Supersonus
Supersonus is a genus of katydids in the order Orthoptera first described in 2014. The genus contains three species which are endemic to the rainforests of South America. Its name is an allusion to the fact that the males, in order to attract the females, produce a very high frequency noise which can reach 150 kHz (using only the right wing). This has been considered the highest frequency ultrasonic noise of the animal kingdom. The noise is imperceptible to human hearing, which is only capable of detecting up to 20 kHz. Habitat. "Supersonus" species inhabit tropical to lowland rainforest  environments at heights between above the forest floor, often a few meters below the forest canopy. They live on and among the epiphytal growth such as bromeliads and orchids on tree trunks and limbs. Populations of "Supersonus aequoreus" are known on the islands of Gorgona and Gorgonilla in the National Natural Park (PNN) Gorgona, which are isolated off the mainland Colombian coast. The rainforest of the islands is similar to that of the mainland, with an average annual temperature of and rainfall averaging . The "Supersonus piercei" population is known from Watershed Pericos around the small community of El Salto, in  the Valle del Cauca Department of mainland Colombia. Like the rainforest of National Natural Park (PNN) Gorgona, the Watershed Pericos forest is a lowland tropical rainforest though is location on the western edges of the Andean Cordillera result in more rainfall and temperature fluctuation. Rainfall amounts in the watershed range between and the temperature range is between annually. The population of "Supersonus undulus" inhabits a lowland rainforest environment at Tinalandia, in a private forest preserve between Quito and Santo Domingo de los Colorado in Pichincha Province. The elevation of the rainforest is , the highest of the three population habitats, with  a forest typical of the western Andean slopes. Taxonomy. Early specimens belonging to "Supersonus" were misidentified by researchers as specimens in the genus "Arachnoscelis", with early specimen records dating back to 1927. Redescription of the "Arachnoscelis" type species by Montealegre-Z "et al". (2013) highlighted the notable differences between the type species and a number of specimens tentatively identified to that genus. The genus "Supersonus" was first described by Sarria-S "et al" (2014) based on specimens collected from locations in Colombia and Ecuador. Efforts to collect specimens were first collected during night expeditions in which researches manually searched the  rainforest undergrowth wearing headlamps. However, over a span of almost 15 years, very few specimens were recovered. Discovery of the adults' preferred living height allowed the entomologists to collect a much larger sample group. Sarria-S "et al" (2014) chose the genus name "Supersonus" as a combination of the Latin words ""super"" meaning "above" and ""sonus"" meaning "sound". The name is recognition of the high forest perches used by calling males of the genus, along with the calls ranging above 100 kHz, and in honor of the original designation for ultrasonic frequencies as "supersonic". Along with the genus description, three  species were described in the 2014 type paper, "Supersonus aequoreus", "Supersonus piercei", and "Supersonus undulus". Initially the genus was placed into the Tettigoniidae subfamily Listroscelidinae and considered close in relationship to "Arachnoscelis"; however, further work led to a placement in the Meconematinae tribe Phisidini. Acoustics. At the time of description, the communication calls of male "Supersonus" species were identified as the highest frequency known from an arthropod, with calls reaching 115 kHz, 125 kHz, and 150 kHz in the three species. The typical frequency range for male katydid calls is between 5 kHz to 30 kHz, mostly within the human  hearing range of 50 Hz to 20 kHz. The mating call of male "S. aequoreus " is the highest ultrasound calling carrier recorded in nature with a top frequency of 150 kHz. The calls are generated by the modified right forewings which form a cavity over the insect dorsum producing sharp resonances and elevated sound pressure levels for the calling.