A review of the Acridinae s. str. (Orthoptera: Acridoidea: Acrididae) of eastern Africa with taxonomic changes and description of new taxa
Author
Popov †, George B.
Author
Fishpool, Lincoln D. C.
Author
Rowell, C. Hugh F.
text
Journal of Orthoptera Research
2019
28
2
37
105
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/jor.28.29312
journal article
http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/jor.28.29312
1937-2426-2-37
Duronia chloronota chloronota (
Stal
, 1876)
Material.
-Syntype and long series of material lodged at NHMUK, London.
Description.
-Diagnosis as for genus group. Size (in mm): total length, male 20-30, female 28-44. Integument finely rugose. Antenna ensiform, somewhat shorter than combined length of head and pronotum. Head conical, face oblique, straight, or broadly convex; variable even in same locality. Fastigium parabolic with fine medial and lateral carinulae. Frontal ridge sulcate with high carinulae diverging downwards. Dorsum of pronotum flat, wide, with sharp strong carinae; lateral carinae straight, parallel, or slightly divergent backwards; only posterior sulcus crossing dorsum, metazona slightly shorter than prozona, its posterior margin obtuse-angular. Male genital structures as in Fig. 97 (
D. c. phippsi
). Coloration extremely variable in shades of dark to light-brown and stramineous, often with admixture of shades of green and presence of dark lateral fascia. Dorsum predominantly in shades of brown, but occasionally in other colors, including a vivid deep pink pigmentation; sides are frequently green.
Discussion.
-There is no marked constancy in color patterns; sometimes a local population may exhibit a fairly homogeneous picture, while another elsewhere presents a wide range of variation. This could be a reflection of the ecological conditions of the habitat, but precise observations are lacking.
Distribution.
-The typical subspecies is by far the most widespread and variable of the three. Occurs in whole Ethiopian region except for deserts; all East African countries including SOMALIA (omitted from
COPR (1982)
but cited in
Johnsen and Schmidt (1982)
and
Baccetti and Abukar (1987)
); in much of southern Africa replaced by
Duronia chloronota curta
(
Uvarov 1953
).