Schizodactylus inexspectatus explained

Schizodactylus inexspectatus (often misspelled "inexpectatus") is a species of dune cricket (Schizodactylidae) endemic to sand dunes of Çukurova and Göksu Deltas, Turkey.[1]

Taxonomic history

Schizodactylus inexspectatus was first described by Franz Werner in 1901 under the name Comicus inexspectatus.[2] It was transferred to the genus Schizodactylus in 1931.[1] The species was known from only a single individual and was not found again for almost a century, with the species generally thought to be extinct, but it was rediscovered in the Çukurova Delta after almost a century.[3]

Description and life history

Adults reach long, and are yellow in colour, with black patches on the pronotum that resemble a butterfly. The cephalon and thorax representing more of the length than the abdomen. The antennae are 80mm90mm long.[1] The adults have short wings, approximately 10mm long, but they are incapable of flight. There are nine nymphal stages before adulthood, the first of which has a body length of 7mm.[1]

Ecology and distribution

Schizodactylus inexspectatus feeds on the mole cricket Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa, the beetles Scarabaeus sacer, Pentodon bidens, Scaurus puncticollis, Zophosis dilatata and Erodius orientalis, the German cockroach Blattella germanica and the ant-lion Myrmeleon.[1] It lives in burrows in sand dune systems in eastern Turkey, especially in the Çukurova delta.

Notes and References

  1. Gökhan Aydin & Andrey Khomutov . 2008 . The biology, nymphal stages, and life habits of the endemic sand dune cricket Schizodactylus inexpectatus (Werner, 1901) (Orthoptera: Schizodactylidae) . . 32 . 427–432 .
  2. http://orthoptera.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=1130531 Schizodactylus inexspectatus
  3. Gökhan Aydin . 2005 . Distribution of the Dune Cricket Schizodactylus inexpectatus (Werner, 1901) (Orthoptera: Schizodactylidae) in the Çukurova Delta, southern Turkey. . 36 . 111–113 . 10.1080/09397140.2005.10638136 . 83796610 . PDF.