Pyrgomorpha tereticornis (Brullé, 1840)

Pyrgomorpha tereticornis (Brullé, 1840)

Figs 124 View Figure 124 , 125 View Figure 125 , 126 View Figure 126

References for Socotra.

Popov (in Uvarov and Popov (1957)): 371 [as Pyrgomorpha cognata ]; Hsiung and Kevan 1975: 58, 63–64, figs 2 C, F, I, L [as Pyrgomorpha conica tereticornis ]; Popov 1997: 153–154, figs 89–91 [as Pyrgomorpha conica tereticornis ]; Wranik 2003: 319–320, plates 150, 154 [as Pyrgomorpha conica tereticornis ]; Massa 2009: 56 [as Pyrgomorpha conica tereticornis ]; Rowell et al. 2015: 125 [ Pyrgomorpha conica tereticornis ].

Taxonomic notes.

Pyrgomorpha tereticornis , which has its type locality on the Canary Islands, is a member of the taxonomically complex P. conica - bispinosa- cognata group ( Kevan 1974; Hsiung and Kevan 1975). This species group occurs in northern Africa, southern Europe and parts of Asia.

Kevan (1974) and Hsiung and Kevan (1975) considered Pyrgomorpha tereticornis a subspecies of P. conica . Pyrgomorpha specimens from Socotra studied by Hsiung and Kevan (1975) have been identified as this subspecies. However, their very long head characterises them compared to specimens from other parts of its range. Massa (2009) mentioned the small size of the Socotran specimens compared to specimens from the African continent. The sides of the female pronotum are less diverging posteriorly in the frontal than in the posterior half.

Default (2017, 2018) proposed to raise ssp. tereticornis to species level, based on a study of specimens from north-western Africa. At the same time, he did not exclude the possibility that, after molecular study, tereticornis will appear to be a subspecies of P. conica confined to the Canary Islands only, while the taxon on the African mainland should be named differently ( Defaut 2017, 2018). However, OSF ( Cigliano et al. 2024 a) accepts the proposal of Defaut (2017, 2018) and considers P. tereticornis a full species.

In his study on tereticornis, Defaut (2017 , 2018) did not incorporate material from eastern Africa and Socotra; his taxonomical suggestions are only attributed to north-western Africa. However, until further study, we here consider the Socotran taxon as P. tereticornis , following Hsiung and Kevan (1975).

Distribution and occurrence.

The distribution area of P. tereticornis , according to Hsiung and Kevan (1975), comprises the Canary Islands, Cape Verde, northern Africa, Socotra and Southwest Asia. According to Defaut (2017), P. tereticornis tentatively occurs in Africa and the Middle East.

On Socotra, Popov found P. tereticornis widespread and uncommon in all drier parts (Popov in Uvarov and Popov (1957)). We found the species in 2009 and 2010 everywhere on the island at lower elevations (Fig. 125 View Figure 125 ).

Habitat and biology.

In most regions of its extensive range, P. tereticornis occurs in steppe grassland and semi-desert ( Hsiung and Kevan 1997). According to Popov (1997), who does not explicitly mention the situation on Socotra, P. tereticornis has a wide range of different habitats, from open coastal and inland plains and valleys with meso- and xerophytic vegetations consisting of low bushes, shrubs and annual plants to hillsides, wadis and croplands. This appears to summarise the Socotran situation better. In 2009 and 2010, we found it in various vegetation types at lower elevations from 5–500 m a. s. l. The species seems absent from the montane forests and mosaic of the Hagher. Records of adults as well as nymphs are from all months.