Review of the Balkan Isophya (Orthoptera: Phaneropteridae) with particular emphasis on the Isophya modesta group and remarks on the systematics of the genus based on morphological and acoustic data Author Dragan P. Chobanov Author Beata Grzywacz Author Ionuţ Ş. Iorgu Author Battal Cιplak Author Maya B. Ilieva Author Elżbieta Warchałowska-Śliwa text Zootaxa 2013 3658 1 1 81 journal article 39033 10.11646/zootaxa.3658.1.1 0adf09ba-5301-4828-abf6-8dbe89f041ca 1175-5326 246551 C02D1C74-25C0-41DD-B098-62098EB7B62A Isophya rhodopensis petkovi Peshev, 1959 , stat.nov. ( Figs 18 , 47 , 71 , 96 , 121 , 167 , 173 , 193 ) Isophya petkovi Peshev : Peshev 1959a (sp.n.). Morphological description : Peshev 1959a. Karyotype : Warchałowska-Śliwa et al. 2008 (as I. petkovi —partim: cf. localities). Supplement to the description and diagnosis : The subspecies is characterised by a massive body and very large size for the genus (similar to I. taurica and I. longicaudata ). Male tegmina are visibly shortened (shorter than in I. rh. rhodopensis and I. rh. leonorae ) with stronger approximation of CuP and CuA. The stridulatory file is 3.5–3.7 mm long with 140–160 teeth ( Fig. 167 A). The disc of tegmina (before and after the dark stridulatory area) is yellowish-brown. The lateral stripes of metazone are blackish. Female stridulatory apparatus is shown in Fig. 167 C. Male cercus tooth ( Fig. 167 B) is similar to that of I. rh. rhodopensis . The song ( Fig. 173 ) consists of groups of few (2–6) syllables with few after-clicks (2–8, rarely one), whose number is higher when the temperature is lower. The impulses of the main syllable part are clearly separated and the impulse period at 20–22°С reaches 14– 18 ms at the beginning and again 10–12 ms at the end of the main part. The impulse period within the additional part (after-clicks) is 50–200 ms. Bioacoustics : The temporal characteristics of the male calling song vary at different temperatures. At 20°С: syllables—main part 261–292 ms (mean 277±11; n=10) with 54–68 impulses (mean 61±5; n=10) and impulse period of 3–18 ms (mean 4.5); total duration of the syllable with 5–8 after clicks— 1447–2039 ms (mean 1784±173; n=10). At 27.5°С: syllables—main part 166–192 ms (mean 179±8; n=10) with 64–72 impulses (mean 69±2; n=10) and mean impulse period of 2.6 ms; total syllable duration with 1–2 after-clicks—560–708 ms (mean 630±51; n=10). Distribution ( Fig. 193 ) and phenology : Distributed in the Eastern Rhodope Mountains ( Bulgaria and Greece— Kallithea by Willemse and Willemse 2008 as I. rhodopensis ; new for Greece ), Sakar ( Bulgaria ) and the neighbouring lowlands between 50 and 1200 m . No doubt this taxon has a restricted occurrence also in the northeasternmost corner of European Turkey . Nymphs—(?II–)III–V(–VI), imago—V–VI(–VII). 4. Isophya costata species group The group shows more specialised characters than I. modesta group and may have evolved from it or both groups have common origin. The body is moderately large to large. Hind femur is 16–23 mm long (usually 17–20). The width of fastigium verticis is 1/2 to equal to that of scapus. The disc of male pronotum is elongated, slightly to strongly widened in metazone, flat or moderately raised in metazone. Male tegmina are equal to or shorter than pronotum, frequently bulged, with shortened Costo-Medial part and compact, widened stridulatory area. CuP is moderately (in I. stysi Cejchan, 1958 ) to (usually) very long (>3/4-4/5 times of the hind margin of metazone) and wide (wider than 3rd or even 2nd antennal limb); CuP is moderately bulged, much wider than CuA; both are situated at about the same level over the pronotal surface (or CuA is slightly higher) and are closely approximated to each other. The stridulatory file has 50–275 teeth. Female tegmen has blunt to truncated (rarely slightly concave) hind margin and reticulate venation. Hind femur may lack or have from 1–2 to over 10 ventral spines. The pit between gonangulum and lamella is partly closed, the lamella is thin, without an excision. The ovipositor is moderately to very long for the genus (2 to over 3 times longer than pronotum). The main colouration is green (sometimes with light bands or variegated in I. dobrogensis ). Tegmina are usually greenish, sometimes with darkened stridulatory area. The lateral margins of pronotum in metazone have reddish stripe above the light band. Melanism is absent. The song (when known) consists of single or groups of syllables lasting 140–1100 ms. The X-chromosome of I. modestior may be acrocentric or subacrocentric ( type 1A or 2A according to Warchałowska-Śliwa et al. 2008 and unpublished data) in different populations (see below). Morphological traits of most taxa such as short and wide male tegmina and position of CuA and CuP, blunt female tegmina, high number of stridulatory teeth and shape of cerci indicate close relationships with the I. kraussii group. Presently we consider the group with six species— I. boldyrevi Miram, 1938 , I. costata Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1878, I. dobrogensis , I. modestior , I. stepposa Bey-Bienko, 1954, I. stysi Cejchan, 1958 , distributed in the Northern Balkan Peninsula, Central Europe ( Austria , Hungary , NE Italy ), the Carpathian Basin and Eastern Europe through the steppe belt eastwards to Volga Upland (Privolzhskaya vozvyshennost) in the region of Saratov.