Abstract
The species of the Poecilimon heroicus-group occur around the Caucasus (from north-eastern Turkey to south-eastern Ukraine). We describe the diagnostic morphological characters of all these species and the male calling song of three of the four spe- cies. Based on this data the following phylogenetic relationship is derived (P. tschorochensis (P. tricuspis (P. heroicus, P. bifenes- tratus))). Within the genus Poecilimon, the species can be recognised by a relatively wide pronotum and large tegmina. In one species, Poecilimon tschorochensis Adelung, 1907 (type species of the monotypic genus Artvinia Karabag, 1962, syn. n.; P. rammei Miram, 1938, syn. n.), the tegmina are very large and the song has unusually low spectral components. This species produced di- syllabic echemes at intervals of about 10 s. In two other species of the group, P. heroicus and P. bifenestratus, the calling song of males consists of an uninterrupted dense sequence of long syllables (syllable duration around 0.5 s; ca. 1 syllable/s at 20°C). In these species the auditory spiracles are reduced in size in both sexes, and the females have extremely small tegmina and are unable to respond to the male song acoustically, which would be typical for Phaneropteridae. The change in communication from acoustically responding to mute females has not been previously documented within a group of closely related species.
Highlights
The tettigonioid family Phaneropteridae contains about 2200 species (OSF2), nearly one third of all known bushcrickets
In some species of the genus Poecilimon have the females lost their ability to respond acoustically, and this is associated with interesting changes in morphology and behaviour of males and females (Heller & Helversen, 1993; Stumpner & Heller, 1992)
In the structure of the pronotum, another character used by Karabag (1962) to define Artvinia, it comes close to P. heroicus and allied species
Summary
The tettigonioid family Phaneropteridae (often considered as subfamily Phaneropterinae) contains about 2200 species (OSF2), nearly one third of all known bushcrickets. Unlike most other bush-crickets, where the mute female approaches the singing male, in Phaneropteridae typically the female responds acoustically to male song. This may be one of the reasons why some phaneropterid species have very complicated song patterns (e.g. Walker et al, 2003). In some species of the genus Poecilimon have the females lost their ability to respond acoustically, and this is associated with interesting changes in morphology and behaviour of males and females (Heller & Helversen, 1993; Stumpner & Heller, 1992). The phylogenetic relationships within Poecilimon are still unresolved, but probably the ability to respond acoustically was lost several times independently (Heller, 1990)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
