Poecilimon azizsancar Sevgili & Şirin & Heller & Lemonnier-Darcemont 2018, sp. n.
Creators: name: Sevgili, Hasan
name: Şirin, Deniz
name: Heller, Klaus-Gerhard
name: Lemonnier-Darcemont, Michèle
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Orthoptera
Tettigoniidae
Poecilimon
Poecilimon azizsancar

description: Poecilimon (s. str.) azizsancar Sevgili, sp. n.
http://lsid.speciesfile.org/urn:lsid: Orthoptera.speciesfile.org:TaxonName:502738
Poecilimon tauricola: Salman 1978: 16 –17; Özbek & Yıldırım 1994: 12 –15; Ünal 2010: 141. Poecilimon (Poecilimon) tauricola: Mol et al. 2016: 86.
Poecilimon zonatus: Heller 1990: 141, 142, 149.
Poecilimon tricuspis?: Özbek & Aslan 1996: 44 –50.
Holotype: Male (deposited in alcohol, HUZOM). Turkey, Erzurum: Tortum-Uzundere road, above Dikyar village, N 40°33'.14'', E 041°29'.41'', 1485 m, 28.06.2016, coll. H. Sevgili & D. Sirin). Measurement (mm): Body length: 25.50, Pronotum: 4.97, Tegmina: 1.99, Hindfemora: 16.70.
Etymology: Named for Aziz Sancar, who is Turkish biochemist and molecular biologist and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2015.
Previous records: as Poecilimon tauricola Ramme, 1951; Turkey, Artvin: Yusufeli, Yaylacık village, 2000 m, 10.08.2004, 1♂ (coll. A. Mol) (Mol et al. 2016); Yusufeli, Kılıçkaya, Eskel, 1200 m, 12.vii.1973, 1♂, 1♀ (coll. S. Salman) (Salman 1978); Erzurum: Uzundere, Gölbaşı yaylası, 16.06.1995, 5♂♂, 3♀♀; Uzundere, Dikyar, 1500 m, 17.06.1995, 1♀ (nymph), same place, 0 2.07.1994, 5♂♂, 4♀♀ (coll. I. Aslan) (Ünal 2010). As Poecilimon tricuspis Miram 1926; Erzurum: Uzundere, 1400–1600 m, 11–18.v.1993 (nymphs), 20.vi.1993 (adults) (Özbek & Aslan 1996). As Poecilimon zonatus Bolívar, 1899; pass northwest Ispir, 4.8.1983 (Heller 1990; photos in Cigliano et al. 2018).
Material examined: Turkey, Artvin: Yusufeli, Kılıçkaya, Eskel mevkii, 12.07.1973, 1♂ (coll. S. Salman, HUZOM); Yusufeli, above Çamlıyamaç, N 40°37'.48'', E 041°33'.15'', 1572 m, 28.06.2016, 4♂♂, 3♀♀ (coll. H. Sevgili & D. Sirin); Yusufeli, Mescit dağları, Kılıçkaya-Ersis road, 7♂♂, 3♀♀; N 40°42'.02'', E 041°30'.44'', 147 5 m, 28.06.2016 (coll. H. Sevgili & D. Sirin); Yusufeli, Yaylacık village, 2000 m, 10.08.2004, 1♂ (coll. A. Mol); Erzurum: Tortum-Uzundere road, above Dikyar village, N 40°33'.14'', E 041°29'.41'', 1485 m, 28.06.2016, 20♂♂, 24♀♀ (coll. H. Sevgili & D. Sirin); Pass nordwestl. Ispir (Tatos Daghlari) (40°35'N, 40°53'E), 2150 m, 4 viii 1983, 4 ♂♂, 3 ♀♀ (coll. K.- G. Heller).
Male: Fastigium slightly narrower than antennal scapus, slightly depressed and sulcate dorsally and slightly tapered frontward with rounded margin (Fig. 29D). Pronotal disc slighlty constricted at anterior part, posteriorly distinctly elevated in profile, metazona as wide as prozona dorsally, frontal and caudal margins of the disc straight (Fig. 5A–B); based on lateral keels on pronotum, the metazona appears to have slightly widened (Fig. 6A). Pronotum slightly concave dorsally; paranota with frontal margin perpendicular, ventral margin convex, caudal margin short roundly oblique (Fig. 7A). Tegmina with rounded margins, shorter than half length of pronotum, not extending the caudal margin of first abdominal tergum (Fig. 5A–C). Cu2 of left tegmen distinctly projecting at right margin. Hind margin of abdominal tergites not straight, clearly bending with distinct carina at middle, especially in first caudal margins of the tergum (Fig. 5A–B, 7B, D) (this abdominal protrusion can be better seen in profile). Epiproct shorter than half length of cercal disc?, obtusely narrowed caudally. Cerci widely arcuate, slighty swollen in distal half, acutely thinned at tip with three robust denticles (Figs. 8 C–D, 9A–C). Subgenital plate shorter than cerci, from the middle distinctly narrowed at distal part with deep incision at its caudal margin (Fig. 10B–C).
Stridulatory file: The file of the new species is similar to that of P. tauricola, but can be easily distinguished from it by its unique morphology (Fig. 15A–B): it has a large step (= an abrupt change in elevation) near the middle (see also Fig. 51A). The details of the teeth are clearly different between two species (Fig. 16B). Additionaly, compared to P. tauricola, the file of male P. azizsancar has fewer teeth.
Biaocustics: Male calling songs were recorded from three different sites in the evening/night. They consist of an irregularly repeated sequence of syllables (Fig. 33). Each syllable consists of two distinct impulse groups with more impulses in the first crescending part (Fig. 34). The syllables lasted about 36 ms (see for details Table 4–5).
Female: Fastigium as in males, sometimes slightly narrower (Fig. 29C, E). Pronotal disc slightly constricted at mesozona, not widened at posterior part, frontal and caudal margins of the disc straight (Fig. 5D–E). In general, tegmina very short, extending slightly beyond caudal margin of the disc, fully overlapping dorsally; paranota with frontal margin perpendicular, ventral margin slightly convex, rising backward arc-shaped and roundly oblique (Fig. 6B). Especially first and second abdominal tergites with distinct carina at the middle of caudal margins. Cerci long and distinctly curved inward (Fig. 11B). Subgenital plate distinctly wider than long with slightly projected on arcuate caudal margin (Fig. 12I). Ovipositor, gonangulum and lamella as in Figs. 11D and 12I.
Coloration: The coloration and patterning of the tergites as in Figs. 40–41.
Remarks: The population which was previously diagnosed and published as P. tauricola from Artvin- Erzurum was studied in this study in large scale. However, according to the findings obtained, based on morphology and the male calling songs, this population has the distinct differences from P. tauricola. Probably, the reasons for the misidentification of this population as P. tauricola in previous studies have been the similarities of the shape of pronotum, male cerci and subgenital plate. But, the new species differs from the P. tauricola in the shape of pronotum, having a distinct tubercule on the hind margin of the first abdominal tergite, the morphology of male stridulatory file, the shape of male cerci and female subgenital plate. Although the calling song the males are partly similar between these species, the male song patterns of both P. azizsancar and P. tauricola differ clearly from the other species of the group. These two species P. azizsancar and P. tauricola form a monophyletic branch within the species group according to their morphological similarity (general apperance, cylindrical pronotum for both sexes, subgenital plate of male with acutely narrowed at caudal part, short and robust ovipositor) and a possibly derived type of bioacoustical signals. P. azizsancar differs from other species of the group by cylindrical pronotum, wider fastigum compared to antennal scapus, different shape of tegmina and stridulatory file with distally bending, the shape of subgenital plate and ovipositor, different shape of both male and female cerci, ratio of the length of ovipositor to the length both body and pronotum. Additionaly, the caudal margin of pronotum is more or less straight when compared to the hind margin of pronotum of other species excluding P. tauricola.
Özbek & Yıldırım (1994) reported that the bush-cricket made a gradation / mass propagation in Şenkaya Plateau in 1990 (Erzurum province, Turkey): they conducted a field survey in this district. The collected population was identified as P. tauricola in this paper. However, when we look at the general appearance of body of female and the shape of male subgenital plate, given in the paper, the shape of ovipositor and subgenital plate is clearly different from that of P. tauricola. These Figs. given by the authors are more similar to that of P. variicercis, because in P. tauricola the subgenital plate of males shows a marked acute construction at the caudal part and is typically labeled with a “U” shaped apex. Ünal (2010) examined the specimens collected from Uzundere (Erzurum) by Özbek & Aslan (1996) as P. tricuspis and he identified them as P. tauricola. The male cerci of P. tricuspis are similar to both P. azizsancar and P. tauricola. P. tricuspis belongs to P. heroicus species-group and the members of the group are recognised by posteriorly broader pronotum, relatively large body, and hind femora with ventral spines (Heller et al. 2006). The ovipositor in P. tricuspis is much longer than in P. azizsancar (P. azizsancar: 7.8–8.86/ P. tricuspis: 13–14 mm) (see for details Bei-Bienko 1954).
In females, the posterior margin of pronotum is more or less straight as compared to P. variicercis. The female cerci are thinner and longer than that of both P. variicercis and P. zonatus. The shape of the curved part of female cerci is also distinctly different from the two species mentioned above.
This species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List (2017–3). The distribution of P. azizsancar is restricted and its habitats are under the threat of the antropogenic effects, such as overgrazing and the use of pesticides in agriculture. This species should be considered as Endangered (B2ab(i)) on the basis of the extent of occurrence criteries of IUCN.
description: Published as part of Sevgili, Hasan, Şirin, Deniz, Heller, Klaus-Gerhard & Lemonnier-Darcemont, Michèle, 2018, Review of the Poecilimon (Poecilimon) zonatus species group and description of new species from Turkey with data on bioacoustics and morphology (Orthoptera: Phaneropterinae), pp. 1-62 in Zootaxa 4417 (1) on pages 16-23, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4417.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/1242339