Island mysteries in the spotlight: Barbitistes kaltenbachi and Rhacocleis buchichii, the only bush-cricket species endemic to Croatia (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae)

Rob Felix,Klaus-Gerhard Heller,Baudewijn Odé,Josip Skejo,Fran Rebrina

doi:10.3897/zookeys.936.51599

Abstract

Hvar Saw Bush-cricket Barbitistes kaltenbachi Harz, 1965 (Phaneropterinae: Barbitistini) and Lesina Bush-cricket Rhacocleis buchichii Brunner von Wattenwyl in Herman 1874 (Tettigoniinae: Platycleidini) are flightless orthopterans restricted to a narrow area in the Mediterranean part of Croatia, both originally described from Hvar Island. In this study, all available information on these two interesting species is presented: data on morphology, bioacoustics, distribution, habitat, and a key to identification of the species belonging to genera Barbitistes and Rhacocleis in Croatia. The songs of both B. kaltenbachi and R. buchichii are described here for the first time, with the former one being the second known example of a synchronising and presumably duetting species. Both species were reassessed according to the IUCN Red List criteria, where B. kaltenbachi should be considered an endangered species, while R. buchichii is suggested to be downgraded to a less threatened category. Biogeography and evolution of the species are briefly discussed.

Highlights

Despite two centuries of research on Orthoptera in Croatia (Skejo et al 2018), the only two bush-crickets endemic to the country, Hvar Saw Bush-cricket Barbitistes kaltenbachi Harz, 1965 and Lesina Bush-cricket Rhacocleis buchichii Brunner von Wattenwyl in Herman 1874, have escaped the eyes and ears of many researchers for quite some time
The same is true for most other Orthoptera species that were originally regarded as Hvar-endemics, such as Paramogoplistes novaki (Krauss, 1888), Chorthippus mollis lesinensis (Krauss, 1888) and Pholidoptera dalmatica maritima Zeuner, 1931 (Willemse et al 2009; Rebrina and Brigić 2017; Puskás et al 2018; Skejo et al 2018)
Orthoptera collection in Vienna harbours 31 specimens identifiable as possible syntypes, of which one has been labelled as the holotype, one as allotype, and 16 as paratypes); Barbitistes kaltenbachi: Chobanov et al (2016); Barbitistes kaltenbachi: Hochkirch et al (2016b): 67; Figure 2

Summary

Introduction

Despite two centuries of research on Orthoptera in Croatia (Skejo et al 2018), the only two bush-crickets endemic to the country, Hvar Saw Bush-cricket Barbitistes kaltenbachi Harz, 1965 and Lesina Bush-cricket Rhacocleis buchichii Brunner von Wattenwyl in Herman 1874, have escaped the eyes and ears of many researchers for quite some time The knowledge of their distribution and biology is based merely on scattered documentation, with temporally and spatially well separated findings (Herman 1874; Harz 1965, 1969; Gausz 1970; Warchałowska-Śliwa et al 2013; Wagner 2015; Puskás et al 2018; Skejo et al 2018). To facilitate recognition in the field, an identification key to the Croatian species of Barbitistes and Rhacocleis is provided

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Discussion

Conclusion