New distribution records of the genus Saga Charpentier, 1825 (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Saginae) from Iraq.

Abstract

Genus Saga Charpentier, 1825 along with four other genera (Clonia Stål, 1855; Cloniella Kaltenbach, 1971; Emptera Saussure, 1888 and Peringueyella Saussure, 1888) comprises the tettigoniid subfamily Saginae. These genera are distributed throughout three separated biogeographical zones; in the South-Southeast of Africa, genus Emptera in India and genus Saga in Palaearctic region (Kolics et.al., 2012 Şirin et.al., 2019). The predatory bush crickets of the genus Saga are the largest Palearctic orthopterans, with 16 species, of which ten inhabit Asia (Azerbaijan, Armenia, Caucasus, Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Iran, and Iraq), the rest occur in Europe (one of them ranging to Western Siberia) (Kaltenbach, 1964, 1967, Bader Massa, 2001, Şirin et.al., 2019 Cigliano et al. 2020). Six of these species are endemic to Turkey (Saga beiri, S. capadocica, S. hakkarica, S. longicaudata, S. puella and S. rhodiensis) (Şirin et.al., 2019), while the six European taxa are (S. natoliae, S. pedo, S. campbelli, S. gracilis, S. hellenica and S. rammei) (Kolics et.al., 2012). In the East Mediterranean countries S. ledereri occur in Syria and Lebanon, S. ornata in Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria (Kaltenbach, 1964, 1967 Cigliano et al. 2020). Among the non-European Saga species, S. ephippigera has the broadest geographic range, extending from Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria to Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Caucasus, Transcaucasus and Karabagh, while S. syriaca is found in Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq (Kirby,1906, Kaltenbach, 1967, Bader Massa, 2001, Arsalan Candan, 2019, Şirin et.al., 2019 Cigliano et al. 2020).