Pamphagidae (Orthoptera: Caelifera) of North Africa: key to genera and the annotated check-list of species
Author
Massa, Bruno
text
Zootaxa
2013
3700
3
435
475
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.3700.3.7
371f30c1-ff9d-4fde-9429-fc9d284caf03
1175-5326
249376
E3FA2E4B-DDF4-4FDB-8CF1-FFBA215D40CA
Tmethis cisti
(Fabricius, 1787)
Material examined
.
Morocco
:
Melilla
,
3♂
, 8♀; El Guerruau,
3♂
, 8♀; Mulay Rechid (Ulad Settut),
3♂
; Toco El Arba (
Melilla
),
3♂
, 8♀; Hasi Berkan,
3♂
, 8♀ (MNCN);
Algeria
: Ain M’Lila (Costantine) 18.
V.01,
1
♂, 1♀; Dumas 20.
V.49, 1
♀;
Tunisia
: Tamerza 26.
V.1873,
6
♂, 9♀; Ludien 23.
IV.1873, 1
♀; Hammam el Lif 2.
VII.1875, 5
♀ (MSNG);
15 km
N El Jem 15.
V.91, 2
♂♂;
Djerba
17.
IV.92,
3
♂, 2♀; Sousse
30.V.79
, ♂; Gafsa 2.
VI.79, 1
♀; La Skhira 1.
VI.79, 1
♀;
15 km
N Gabes 16.
V.91,
1
♂; Mabeth 16.
V.91, 1
♀; Biserte, 1♀;
30 km
S Gabes 16.
V.91,
2
♂; Korba 3.
VI.93,
11
♂, 5♀; Kerkenna Is. 31.
V.79,
8
♂, 6♀; Soliman 8.
VII.76,
3
♂; Sidi Mansoun 28.
VI.76, 1
♀; 16 Km N Gabés 5.
VII.76,
3
♂, 2♀; Sousse 7.
VII.76, 1
♀; 30 Km S Ben Gardhane 3.
VII.76, 2
♀ (MSNT);
Libya
: Leptis Magna 18.
IV.05,
2
♂; Tagiura 14.
IV.98, 1
♀ (BMCP); U. Caàm, Mizda, Tinaiat ben Galan,
4♂
, 5♀ (MSNM); Ain Zara,
1♂
, 1♀; Homs,
2♂
(MZR).
T. cisti
covers North Africa, from
Morocco
to
Libya
(Tripolitania and Cyrenaica). Uvarov (1943) established that the
type
locality was Northern
Tunisia
. It is well characterized by a high pronotum keel, with deep transverse sulcus (mainly in males) (
Figs. 32–36
), male epiphallus with apical lobes large and broadly separated (
Figs. 54
a, 55a), spurs of hind tibiae long and slender (
Fig. 54
b). Tegmina are long and generally exceed the hind knees (
Figs. 42–43
,
55
), hind wings are red inside with a central brown spot, which reaches the base of the red area, but this colour is very variable; for example in
Tunisia
yellow (
Djerba
Is., Sousse), purple (Gafsa, Mareth, Gabes), blue (Skhira, Kerkenna Is.) and red tibiae (Korba, Biserte) have been found; in
Libya
bluish with red apex (Leptis Magna, East of Sirte), blue (East of Sirte, Agedabia) and vinaceous tibiae with red apex (Tagiura) have been detected; in
Algeria
red (El Kantara, Tebessa, Constantine) and yellow tibiae (Dumas) have been recorded. Concerning the length of tegmina, specimens with abbreviated wings exist in different localities (e.g., Kerkenna Is., Korba); generally, when tegmina are shorter than abdomen, hind wings are shorter than tegmina and show a simplified colour pattern (less coloured, with faint brown spots).
In the following paragraphs I will examine the different populations listed as subspecies by Eades
et al.
(2013).