OF ORTHOPTERA IN THE CAUCASUS AND WESTERN ASIA. 453 



reptiles and amphibians ; Bii'ula (l. c.) — scorpions ; as well as by 

 other zoologists. 



A full list of the Orthoptera, which are known to me from the 

 Caucasus and the neighbouring countries, wall be given by me 

 elsewhere. 



1. South Russian Steppe district (R.M.)*. 



The Orthopteran fauna of the open grassy steppes lying to the 

 east of Azov Sea has not yet been sufficiently investigated, and 

 we know but 69 species (3 M t + 32 A + 27 L + 7 G) from it. 

 Notwithstanding, it is evident that this fauna cannot be 

 separated from that of the steppes north of the said sea and 

 of the Blfick Sea — the steppes of Southern Russia, and it has 

 nothing to do with the fauna of the Caucasus proper. In fact, 

 there is only one species in this fauna which is unknown from the 

 South Russian steppes ; it is Pezotettix giornai, a Mediterranean 

 species winch I think has quite recently penetrated here from 

 the neighbouring Novorossiisk district, and is only restricted to 

 the south-western part of the Azov steppes. We are right, 

 therefore, in regarding the latter as simply being the southern 

 part of the vast South Russian Steppe district. The boundaries 

 of this district, as far as they are lying within the limits of 

 country we are interested in, are not quite defined yet ; the 

 southern boundary of it coincides with the northern limit of 

 the forests growing on northern slopes of the Caucasus ; its 

 eastern limit is not so sharply marked and is dependent on the 

 westw-ard progression of the Aralo-Caspian (Turanian) flora and 

 fauna along the Valley of Manytsh (see below). 



2. The Kuban-Terek district (K.-T.). 

 As I have had the opportunity of studying this district for a 

 rather long time (1911-1914, i.e. four years), its fauna is well 

 known to met. The number of species known from this district 

 is 77 (2 M -I- 33 A + 33 L + 9 G) and may be regarded as being very 

 nearly exact. The bulk of this faiina — 68 species — is common to 

 it and to the foregoing district, which leads us to the conclusion 

 that the Kuban-Terek district ought to be regarded as belonging 

 to the Steppe subregion. The distinction between the South- 

 Russian fauna and the fauna of this district is based on 13 species. 

 Out of these seven are of well-defined boreal origin : S'tenoboth7'ics 

 nigromaculatns, St. ventralis, St. scalaris, Gomj)hocerics variegatus, 

 Psojjhus stridulus, Leptophyes punctatissima, and Olynthoscelis 

 griseoaiJtera ; they form, no doubt, a rearguard of the relic group 

 of boreal species which retreated from South-Russian -steppes, 



* The letters after the name of each district are the initials of their latin names 

 as adopted in mj' zoogeographical map. 



t M=Mantodea, P= Phasmodea, A=Acridiodea, L=Locustodea, G=Gryllodea. 



+ See my publication concerning the Orthopteran fauna of the province Stavropol 

 (Bull, du Musee du Caucase, 1915). 



