Uromenus melillae Nadig, 1994

Heller, Klaus-Gerhard, Puskás, Gellért, Szövényi, Gergely & Chobanov, Dragan P., 2021, Songs in the genus Uromenus (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Ephippigerini): A review with new information about some species, Zootaxa 4991 (1), pp. 93-115 : 104

Uromenus melillae Nadig, 1994

MOROCCO, E of Zaio , N 34.95247, W 002.59960, 115 m a.s.l., 03 vi 2013, leg. D. Chobanov

The male stridulatory file carries about 73 teeth ( Fig. 7 ; Tab. 2 ). In the middle of the file the inter-tooth intervals are about 63 µm.

Morphology. The species was compared to U. finoti by Nadig (1994) and based on this resemblance placed in the same subgroup. Our specimens clearly resemble U. finoti by the shape of the male 10th tergum and epiproct ( Fig. 10E 1 ), while cerci differ by the possession of a longer, backward pointing sharp process ending with a black tooth ( Fig. 10E 1 ) (lacking in U. finoti —see Fig. 10A 2 ).

Ecology. The species was collected in the valley of Moulouya river in a xeric semiruderal habitat of Mediterranean type ( Fig. 1Q ). The locality fits the Köppen climate type BSh (Hot semi-arid)( Verner et al. 2018) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. General appearance and habitats of Uromenus species. A—U. elegans (Italy, Lazio), B–D—U. elegans (Crete; photos B and C taken by Ionuţ Iorgu), E, F—U. dyrrhachiacus, G—U. agarenus, H–J—U. finoti, K, L—U. robustus, M, N—U. tobboganensis, O—U. maroccanus, P, Q—U. melillae, R—U. innocentii, S, T—U. choumarae.

FIGURE 2. Oscillograms of male calling songs of the Uromenus species studied here, 10 second sections.

FIGURE 7. Male stridulatory files in Uromenus. A—U. elegans (Crete), B—U. dyrrhachiacus, C—U. finoti, D—U. galvagnii, E—U. robustus, F—U. tobboganensis, G—U. melillae, H—U. innocentii, I—U. choumarae.

FIGURE 10. Cerci of the Moroccan species of Uromenus studied here and of U. dyrrhachiacus. A—U. finoti, B—U. galvagnii, C—U. robustus, D—U. tobboganensis, E—U. melillae, F—U. innocentii, G—U. choumarae, H—U. dyrrhachiacus