Sigaus villosus

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Sigaus villosus
Sigaus villosus 114601564.jpg
A male specimen
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Suborder: Caelifera
Family: Acrididae
Genus: Sigaus
Species:
S. villosus
Binomial name
Sigaus villosus
(Salmon, 1950) [1]
NZAcrididae7.png
The distribution of S. villosus in New Zealand
Synonyms [1]
  • Brachaspis villosaSalmon, 1950

Sigaus villosus is New Zealand's largest grasshopper. [2] It is only found in the central mountains of the South Island. [3] The genus Sigaus is endemic to New Zealand. [4] Like all of New Zealand sub-alpine and alpine grasshoppers Sigaus villosus has a 3 or 4 year life cycle. [2] The eggs must 'overwinter' before they will hatch. Hoppers are found throughout the year and adult grasshoppers can be found throughout the New Zealand summer between December and April. These flightless grasshoppers have distinctive black eyes.

Contents

Distribution and habitat

A overview of the S. villosus habitat. Lagoon Peak .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap} 43deg22'29''S 171deg14'16''E / 43.374819degS 171.237881degE / -43.374819; 171.237881 NZAcrididae17.JPG
A overview of the S. villosus habitat.
Lagoon Peak 43°22′29″S171°14′16″E / 43.374819°S 171.237881°E / -43.374819; 171.237881

Sigaus villosus is known from the central mountains of the South Island, with the largest population on the Craigieburn Range. It can be found as far south as the Fox Peak ( 43°50′20″S170°47′02″E / 43.838913°S 170.78388°E / -43.838913; 170.78388 ) and as far north as the Mount Wilson ( 42°57′32″S171°40′32″E / 42.958791°S 171.675611°E / -42.958791; 171.675611 ). The black eye grasshopper is a truly high alpine species, as it prefers open bare rocky screes between 1,900–2,100 metres (6,200–6,900 ft) in elevation. [5] [6] In the past, it could be found down as low as 1,320 metres (4,330 ft) at the Porters Ski Area at the bottom of long open screes ( 43°16′23″S171°38′32″E / 43.27295483°S 171.64224886°E / -43.27295483; 171.64224886 ). [7] With global warming Sigaus villosus is expected to lose between 20% and 95% of its distribution. [3]

Species description

This species was first described by J. T. Salmon in 1950 and originally named Brachaspis villosa. [8] The wings on S. villosus are micropterous (small wings) between 2–4 millimetres (0.079–0.157 in) making this species flightless like most of New Zealand grasshoppers. Sigaus villosus is sister to the North Island alpine species Sigaus piliferus . [9]

Polymorphism

Only one colour morph are known for adults S. villosus, 'Grey'. All specimens are light grey with black coloured eyes.

Type information

Holotype of Sigaus villosus MA I321260 TePapa Sigaus-villosus-Salmon full.jpg
Holotype of Sigaus villosus

References

  1. 1 2 "Sigaus villosus (Salmon, 1950)". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 2021-03-07.
  2. 1 2 Mason, Paul (1971). Alpine Grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae) in the Southern Alps of Canterbury New Zealand. Unpublished PhD thesis, University of Canterbury, Christchurch.
  3. 1 2 Koot, Emily M.; Morgan-Richards, Mary; Trewick, Steven A. (2022). "Climate change and alpine-adapted insects: modelling environmental envelopes of a grasshopper radiation". Royal Society Open Science. 9 (3) 211596. Bibcode:2022RSOS....911596K. doi:10.1098/rsos.211596. PMC   8889178 . PMID   35316945.
  4. ↑ Trewick, Steven A.; Koot, Emily M.; Morgan-Richards, Mary (2023). "Māwhitiwhiti Aotearoa: Phylogeny and synonymy of the silent alpine grasshopper radiation of New Zealand (Orthoptera: Acrididae)". Zootaxa. 5383 (2): 225–241. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5383.2.7. ISSN   1175-5334. PMID   38221250.
  5. ↑ Trewick, Steven A. (April 2008). "DNA Barcoding is not enough: mismatch of taxonomy and genealogy in New Zealand grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae)". Cladistics. 24 (2): 240–254. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-0031.2007.00174.x . ISSN   0748-3007. S2CID   85151482.
  6. ↑ Morris, Simon J. (December 2003). "Two new species of Sigaus from Fiordland, New Zealand (Orthoptera: Acrididae)" . New Zealand Entomologist. 26 (1): 65–74. Bibcode:2003NZEnt..26...65M. doi:10.1080/00779962.2003.9722110. ISSN   0077-9962. S2CID   85388019.
  7. ↑ Watson, Richard (1970). The feeding behaviour of alpine grasshoppers (Acrididae: Orthoptera), in the Craigieburn Range, Canterbury, New Zealand. Unpublished MSc thesis. Lincoln College, University of Canterbury.
  8. ↑ Salmon, J. T. (1950). "A New Species of Acridiidae (Insecta: Orthoptera) from New Zealand". Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 50: 69 – via Papers Past.
  9. ↑ Koot, Emily M.; Morgan-Richards, Mary; Trewick, Steven A. (2020-06-01). "An alpine grasshopper radiation older than the mountains, on Kā Tiritiri o te Moana (Southern Alps) of Aotearoa (New Zealand)" . Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 147 106783. Bibcode:2020MolPE.14706783K. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106783. ISSN   1055-7903. PMID   32135305.
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