Massa, B.; Cusimano, C.; Fontana, P.; Brizio, C. New Unexpected Species of Acheta (Orthoptera, Gryllidae) from the Italian Volcanic Island of Pantelleria. Diversity2022, 14, 802.
Massa, B.; Cusimano, C.; Fontana, P.; Brizio, C. New Unexpected Species of Acheta (Orthoptera, Gryllidae) from the Italian Volcanic Island of Pantelleria. Diversity 2022, 14, 802.
Massa, B.; Cusimano, C.; Fontana, P.; Brizio, C. New Unexpected Species of Acheta (Orthoptera, Gryllidae) from the Italian Volcanic Island of Pantelleria. Diversity2022, 14, 802.
Massa, B.; Cusimano, C.; Fontana, P.; Brizio, C. New Unexpected Species of Acheta (Orthoptera, Gryllidae) from the Italian Volcanic Island of Pantelleria. Diversity 2022, 14, 802.
Abstract
In late April 2022, during the hearing of the audio files from an unsupervised bioacoustic assessment of the shearwater populations (Aves, Procellariiformes) on the coast of Pantelleria island (Italy, Sicily), a cricket song of unknown attribution was heard. The first bioacoustic analyses, including FFT-based spectrograms and sound pressure envelopes, confirmed that it could not be attributed to the known sound of any Italian nor Mediterranean species of cricket. In the ensuing weeks, field research made on purpose in the original station and in further localities in the southern coast of Pantelleria provided photographs, living specimens and further audio records. As soon as the photos were shared among the authors, it became clear that the species belonged to the genus Acheta. Further bioacoustic analyses and morphological comparison with type specimens of Mediterranean and North-African congenerics in relevant collections and in the scientific literature were conducted: they confirmed that the findings could only be attributed to a still undescribed species, that escaped detection due to its impervious and unfrequented habitat. Acheta pantescus n. sp. is apparently restricted to the effusive coastal cliffs of the island of Pantelleria, a habitat whose scant extension and vulnerability require environmental protection actions such as the inclusion in a special Red List by the IUCN Italian Committee.
Keywords
new species; Biogeography; Mediterranean; Red List; Bioacoustics
Subject
Biology and Life Sciences, Insect Science
Copyright:
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
