Notes on Orthoptera (Insecta) and their Assemblages in the Romanian Carpathians

Abstract

AbstractThe Carpathian Mountains, particularly the Eastern Carpathians, represent an area with a high diversity and endemism in grasshoppers and bush-crickets. The well-preserved mountain grassland habitats are populated by diverse orthopteran assemblages. During the second half of July 2013, we visited 24 sites in Romanian Carpathians within altitudes ranging from 237 to 1700 m a.s.l. and found 71 Orthoptera species (36 Ensifera and 35 Caelifera). These represent 37.3% of the 190 species known to occur in Romania. Nine Carpathian endemics (Isophya stysi, Pholidoptera frivaldskyi, Pholidoptera transsylvanica, Miramella ebneri, Pseudopodisma transilvanica, Isophya harzi, Isophya nagyi, Isophya sicula, Zubovskya banatica), of which the last four are endemic to Romania and Eastern Carpathians, were recorded. Four environmental characteristics, i.e. habitat type, altitude, mean temperature and precipitation on sampled sites, are used to examine the structure of orthopteran assemblages by using DCA. Also, more detailed information on the occurrence of rare and endemic species is given.