Platycleis Explained

Platycleis is a genus of bush crickets described by Fieber in 1853,^[1] belonging to the subfamily Tettigoniinae. The species of this genus are present in Europe, North Africa and temperate Asia.

Biology

Studies conducted in 2010 at the University of Derby by Karim Vahed, Darren Parker and James Gilbert found that the tuberous bushcricket (Platycleis affinis) has the largest testicles in proportion to body mass of any animal recorded. They account for 14% of the insect's body mass and are thought to enable a fast re-mating rate.^[2] ^[3] ^[4] Platycleis albopunctata is the grey bush cricket and occurs in the British Isles.

Taxonomy

Genus group Platycleis

A number of Palaearctic genera are very similar, often including species that were originally placed here by Carl Brunner von Wattenwyl^[5] and others. They are now in a genus group^[6] and include:

Alticolana Zeuner, 1941
Eumetrioptera Miram, 1935
Incertana Zeuner, 1941
Montana Zeuner, 1941
Parnassiana Zeuner, 1941
Platycleis Fieber, 1853
Semenoviana Zeuner, 1941
Sepiana Zeuner, 1941
Sporadiana Zeuner, 1941
Squamiana Zeuner, 1941
Tessellana Zeuner, 1941
Yalvaciana Çiplak, Heller & Demirsoy, 2002

Species

The Orthoptera Species File^[7] lists the following accepted species:

Platycleis affinis Fieber, 1853
Platycleis albopunctata (Goeze, 1778)
Platycleis alexandra (Uvarov, 1926)
Platycleis buzzettii Massa & Fontana, 2011
Platycleis concii Galvagni, 1959
Platycleis curvicauda Podgornaya, 1988
Platycleis escalerai Bolívar, 1899
Platycleis falx (Fabricius, 1775)
Platycleis fatima Uvarov, 1912
Platycleis grisea (Fabricius, 1781) - type species (as Locusta grisea Fabricius)
Platycleis iberica Zeuner, 1941
Platycleis iljinskii Uvarov, 1917
Platycleis intermedia (Serville, 1838)
Platycleis irinae Sergeev & Pokivajlov, 1992
Platycleis kabulica Bey-Bienko, 1967
Platycleis kashmira (Uvarov, 1930)
Platycleis kibris Ünal, 2012
Platycleis latitabunda Stolyarov, 1968
Platycleis longicauda Tarbinsky, 1930
Platycleis meridiana Stolyarov, 1969
Platycleis pamirica (Zeuner, 1930)
Platycleis pathana Zeuner, 1941
†Platycleis pongraczi Zeuner, 1929
Platycleis ragusai Ramme, 1927
Platycleis rahmoiensis Jaiswara & Shah, 2022
Platycleis romana Ramme, 1927
Platycleis sabinegaali Garai, 2011
Platycleis sabulosa Azam, 1901
Platycleis sogdiana Mistshenko, 1954
†Platycleis speciosa (Heer, 1865)
Platycleis trivittata Bey-Bienko, 1951
Platycleis turanica Zeuner, 1930
Platycleis waltheri Harz, 1966

Notes and References

Fieber FZ (1853) Synopsis der europäischen Orthopteren mit besonderer Rücksicht auf die in Böhmen vorkommenden Arten als Auszug aus dem zum Drucke vorliegenden Werke. Die europäischen Orthoptera. Lotos 3: 149.
10.1098/rsbl.2010.0840 . Larger testes are associated with a higher level of polyandry, but a smaller ejaculate volume, across bushcricket species (Tettigoniidae) . 2010 . Vahed . K. . Parker . D. J. . Gilbert . J. D. J. . Biology Letters . 7 . 2 . 261–4 . 21068028 . 3061181.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/biggest-testicles-record-set-by-bushcricket-1.941426 Biggest testicles record set by bushcricket
http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-11-species-largest-testicles-big-secret.html Physorg link
Brunner von Wattenwyl C (1893) Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. Genova 2 13(33): 187.
http://orthoptera.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=1142515 Orthoptera Species File: genus group Platycleis Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1893
http://orthoptera.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=1142516 Orthoptera Species File (Version 5.0/5.0; retrieved 15 November 2022)