Eupholidoptera kykladica Heller, Willemse and Willemse, 2009

Alexiou, Sotiris, 2017, New distribution records of Orthoptera of Greece, Journal of Orthoptera Research 26 (1), pp. 53-63 : 54-55

Eupholidoptera kykladica Heller, Willemse and Willemse, 2009

Distribution

Sterea Ellas: Attiki, Vravrona, wasteland, 11 VI 2013, 1♂. Fig. 5A-C .

New for Attiki. This is a recently described, small sized Eupholidoptera , endemic to the west Kikladic islands of Andros, Tinos and Kea (Tzia) ( Çiplak et al. 2009) (Fig. 6 ). Our location is the first mainland population of this species. The specimen collected agrees perfectly with the description regarding small size, coloration (Fig. 5A ), cerci (Fig. 5B ) and subgenital plate. It was collected from Sarcopoterium spinosum , a small, thorny bush, typical of dry coastal habitats of Mediterranean Greece. Measurements (length, in mm): body 18, pronotum 8, hind femur 15.5.

Eupholidoptera kykladica belongs to E. prasina -group, a group of Aegean and Anatolian species, mostly with localized distribution. The locality reported here represents the first documented presence of a member of this group on mainland Greece, an area otherwise dominated by members of E. chabrieri -group ( Çiplak et al. 2009).

The presence of E. kykladica on Attiki, or the east mainland in general, is no surprise. The zoogeographical connection of west Kikladic islands with mainland Greece is well documented. Two other orthopteran species that have a similar distribution pattern are Rhacocleis werneri F. Willemse, 1982, described from Evvia and since then found on east Attiki and Andros island and Leptophyes lisae Heller and Willemse, 1989, occurring at E Peloponnisos and Andros ( Willemse and Willemse 2008).

The genus Eupholidoptera is rare in the area of Attiki. Antonatos et al. (2014) were the first to report members of the genus from Attiki. In particular, they report Eupholidoptera sp1. from the area of the Athens International Airport, which is located at the lowland, near Vravrona, and Eupholidoptera sp2. from Mt. Parnitha. In both locations, Eupholidoptera were rare, less than 1% of the sampled specimens. In particular, Eupholidoptera sp1, which could prove to be E. kykladica , represented only 0.002% of the collected specimens, over a period of two years, while Eupholidoptera sp2., from the mountain location, represented 0.94%, respectively. On the other hand, Lehmann et al. (2014), in their acoustic monitoring of orthopterans on Mt. Imittos, did not report any Eupholidoptera species. We collected members of this genus from Mt. Imittos (VI 2014, 1♀) and Mt. Kitheron (VIII 2014, 1♀; 20 VI 2015, 1♀). All collected specimens are females of small body size (less than 15 mm). Since Eupholidoptera species are recognized mainly by male genital morphology, we hesitate to assign them to a particular species until further field research results in collection of male specimens.

Figures

Figure 5. Eupholidoptera kykladica, Attiki, Vravrona, 11 VI 2013. A. habitus, B. last abdominal segment, dorso-lateral view, C. lateral view (scale bar: 1 cm).

Figure 6. Total known distribution of Eupholidoptera kykladica (• literature records, ▲ new record).