Odontura calaritana A. Costa, 1883

Massa, Bruno, 2022, A review of the Odontura (Orthoptera, Phaneropterinae) from Italy, Malta, Algeria and Tunisia, Zootaxa 5168 (5), pp. 561-577 : 573

Odontura calaritana A. Costa, 1883

Costa A., 1883, Atti Reale Accad. Sci. Fis. Matemat. Napoli 2(1)2: 88; type locality: Cagliari, Muravera, Silìqua and Simaxis (Sardinia); depository: MZUN (lost) .

Material examined. Sardinia, Sarrabus 1878, Traverso (2♂, 2♀, of which 1♂ has been selected as neotypus, after it was evident that the holotype described by Costa was lost); Sardinia, Ss. Trinità di Saccargia (Sassari) 16.V.1964, F. Capra (1♀); Sardinia, Dolianova 20.V.2007, L. Fancello (1♀); Sardinia, Iglesias 3.IV.1966 (1♀); Sardinia, Maddalena Is. (holotypus of O. festai Baccetti, 1992 , synonym of O. calaritana ) ( MSNG); Sardinia, Durieu (1♂, 1♀) ( MNCN); Sardinia, Arbus 4.VI.2012, L. Fancello (1♂) ( BMPC); Sardinia, Gonnosfanadiga. Mt. Idda 22.V.2006 (1♂); Sardinia, Sa P.ta de S’Erbaceu 22.V.2006 (2♂, 2♀); Sardinia, Villacidro, Rio Cannisoni 21.V.2006 (1♂, 2♀); Sardinia, P.ta Pranu Ilixi 20.V.2006 (1♂, 3♀); Sardinia, Domusnovas, Valle Oridda 24.V.2006 (1♂, 1♀); Sardinia, Bega d’Aleni 24.V.2006 (1♂, 1♀); Sardinia, Iglesias, Colonia Beneck 30.V.2006 (1♂); Sardinia, P.ta Cungiaus 23.V.2006 (1♀); Sardinia, surroundings of Oristano, V.2003 (1♀) (coll. A. Galvagni, MSNR).

Designation of a neotype for O. calaritana . As is the case of all type specimens of Orthoptera described by O.G. Costa and A. Costa, all name-bearing types of O. calaritana are lost. By virtue of ICZN Article 75, the present authors hereby designate as neotypus one male collected at Sarrabus (next to Muravera), preserved at MSNG, and carrying the following labels: Sardegna, Sarrabus 1878, [leg. G.B.] Traverso; Odontura stenoxypha Fieb. Det. Dubrony, 1879 . prep. ex alcol III.1984, F. Capra. As indicated, this specimen was determined by Dubrony (1879) as O. stenoxypha .

Remarks. The first cited record of the species from Sardinia is attributed to Gené in Serville (1839), who reported it as Barbitistes pyrenaea (presently Isophya pyrenaea ). Fischer (1853) also reported B. pyrenaea from Sardinia, stating the following: “Habitat in Pyrenaeis montibus prope “Bagnères” (Rambur); in Sardinia Gené. Serville nonnisi mare noverat. Prof. Zeller ♂ et ♀ mensibus Aprili et Majo circa Syracusas reperit et mecum at examinandum communicavit”. Dubrony (1879) reported it as Odontura stenoxypha from Sarrabus (Cagliari). Fifty years later, Achille Costa (1883) described it as Odontura calaritana from specimens collected in southern Sardinia (Cagliari, Muravera, Silìqua and Simaxis). However, Giglio Tos (1913), Baccetti (1964), Harz (1969) and Llorente & Pinedo (1990) nevertheless reported O. stenoxypha from Sardinia. Of all those involved, only Messina (1981) described the characters of O. calaritana in some detail, while Baccetti (1992) described another species ( O. festai ) from Vacca and Sant’Antioco islands, which Galvagni (2010) synonymized with O. calaritana . According to Galvagni (2010), females of O. stenoxypha and O. calaritana are not distinguishable; however, while the two species have many morphological characters in common—for example, in both the females of O. calaritana and O. stenoxypha , tegmina are overlapping—it is actually possible to separate the species, solely via the varying shape of the apically incurved male cerci ( Figures 1e, 1f ).

Distribution. O. calaritana appears to be present only in Sardinia; however, it is not restricted to the centralsouthern regions, as it also occurs in the northern areas (Sassari province). There is a possibility that the female specimen recorded from Majorca (Balearics) ( Llorente & Pinedo 1990; specimen examined by one of the authors [BM] at MNCN), with scarcely overlapping tegmina, could belong to this species rather than to O. stenoxypha ; alternatively, it may be an undescribed species. In view of its poorly preserved state, it was not possible to determine the specimen’s identity.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Close up of cerci of: a) O. algerica from Constantine; b) O. algerica from Algiers; c) O. martae sp. nov., from Tunisia; d) O. martae sp. nov., from Lampedusa; e) O. calaritana (= O. festai, holotypus) from Sardinia; f) O. stenoxypha from eastern Sicily.