Ruspolia differens ( Serville, 1838 )

Heller, Klaus-Gerhard, 2019, Provisional checklist of the Tettigonioidea (Insecta: Orthoptera) from São Tomé & Príncipe with taxonomic remarks, bioacoustical data and the description of new taxa, Zootaxa 4563 (1), pp. 41-66 : 53-54

Ruspolia differens ( Serville, 1838)

1 male, SAO TOME & PRINCIPE: São Tomé, Rolas Island , near lighthouse (0°00'N, 6°31'E), 80 m a.s.l., 3 v 2018, leg. Martina & K.- G. Heller & Marianne Volleth ( CH 8579); 1 sound record (animal not seen nor collected), SAO TOME & PRINCIPE: São Tomé, Praia Inhame Eco Lodge (0°01'N, 6°30'E), 20 m a.s.l., 30 iv 2018, rec. K .-

G. Heller

New record for São Tomé and Príncipe. Ruspolia species were identified using the information given by Bailey (1975, 1976; see under R. fuscopunctata ). R. differens is characterized by size and the stridulatory file (here ca. 80 teeth; Fig. 8 D ). In Praia Inhame Eco Lodge, we heard a typical Ruspolia song with a very high syllable repetition rate (see below B) besides the relatively slow song of Ruspolia fuscopunctata . We consider it as produced by R. differens .

The species has a quite large range, from West Africa to Uganda, Madagascar, Mauritius and South Africa.

Ruspolia fuscopunctata ( Karny, 1907)

Krauss 1890: Conocephalus mandibularis Charpentier, 1825

Griffini 1906: Conocephalus nitidulus ( Scopoli, 1786)

1 male, 1 female, 1 sound record, 2 nymphs, SAO TOME & PRINCIPE: Príncipe , near Bom Bom Island Resort (1°41'N, 7°24'E), 20 m a.s.l., 24–27 iv 2018, leg. Martina & K.- G. Heller & Marianne Volleth ( CH 8580-84) ; 2 males, SAO TOME & PRINCIPE: São Tomé , Sao Joao dos Angolares (0°08'N, 6°38'E), 30 iv 2018, leg. Martina & K.- G. Heller & Karsten Mosny ( CH 8585-6) ; 1 male, SAO TOME & PRINCIPE: São Tomé , Rolas Island , near lighthouse (0°00'N, 6°31'E), 80 m a.s.l., 3 v 2018, leg. Martina & K.- G. Heller & Marianne Volleth ( CH 8587) .

Before the studies of Bailey (1975, 1976), the identification of specimens of the genus Ruspolia was very difficult. He discovered that many species differ by song and also by the stridulatory files. During his work he found that the species Ruspolia nitidula (= Homorocoryphus nitidulus ), formerly thought to be widespread in Africa, is essentially a palearctic species and does not occur in Africa south of the Sahara.

Therefore, it was not surprising that nearly all (see above R. differens ) of our specimens differed in song (see below) and stridulatory file (here ca. 108 teeth; Fig. 8 E ) from R. nitidula , assumed to be common on the islands by Krauss (1890), Griffini (1906) and Burr (1927; “closely resembling the common European C. mandibularis ”). From song (see Acoustics) and stridulatory file they all belonged to Ruspolia fuscopunctata . This is a widespread species, known from Senegal to Kenia and South Africa and found even on Annobón Island ( Bailey 1975). However, according to the same author, Ruspolia fuscopunctata may be a not yet resolved species complex ( Bailey 1975).

Figures

FIGURE 8. Morphological details of Conocephalinae. A–E male Conocephalus iris, A cercus of typical long winged form, B cercus of brachypterous variety africanus, C cercus of micropterous variety guineensis, D fastigium, E stridulatory file and left mirror cell. F–G Stridulatory files of Ruspolia, F R. differens, G R. fuscopunctata. Scale 1 mm.