromosome.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Left male tegmina of Acanthoplus discoidalis (CH8946), Acanthoproctus cervinus (CH8947), Hetrodes pupus (CHelb8948), Enyaliopsis bloyeti (CH8853), E. carolinus (CH8625), E. ephippiatus (CH7737), E. jennae (damaged; CH8267), Gymnoproctus rammei (CH8763), Eugasteroides loricatus (CH7352), Spalacomimus stettinenesis, S. talpa (CH7354), S. verruciferus (CH7188). Scale 5 mm.

FIGURE 6. Power spectra of male calling songs in Hetrodini species

FIGURE 10. Oscillograms of the calling songs in the genera Eugaster, Eugasteroides and Spalacomimus (figures of S. liberianus based on figures and data from literature; see text). A Eugaster guyoni, B Eugaster spinulosa, C Eugasteroides loricatus, D Spalacomimus liberianus, E Spalacomimus magnus, F Spalacomimus stettinensis, G Spalacomimus talpa, H Spalacomimus verruciferus, I Spalacomimus spec. near verruciferus.

FIGURE 11. Titillators in the genus Spalacomimus. A S. magnus (Gulwe), B S. stettinensis (Lambo Estate), C S. stettinensis (neotype), D S. talpa (Lembeni), E S. verruciferus (Lake Chala), F S. spec. near verruciferus (Lossogonoi).