Skip to main content

Revision of modest grasshopper (Agroecotettix Bruner 1908) with 16 new species from the United States and Mexico

Dlium Revision of modest grasshopper (Agroecotettix Bruner 1908) with 16 new species from the United States and Mexico

NEWS - JoVonn Hill of Mississippi State University revised and established 16 new species of modest grasshopper (Agroecotettix Bruner 1908), a group of grasshoppers inhabiting open scrub, dry desert plains and scrub from central Texas to southeastern New Mexico, south to central Mexico.

Bruner (1908) established the genus with the description of Agroecotettix modestus based on a female collected from Ciudad Lerdo, Coahuila, Mexico. Hebard (1922) added Agroecotettix aristus aristus and Agroecotettix aristus crypsidomus from Uvalde and Marathon, Texas, USA, respectively, resulting in three taxa.

The new taxa described are Agroecotettix silverheelsi sp. nov., Agroecotettix xiphophorus sp. nov., Agroecotettix glochinos sp. nov., Agroecotettix texmex sp. nov., Agroecotettix cumbres sp. nov., Agroecotettix burtoni sp. nov., Agroecotettix moorei sp. nov., Agroecotettix chiantiensis sp. nov., Agroecotettix dorni sp. nov., Agroecotettix chisosensis sp. nov., Agroecotettix turneri sp. nov., Agroecotettix quitmanensis sp. nov., Agroecotettix vaquero sp. nov., Agroecotettix forcipatus sp. nov., Agroecotettix idic sp. nov., and Agroecotettix kahloae sp. nov.

Most are endemic to the Chihuahuan Desert, Sierra Madre Occidental and the South Texas Plains. This discovery represents a significant advance in knowledge of desert biodiversity and the ecological complexity of this unique region.

The evolution of other brachypteran groups of North American melanoplines was influenced by Pleistocene glacial cycles affecting river flows, mountain ecosystems and island or dune island isolation resulting in population cycles of contraction, isolation, divergence, expansion and secondary contact processes.

The Chihuahuan Desert stands out as a center of Agroecotettix biodiversity with 11 of the 19 species inhabiting the area, 9 of which are endemic. The vast expanse of the desert is home to a wide variety of plant and animal life, including many endemic species that are specially adapted to dry conditions.

During the Pleistocene, especially the Late Wisconsinan 27,000-11,000 years BC, it was dominated by paperback pine and juniper forests, and the Mapimian vegetation assemblage was dominated by conifer/juniper forests. The establishment of the Chihuahuan desert scrub as a dominant element is not recorded until 8,000-9,000 years BC.

The Edwards Plateau environment during the late Pleistocene (c. 20–14,000 years ago) was largely covered by dark reddish clay and open savanna with tall and short grasses. Drying conditions during the Holocene (c. 10,500–2,500 years BCE) resulted in reduced vegetation cover, leading to gradual degradation of the soil mantle and a shift to short grass and shrub communities.

The Edwards Plateau and surrounding areas, in contrast to the Chihuahuan Desert, are the breeding grounds for the most widely distributed Agroecotettix, A. aristus. This distribution suggests that the species and genus may have originated in the south and spread to their present range during more recent dry periods.

Original research

Hill JG (2024). Desert diversification: revision of Agroecotettix Bruner, 1908 (Orthoptera, Acrididae, Melanoplinae) with descriptions of sixteen new species from the United States and Mexico. ZooKeys 1218: 177-230, DOI:10.3897/zookeys.1218.133703

Dlium theDlium
Labels:

Popular Posts

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...
Read more

Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar (Amanita javanica)

OPINION - Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar ( Amanita javanica ) is a mysterious fungus species and has been enigmatic since it was first reported by Boedijn in 1951 and after that no explanation or reporting of specimens is believed to be the same as expected. Boedijn (1951) described A. javanica which grew on Java island as having the characteristics covered in the Amanita genus. Corner and Bas in 1962 tried to describe Javan mocca and all species in Amanita based on specimens in Singapore. Over time some reports say that they have found A. javanica specimens in other Southeast Asia including also China, Japan, India and Nepal. But there is no definitive knowledge and many doubt whether the specimen is the same as described by Boedijn (1951). I was fortunate to have seen this species one afternoon and soon I took out a camera for some shots. In fact, I've only met this mushroom species once. Javan mocca is an endangered species and I have never seen in my experience in...
Read more

Red lip (Syzygium myrtifolium)

Pucuk merah or daun pucuk merah or red-lip ( Syzygium myrtifolium ) is a plant species in the Myrtaceae, a medium tree with a cylindrical trunk and produces cambium, up to 5 meters high, bark rough and light brown, many branches and strong roots. S. myrtifolium has oval-shaped leaves, pointed tip and base, up to 7 cm long, up to 2 cm wide, a vein in the middle, flat margins, shiny surface, bright red leaf buds and will turn green over time. The flowers are compound and arranged in panicles. The flowers bloom with a stigma in the center and are white. The fruit is round and up to 1 cm in diameter, the middle of the upper surface has a depression and is shiny black when ripe. This species grows in forests, agricultural land, roadsides and abandoned lands. This tree has a root structure that goes deep into the ground and is sturdy so it is often used to rehabilitate land, prevent landslides and store water reserves. This tree has a greater ability to absorb CO2 than other types of plan...
Read more