New species of awl-head katydids, Cestrophorus and Acanthacara, from the Andes of Ecuador (Orthoptera, Conocephalinae, Cestrophorini)

By

Braun, Holger
Morris, Glenn K

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2022-9-30

Original Publication

Journal of orthoptera research : JOR

Volume

31

Series / Issue

Issue: 2

Pages

143--156

Subjects

bioacoustics ear fastigium montane sinusoid song s

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Philadelphia, Penn Orthopterists' Society 1992-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.31.82306

 

Abstract

The Cestrophorini are small katydids of Ecuador’s montane rainforest bearing a prominent awl-shaped fastigium verticis. They are unusual among Conocephalinae in lacking pre-tympanic ear chambers: their eardrums are exposed on their fore tibiae. There are presently two genera, Cestrophorus Redtenbacher, 1891 and Acanthacara Scudder, 1869. Awl-head habitat includes both climax forest and anthropogenically disturbed areas (e.g., pastures, roadsides) on lower slopes in the drainage of the volcanoes Aliso, Chiles and Tungurahua. At night, males perch on low vegetation and stridulate to attract females. To three extant species, we add a further seven, two in Cestrophorus and five in Acanthacara. Male calling songs were recorded and analyzed for all three Cestrophorus species and for three of the Acanthacara spp. We describe and discuss the waveforms of their sinusoid and transient sound pulses in time and frequency domains.