Spalacomimus verruciferus ( Karsch, 1887 )

Heller, Klaus-Gerhard, Chobanov, Dragan, Warchałowska-Śliwa, Elżbieta & Hemp, Claudia, 2022, Review of song patterns and sound production in armoured ground crickets (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Hetrodini) with karyological data and taxonomic notes, Zootaxa 5120 (4), pp. 451-481 : 474-475

Spalacomimus verruciferus ( Karsch, 1887)

Material examined: all TANZANIA, all Kilimanjaro Region: 2 males [ CH 7188 (SR, SF), CH 7189 (SR)], Mt Kilimanjaro, near Lake Chala (3°18’S, 37°41’E), January / February 2009, leg. C. Hemp; 1 male [CH7637 (SR, SF)], TANZANIA, Mt Kilimanjaro eastern slopes, March 2013, leg. C. Hemp; 5 males [ CH 7897 (SF), CH 7904 (SR), CH 7905 (SR), CH 7906], Eastern Arc Mountains, Lembeni, North Pare , 17 xii 2014, leg. C. Hemp; 1 male ( TI) , Lake Chala, Mt Kilimanjaro eastern slopes, September 2015, leg. C. Hemp; 1 male (SR) , South Pare Mts, Mt. Vumari , November 2021, leg. C. Hemp.

References: Hemp 2021

Bioacoustics. The species is bioacoustically quite similar to S. stettinensis . The echemes seem to be shorter by a factor of two (only 19 syllables per echeme) and the echeme repetition rate is correspondingly faster ( Fig. 10H ; see Table 2 ).

Genitalia. In size, the genitalic sclerites ( Fig. 11E ) are similar to that of S. stettinensis and S. talpa . The main part of the titillator, however, is not broad, but triangular and the lateral sclerites are intermediate between the other two species in size.

Chromosomes: 2n = 24 (22 + neo-XY), FN = 25; pairs 1–11 acrocentric, neo-X submetacentric and neo-Y acrocentric [one male: CH 7897 and three males described earlier ( Warchałowska et al. 2015: CH 7188, CH 7189, CH 7637)]; thin C-positive paracentromeric bands in all autosomes, thick on both the neo-X and the neo-Y, as well as an interstitial one on the long pair ( Fig. 12J ) .

Figures

FIGURE 10. Oscillograms of the calling songs in the genera Eugaster, Eugasteroides and Spalacomimus (figures of S. liberianus based on figures and data from literature; see text). A Eugaster guyoni, B Eugaster spinulosa, C Eugasteroides loricatus, D Spalacomimus liberianus, E Spalacomimus magnus, F Spalacomimus stettinensis, G Spalacomimus talpa, H Spalacomimus verruciferus, I Spalacomimus spec. near verruciferus.

FIGURE 11. Titillators in the genus Spalacomimus. A S. magnus (Gulwe), B S. stettinensis (Lambo Estate), C S. stettinensis (neotype), D S. talpa (Lembeni), E S. verruciferus (Lake Chala), F S. spec. near verruciferus (Lossogonoi).

FIGURE 12. Examples of chromosome number and heterochromatin C-banding of mitotic male (A–C, G–K) and mitotic female complements (D), as well as diplotene/diakinesis (C, E, I on the right), and metaphase I (F) for the following Hetrodini taxa: A Cosmoderus femoralis, 2n = 24 + X0 (CH8626), B Enyaliopsis bloyeti, 2n = 28 + X0 (HE114), C Enyaliopsis carolinus, 2n =24 + neo-XY (CH8625), D Enyaliopsis ephippiatus, 2n = 26 + XX (female CH7849), E Enyaliopsis jennae, 2n = 26 + neo- XY (HE87), F Enyaliopsis spec. 2 Mpwapwa, 2n = 26 + X0 (CH8353), G Gymnoproctus rammei, 2n = 26 + X0 (CH8763), H Gymnoproctus spec., 2n = 26 + X0 (CH7953), I Spalacomimus magnus, 2n = 16 + X0 (CH7945), J Spalacomimus verruciferus, 2n = 22 + neo-XY (CH7897), K Spalacomimus spec. near verruciferus, 2n = 22 + neo-XY (CH7899). Bi-armed chromosomes (meta/submeta/subacrocentric) are marked with numbers (A, C, D, F–I); in the neo-XY system, sex chromosomes form association in diplotene (C) and metaphase I (I); arrowheads indicate interstitial C-bands in 1 (A, E, J, K) and 2 (I) pairs; asterisks (*) marked distal C-bands in 3, 4, 5 (C), 3, 4 (D), 2-heteromorphic (G, H) pair; X = neo-X and Y = neo-Y sex chromosomes. Scale bar = 10 µm.