Phlesirtes merumontanus (Sjöstedt, 1909), Sjostedt, 1909

Hemp, Claudia, 2013, Annotated list of Ensifera (Orthoptera) and further records on Caelifera (Orthoptera) of Mt Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, Zootaxa 3613 (4), pp. 301-342 : 316-317

Phlesirtes merumontanus (Sjöstedt, 1909)

Distribution. Northern Tanzania (Mt Kilimanjaro, Mt Meru, Monduli Range, Mt Kitumbeine).

Described from Mt Meru by Sjöstedt (1909).

Habitat. Montane grasslands, forest edge and clearings, afroalpine grasslands.

Song. Long, uninterrupted sequences of syllables, mostly in the ultrasonic range (Hemp et al. 2010a).

Molecular phylogeny: Species of the genus Phlesirtes are the sister group to Acanthoscirtes and Fulvoscirtes (Hemp et al. 2010a, b; Hemp et al. 2012). P. merumontanus is the sister taxon to a yet undescribed species occurring in montane forest clearings on the Manyara Escarpment of northern Tanzania in the area of Lake Manyara (Hemp et al., in prep.). The genus Phlesirtes is the most species-rich genus of Karniellina , with still 17 undescribed species found in montane zones of east African mountains, mountain ranges and highlands. P. merumontanus belongs to a young radiation of the genus, suggested also by the wide biogeographical distribution of this species on several volcanoes of northern Tanzania (Hemp et al., in prep.). Altitudinal range at Mt Kilimanjaro: 1800–2700 m

Records: 7