Abstract
The genus Thalpomena Saussure, 1884 is distributed in North Africa, Somalia and Ethiopia. It currently contains nine species, including one species with four subspecies; Seven of them (including one with four subspecies) are distributed in the Atlas Mountains, one in Libya and one (originally described in the genus Vosseleria) in the Somali Highlands. In this study, we propose taxonomic changes based on morphological, genetic, ecological and morphometric data from a previous study. The following species remain valid: Thalpomena algeriana (Lucas, 1849); Thalpomena azureipennis Uvarov, 1927; Thalpomena coerulescens Uvarov, 1923; Thalpomena dernensis (Werner, 1908); and Thalpomena viridipennis Uvarov, 1927. The following names are proposed here as junior synonyms of T. algeriana: Thalpomena algeriana intermedia Dirsh, 1949 (new synonym), Thalpomena algeriana montana Dirsh, 1949 (new synonym), Thalpomena coeruleipennis Finot, 1895 (new synonym), Thalpomena deserta Dirsh, 1949 (new synonym). Thalpomena rungsi Dirsh, 1949 is a new synonym of T. azureipennis; Thalpomena algeriana maroccana Dirsh, 1949 is a new synonym of T. viridipennis. The only East African representative of the genus, Thalpomena schulthessi (Uvarov, 1923), is transferred to the genus Vosseleriana (new combination).
References
Baccetti, B. (1997) Notulae orthopterologicae. 52. La collezione de ortotteri acridimorfi dellAfrica orientale conservata nel museo civico di storia naturale G. Doria di Genova. Annali del Museo Livico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria, 91, 227–292.
Bounechada, M., Doumandji, S.E. & Çiplak, B. (2006) Bioecology of the Orthoptera species of the setifian plateau, north-east Algeria. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 30, 245–253.
Cigliano, M.M., Braun, H., Eades, D.C. & Otte, D. (2021) Orthoptera Species File. Version 5.0. Available from: http://Orthoptera.SpeciesFile.org (accessed 9 October 2021)
De Saussure, H. (1884) Prodromus Oedipodiorum insectorum ex ordine orthopterorum. Librairie H. Georg, Genève, 254 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.9514
Dey, L.-S., Hochkirch, A., Moussi, A., Simões, M.V.P. & Husemann, M. (2022) Diversification in and around the Atlas Mountains: insights into the systematics and biogeography of the genus Thalpomena (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Oedipodinae). Sytematic Entomology. [early view] https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12537
Dirsh, V.M. (1949) The genus Thalpomena Saussure, 1884 (Orthoptera, Acrididae) and its allies. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London, 100, 363–391. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2311.1949.tb01059.x
Finot, A. (1895) Faune de l’Algérie et de la Tunisie. Insectes Orthoptères. Annales de la Société entomologique de France, 65, 57–120.
Krauss, H. (1892) Dermapteren und Orthopteren aus Tunis. Gesammelt von Dr. A. Konig. Wiener Entomologische Zeitung, 11, 149.
Lucas, P.H. (1849) Exploration Scientifique de l’Algérie. Paris, 527 pp.
Ramme, W. (1951) Zur Systematik, Faunistik und Biologie der Orthopteren von Südost-Europa und Vorderasien. Akademie-Verlag. Berlin, 432 pp.
Salfi, M. (1927) Contribuziom alla conoscenza degli ortotteri libici. 4. Blattidae ed Acrididae di Cirenaica. Bollettino della Societa Naturale Napoli, 39, 255–270.
Uvarov, B.P. (1923a) Records and descriptions of Orthoptera from Northwest Africa. Novitates Zoologicae, 1923, 59–78. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.28982
Uvarov, B.P. (1923b) Über die Acrididen-Gattungen Helioscirtus Sauss. und Vosseleria, g.n., nebst Beschreibung zweier neuen Vosseleria-Arten von Somali. Konowia Zeitschrift für Systematische Insektenkunde, 1923, 31.
Uvarov, B.P. (1927) Notes on Orthoptera from Morocco. Bulletin de la Société des Sciences Naturelles de Maroc, 7, 199–215.
Uvarov, B.P. (1930) XIX.—Saltatorial Orthoptera collected by Mr. CL Collenette in British Somaliland. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 6, 176–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/00222933.1930.11070794
Werner, F. (1908) Diagnosen neuer Orthopteren von Tripolis und Barka. Zoologische Anzeiger Leipzig, 32, 713–716.