@article {53403, title = {Endecous peruassuensis n. sp. (Orthoptera: Grylloidea: Phalangopsidae) from caves of Eastern Brazil: evidence of isolation in the subterranean realm and discussion about troglomorphisms}, journal = {Zootaxa}, volume = {4032}, year = {2015}, month = {Apr-10-2016}, pages = {297}, abstract = {

We describe a new species of the genus Endecous Saussure (1878), recorded at the Lapa do Cip\ó and Olhos d\’\Água caves, which are located in the Itacarambi municipality, Minas Gerais state, Eastern Brazil. Another species, E. aguassay Mews, 2008 was recordedin the surroundings of the caves. The genus Endecous corresponds to the most common cricket in Bra- zilian hypogean environments. In general, these crickets inhabit the areas around cave entrances up to the aphotic zones of caves. The genus Endecous is the only cave cricket to present troglobiomorphosis, i.e., an apterous condition. The dis- tribution of the new species is limited to these two caves, which suggests an endemism in this karst system similar to the distribution of other endemic animals, such as harvestmen and amblypygid arachnids. This species is the sixth troglobitic one described for Olhos d\’\Água cave, which sets this cave as a spot of subterranean fauna in Brazil.

}, keywords = {cave cricket, new species, Perua{\c c}u Caves National Park, subterranean environment}, issn = {1175-5326}, doi = {10.11646/zootaxa.4032.310.11646/zootaxa.4032.3.5}, url = {http://biotaxa.org/Zootaxa/issue/view/zootaxa.4032.3}, author = {Marcio P. Bolfarini and Maria Elina Bichuette} } @article {53067, title = {Roaming Romeos: male crickets evolving in silence show increased locomotor behaviours}, journal = {Animal Behaviour}, volume = {101}, year = {2015}, month = {Jan-03-2015}, pages = {213 - 219}, abstract = {

Loss of sexual signals should be strongly selected against when these signals are necessary for mate attraction or acquisition. Male Teleogryllus oceanicus field crickets produce a long-distance calling song to attract females. Separate genetic mutations recently evolved on the Hawaiian Islands of Kauai and Oahu, rendering approximately 90\% and 50\% of males, respectively, incapable of calling. We examined whether males from three populations, each with a distinct prevalence of this silent \‘flatwing\’ phenotype, show behavioural plasticity in response to being reared in a call-less environment. Crickets from Kauai, Oahu and Mangaia, a Cook Islands population without the flatwing phenotype, either were or were not exposed to calling song during late juvenile and early adult development. Movement assays showed that when males originating from Kauai were reared in silence, they moved sooner, moved more and spent more time walking during silent behaviour trials than did their counterparts reared with calling song. Males from Oahu and Mangaia, however, showed no such effect of acoustic rearing environment on these behaviours. This suggests that there has been directional selection on Kauai for males to respond to a silent environment by increasing their mobility, thus compensating for their lack of song and increasing their chance of encountering receptive females.

}, keywords = {behavioural plasticity, flatwing, n signal los, s Teleogryllus oceanicus, sexual selectio}, issn = {00033472}, doi = {10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.12.023}, url = {http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S000334721400476X}, author = {Zuk, Marlene} } @article {47895, title = {Evolution of a Communication System by Sensory Exploitation of Startle Behavior}, journal = {Current Biology}, volume = {25}, year = {2015}, month = {Jan-12-2015}, pages = {3245 - 3252}, abstract = {

New communication signals can evolve by sensory exploitation if signaling taps into preexisting sensory biases in receivers [1 ;\  2]. For mate attraction, signals are typically similar to attractive environmental cues like food [3; 4; 5 ;\  6], which amplifies their attractiveness to mates, as opposed to aversive stimuli like predator cues. Female field crickets approach the low-frequency calling song of males, whereas they avoid high-frequency sounds like predatory bat calls [7]. In one group of crickets (Eneopterinae: Lebinthini), however, males produce exceptionally high-frequency calling songs in the range of bat calls [8], a surprising signal in the context of mate attraction. We found that female lebinthines, instead of approaching singing males, produce vibrational responses after male calls, and males track the source of vibrations to find females. We also demonstrate that field cricket species closely related to the Lebinthini show an acoustic startle response to high-frequency sounds that generates substrate vibrations similar to those produced by female lebinthine crickets. Therefore, the startle response is the most likely evolutionary origin of the female lebinthine vibrational signal. In field crickets, the brain receives activity from two auditory interneurons; AN1 tuned to male calling song controls positive phonotaxis, and AN2 tuned to high-frequency bat calls triggers negative phonotaxis [9 ;\  10]. In lebinthine crickets, however, we found that auditory ascending neurons are only tuned to high-frequency sounds, and their tuning matches the thresholds for female vibrational signals. Our results demonstrate how sensory exploitation of anti-predator behavior can evolve into a communication system that benefits both senders and receivers.

}, issn = {09609822}, doi = {10.1016/j.cub.2015.10.064}, url = {http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0960982215013585}, author = {ter Hofstede, Hannah M. and Sch{\"o}neich, Stefan and Tony Robillard and Hedwig, Berthold} } @article {47786, title = {The cricket genus Vietacheta Gorochov, 1992 (Gryllidae, Gryllinae) with description of a new species from China}, journal = {Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology}, volume = {18}, year = {2015}, month = {Jan-12-2015}, pages = {741 - 747}, abstract = {

Vietacheta, a cricket genus found across northern and southern Vietnam, is a rare taxon lacking any additional species discovered after the genus was established. This genus possesses features found across many other genera. Its general appearance is the same as Itaropsis; genitalia ectoparamere is very similar to Phonarellus; inner tympanum is absent, and particularly, the metanotum is armed with several hairs. Now, we found the first species of Vietacheta in China. The new species, Vietacheta harpophyllasp. nov., is close to Vietacheta aquila Gorochov, 1992, but they are different in details of anal plate, epiphallus, and ectoparamere. A description and illustration of this new species, a revision of other Vietacheta, and a key to the genus are provided.

}, keywords = {Grylloidea, new distribution record, new species, Orthoptera, taxonomy}, issn = {12268615}, doi = {10.1016/j.aspen.2015.09.005}, url = {http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1226861515001041}, author = {Ma, Libin and Liu, Yang and Xu, Sheng-Quan} } @article {47340, title = {Gnominthus gen. nov., a new genus of crickets endemic to Papua New Guinea with novel acoustic and behavioral diversity (Insecta, Orthoptera, Gryllidae, Eneopterinae)}, journal = {Zoologischer Anzeiger - A Journal of Comparative Zoology}, volume = {258}, year = {2015}, month = {Jan-09-2015}, pages = {82 - 91}, abstract = {

The present study describes Gnominthus, a new genus of Eneopterinae crickets from New Guinea Island (Papua New Guinea), which belongs to the tribe Lebinthini. Descriptions focus on general morphology, male and female genitalia, and forewing venation. Bioacoustical analyses of the calling song and the description of the mating behavior are also provided. The novelties found here increase the idea hypothesized before that the Lebinthini may represent a very diverse group in terms of shapes, behaviors and acoustic signals.

}, keywords = {Gryllidae, high frequency, Insecta, mating behavior, new genus, new species, Orthoptera, Papua New Guinea}, issn = {00445231}, doi = {10.1016/j.jcz.2015.06.005}, url = {http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0044523115300024}, author = {Natallia M. Vicente and Olivero, Paola and Lafond, Augustin and Jiajia Dong and Tony Robillard} }