Research Article Journal of Orthoptera Research 2024, 33(1): 67-70 Eupholidoptera kekrops sp. nov. (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae), new bush-cricket from Greece Sotiris ALEXIOU! 1 Korinthian Museum of Natural History, Korinthos, 20100, Greece. Corresponding author: Sotiris Alexiou (sotirisalexiou@ hotmail.com) Academic editor: Klaus-Gerhard Heller | Received 20 March 2023 | Accepted 27 April 2023 | Published 9 February 2024 https://zoobank. org/1 BBAOA2D-FE71 -4DC2-81D5-134A00197AF2 Citation: Alexiou S (2024) Eupholidoptera kekrops sp. nov. (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae), new bush-cricket from Greece. Journal of Orthoptera Research 33(1): 67-70. https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.33.103790 Abstract Eupholidoptera kekrops sp. nov. belonging to the E. prasina group, is de- scribed from mainland Greece. The new species is the first known member of this group from mainland Greece and mainland Europe. Differentiating morphological characteristics, mainly of the subgenital plate and titilator, are presented. Keywords Attiki, Eupholidoptera prasina group, new species, taxonomy Introduction The genus Eupholidoptera Matan, 1953 is distributed in the northern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean, with approxi- mately 50 species, most occurring in Greece (23, 19 endemic) and Turkey (21, 19 endemic) (Ciplak et al. 2007, 2009, 2010, Willemse et al. 2018, 2023). In 2013, during an active search for Orthoptera in the eastern parts of Attiki, a male Eupholidoptera was observed deep within a small and dense thorny bush, Sarcopoterium spinosum (L.) Spach, a typical plant of dry coastal Mediterranean habitats. As no other member of this genus was known from the area, it was immediately collected. Lacking more specimens, we refrained from dissecting this sole male at the time. The key morphological characters visible under inspection with the naked eye keyed out to E. kykladica Hel- ler, Willemse & Willemse, 2009, which it was erroneously reported as (Alexiou 2017, Willemse et al. 2018). As new material was collect- ed from a different locality, the differences in external morphology became obvious, such as the presence of spines at the apical lobes of the subgenital plate. A dissection revealed morphological unique- ness and a spectrum of differences between the collected species and E. kykladica as well as similar species. The new specimen, an- other male, was collected in 2017 at the east foothills of Mt Imittos from under a large marble slab where it appeared to be trying to avoid the high temperatures on an exceptionally hot summer day. Materials and method Material is deposited at the Korinthian Museum of Natural History (KMNH, Korinthos, Greece). Specimens were collected us- ing entomological nets and prepared by standard entomological methods. Dissected male genitalia were placed in microtubes to- gether with the specimens. Figures were drawn from photographs taken during the dissection process. Results Taxonomy Family Tettigoniidae Krauss, 1902 Subfamily Tettigoniinae Riek, 1952 Tribe Decticini Herman, 1874 Genus Eupholidoptera Maran, 1953 Eupholidoptera kekrops sp. nov. https://zoobank.org/F6CEBB33-A50C-4D0D-9D28-F61D37F914DE Figs 1, 2 Type.—Holotype: GREECE ¢ <4; Attiki, Mt. Imittos, Chalidou gorge, yard of chapel of St. Eustathius, under a stone; 37.92737, 23.79734; 443 m; 1 July 2017; S. Alexiou leg; KMNH. Paratype: GREECE e 16; Attiki, Vravrona, wasteland; 37.91960, 23.99979;11 June 2013; S. Alexiou leg; KMNH. Description.—Male. General appearance: pronotum and elytra as in type species E. chabrieri (Charpentier, 1825). Legs relatively short, hind femur twice as long as pronotum, ventral margins of mid femur unarmed, ventral margins of hind femur with a black spine. Last abdominal tergite (Fig. 1B) blackish-brown, wider than long, in the middle with a wide heart-shaped, lighter-colored wrinkled impression divided in its posterior margin by a short median incision with rounded edges.Cercus (Fig. 1A) clearly surpassing last abdominal tergite, simple, cylindrical, slightly curved inwards; Copyright Sotiris Alexiou. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. JOURNAL OF ORTHOPTERA RESEARCH 2024, 33(1) 68 slight protuberance present on inner side of last third, apical part with rounded tip. Subgenital plate (Fig. 1C) slightly longer than wide, divided in half by a median triangular incision, with apical lobes; apical lobes triangular in ventral view, with a median keel, narrowing toward styli, ending in a robust, black-tipped spine, pointing dorso-posteriorly; styli short, approximately 3 times its maximum width, inserted at the side of the apical lobes and slightly surpassing the tip of the spine. Titillator (Fig. 1D) with basal parts extended as usual for the genus; apical parts as long as basal parts, fused over most of their length, incised in apical fifth, almost straight in lateral view. Coloration: General coloration green. Occiput greenish yellow with black marking anteriorly, frons with a few small black spots, some extended into a short line, head behind black eyes. Prono- tum with lower margin of lateral lobes mostly yellow; remaining part of lateral lobe blackish green. Elytra solid black, edges lighter. Abdomen greenish, conspicuously reddish ventrally, red color persists on dry specimens; last abdominal tergite blackish brown. Hind femur green with a few black dots dorsally at base, distal half dorsally black and brown, knees conspicuously black. Female. Unknown. Measurements.—(in mm): pronotum length 7, hind femur length 14, body length 17. S. ALEXIOU Habitat.—The holotype was collected under a large marble slab placed for decorative reasons in the yard of a chapel. The chapel is surrounded by maquis vegetation dominated by Quercus coccifera L. The paratype was collected from a wasteland affected by anthro- pogenic activities and with sparse low prickly shrubs. Distribution.—Known only from Greece, East Sterea Ellas (Attiki: eastern slopes of Mt. Imittos and the area of Vravrona). Etymology.—The new species is named after Kekrops (Cecrops), Kéxpoy, the mythical first king of Attiki and founder of the city of Athens. Diagnosis The new species is well defined in morphological terms and easily recognizable. The absence of a tooth at the cerci of the male place it within the E. prasina group (Ciplak et al. 2009, 2010). The species of this group are distributed in the Aegean islands as well as west and south Anatolia, usually having a very restricted distri- bution (Ciplak et al. 2010). The presence of the styli and spine at the apical lobes of the sub- genital plate place the new species close to E. jacquelinae Tilmans, 2002, endemic to Gavdos Isl., E. spinigera (Ramme, 1930), endem- D Fig. 1. Eupholidoptera kekrops sp. nov. A. Left male cercus, dorsal view; B. Last abdominal tergite, dorsal view; C. Male subgenital plate, ventral view; D. Titillator, dorsal view (scale bar: 1 mm) (drawn by Giorgos Zervos). JOURNAL OF ORTHOPTERA RESEARCH 2024, 33(1) S. ALEXIOU ic to Kithira Isl., E. icariensis Willemse, 1980, endemic to Ikaria Isl., and E. prasina (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1882), distributed in Chios Isl., Samos Isl., and W Turkey. The same characters are pre- sent in a few Anatolian species: E. femorata Ciplak, 1999, E. mersin- ensis Salman, 1983, E. karabagi Salman, 1983, E. krueperi (Ramme, 1930), E. tasheliensis Ciplak, 1999, and E. tucherti Harz, 1988, all endemic to Anatolia, mainly the western Mediterranean part (Ciplak et al. 2009). Nevertheless, all the above species exhibit strong differences from E. kekrops sp. nov. in some or all key mor- phological characters, including subgenital plate, last abdominal tergite, cerci, and titillator (as presented in Ciplak et al. (2009)). Of all the above species, E. kekrops sp. nov. shows some similarity in all key characters to E. mersinensis, a species that has a relatively large range in southern Taurus (Ciplak et al. 2009). If we ignore the presence of spines on the apical lobes of the subgenital plate, E. kekrops sp. nov. has a strong resemblance to E. kykladica. The latter is endemic to Andros, Tinos, and Kea, three islands just east of Attiki (Ciplak et al. 2009) (Fig. 3). The two spe- cies are allopatric and share similar characters in coloration, small size, shape of cerci, subgenital plate, and last abdominal tergite. Despite strong similarities, the two species can readily be distin- guished by differences in the titillator and the presence/absence of spines at the apical lobes of the subgenital plate. 69 Discussion Eupholidoptera kekrops sp. nov. is the sole member of the E. prasina group on the Greek and European mainland (Fig. 3) (Ciplak et al. 2009). In their phylogenetic analysis of the genus Eupholidoptera, Ciplak et al. (2010) suggested a relationship be- tween E. kykladica, E. spinigera, and E. icariensis and the species of the mainly Anatolian E. karabagi group. The species of this clade seems to derive from an ancestral population present at the cen- tral Aegean area during the Messinian Salinity Crisis when the area was largely dry. At the end of the Miocene, when water again flooded the area, fragmentation and subsequent speciation were promoted mainly by eustatic events (water-level barriers) (Ciplak et al. 2010). The isolation of an ancestral Eupholidoptera popula- tion in the present-day lowland Attiki and its evolution into an independent biological unit after the Cyclades archipelago was disconnected from the mainland fits this scenario. The center of diversification of the genus Eupholidoptera is suggested to be the south Aegean area where a common ances- tor was present in the Mid-Miocene (Ciplak et al. 2010, Willemse et al. 2023). Thus, the discovery of yet another bush-cricket from Greece—especially from the Aegean area (Willemse and Heller 2001, Willemse et al. 2023)—is not surprising. However, the fact "EE JN Fig. 2. Eupholidoptera kekrops, paratype, just before collection, 11.vi.2013, Vravrona, Attiki, Greece. JOURNAL OF ORTHOPTERA RESEARCH 2024, 33(1) 70 NORTH MACEDONIA ALBANIA Thessaloniki Veria ° e Kozani Katerin?, loannina : : Larissa bd Trikala e Kalamata e E. kekrops E. kykladica E. icariensis E. spinigera E. prasina S. ALEXIOU BULGARIA Alexandroupoli Heraklion r Kastellorizo Fig. 3. Distribution of E. kekrops sp. nov. and members of the E. prasina group in Central Aegean islands. that a population of bush-cricket proven to belong to an unde- scribed species remained elusive just at the outskirts of a modern European capital, Athens, is surprising, and it highlights the ne- cessity for more intense field work in this country, even in areas considered well explored. Acknowledgements Luc Willemse, always very helpful and inspirational, provided useful comments on an earlier version of the manuscript. Dimi- trios Alexiou provided technical assistance, and Giorgos Zervos prepared the drawings. 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