Spaniacris deserticola (Bruner, 1906) (Orthoptera: Romaleidae) a New Grasshopper for Arizona
2010; American Entomological Society; Volume: 121; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês
10.3157/021.121.0504
ISSN2162-3236
AutoresRobert A. Behrstock, Patrick H. Sullivan,
Tópico(s)Plant and animal studies
ResumoSpaniacris deserticola (Bruner, 1906) is an uncommon and localized grass hopper that inhabits one of the hottest regions in North America. Specimens have been reported from Imperial and Riverside counties of southeastern Cali fornia and northwestern Sonora, Mexico, and in elevations from sea level to as high as c. 305 m elevation. Members of this species exhibit a strong relationship with Tiquilia (formerly Coldenia) palmeri (Gray) A. Richardson, and T. plicata (Tor rey) A. Richardson (Boraginaceae), plants that survive with less than 21 cm of annual rainfall. After 40 years of fieldwork in the American Southwest, Tink ham (1975) stated that S. deserticola was confined to the Colorado Desert in extreme southeastern California and nearby northwestern Sonora, Mexico. Al though failing to find it in Arizona, he suggested that dunes just north of the Mexican border might harbor populations of this species. Queries to collections with holdings of Southwestern Orthoptera lead us to believe that S. deserticola has not been previously reported from Arizona. On 3 June 2009, we discovered a population of S. deserticola on sandy flats in the southern portion of Yuma, Yuma Co., Arizona. The location (32°28'48.44N x 114°37'51.31W) is 1.6 km south of the intersection of County 23rd St. S at Ave. A, and immediately southeast of the Arizona State Prison Complex – Yuma. The site is 17.2 km east of the Colorado River, 4.2 km north of the U.S./Mexico border, and 52 m above sea level. This sandy area is known as the Yuma Desert, a low-elevation portion of the Sonoran Desert, and the counterpart to the Colorado Desert lying west of the Colorado River. Plants at the site included: Creosote Bush, Larrea tridentata (de Candolle) Coville (Zygophyllaceae), the sparse but still dominant shrub, Tiquilia sp., and Desert Trumpet, Eriogonum inflatum Torrey and Fremont (Polygonaceae). Three S. deserticola, one female and two males, were collected from 1835 hrs to c.1930 hrs. Although found on sand, they may have been flushed from lowgrowing plants upon which they are known to perch. Body lengths (measured from the anterior margin of the fastigium to the posterior margin of the subgenital plate) were: female (31 mm measured dry), males (20 and 21 mm measured fresh). Voucher specimens, the female and one male, were deposited with the
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