Endecous apterus: A new species of cave cricket from northeast Brazil, with comments on the use of subterranean habitats by Luzarinae crickets (Orthoptera: Grylloidea: Phalangopsidae: Luzarinae)

Abstract

In this study we describe the first apterous species of Endecous Saussure (1878), collected in two caves at Ituaçu, Bahia State, Brazil. In Brazil, Endecous is the most widespread cricket in hypogean environments and its species can colonize caves and inhabit the entrance and the aphotic zones; Endecous species can also be found in the litter, rock gullies, crevices, burrows, and any natural cavities. The use of subterranean habitat by Endecous crickets and its related genera are discussed.

Description of two new species of Charinus Simon, 1892 from Brazilian caves with remarks on conservation (Arachnida: Amblypygi: Charinidae)

“…However, it is important to highlight that troglobites are not determined by eyes reduction or its absence, but rather by their restriction in cave environments. Recently, studies regarding other invertebrate groups, such as crickets' inhabitants of caves, have demonstrated that strict dependence on hypogean habitats is not always connected with morphological adaptations (Bolfarini & Bichuette 2015;Souza-Dias et al 2014). According with Bolfarini & Bichuette (2015), it is a good strategy to define troglobitic species by the existence of a population that only reproduce inside a cave and do not have populations established outside.…”

Persisting while changing over time: modelling the historical biogeographic of cave crickets (Orthoptera, Grylloidea) in Neotropics

“…The current distribution and paleodistribution of Endecous encompass the late Pleistocene expansion and retraction cycles of humid forests in South America (see Ledo & Colli 2017, Sobral-Souza et al 2015. Furthermore, their distribution in areas currently known as dry forest diagonal (Dinerstein et al 2017, Olson et al 2001, similarly to 6,000 and 21,000 years ago (e.g., Werneck et al 2011Werneck et al , 2012, indicates that these areas could have been transitional and expansion zones, where the Endecous could have colonized and established In addition, the presence of small refuges, such as hypogean habitats and/or vestiges of humid forests and riparian forests, or even certain preference for more shaded phytophysiognomies (e.g., Cerrado and Riparian Forests) in arid locations, may explain the occurrence of Endecous along dry forests, and in turn the constant presence of Endecous inhabiting caves in arid biomes (Castro-Souza et al 2017, Souza-Dias et al 2014, Zefa et al 2014.…”

“…Although we did not use records of troglobitic Endecous in our dataset, when superimposing such occurrences with the models built, it is evident that the ancestors of these species colonized the caves in the past, since the potential paleodistribution of the genus was wide and encompassed regions where such species currently occur. Thus, it is important to emphasize that facultative cave ancestors have great potential to become cave specialists in the future (Chapman 1982), with Endecous being a living example, given that it is one of the only two genera of crickets in Brazil with troglobitic species (Bolfarini & Bichuette 2015, Castro-Souza et al 2020a, Souza-Dias et al 2014. Furthermore, geographically isolated refuges may have contributed to the increase in speciation within caves (e.g., Castro-Souza et al 2020a), which increases the taxonomic complexity of the genus (Castro-Souza, R.A & Ferreira, R.L.…”

“…In particular, the genus Endecous (Orthoptera: Grylloidea: Phalangopsidae) could be a good model group for large-scale studies as they present species occurring in both epigean and hypogean environments (Bolfarini & Bichuette 2015, Castro-Souza et al 2020a, 2020b, Souza-Dias et al 2014. In addition, resources derived from cave crickets, such as dung, bodies, carcases and eggs, can directly be consumed by several other cave invertebrate species, thus contributing to the structuring of subterranean communities (Lavoie et al 2007, Mammola et al 2019a, Taylor 2003, Taylor et al 2005.…”

Estudo taxonômico e filogenético de <i>Eidmanacris</i> Chopard, 1956 (Orthoptera; Phalangopsidae; Luzarinae)

“…Em trabalho mais recente (Desutter-Grandcolas, 2003) a autora reviu a nomenclatura das estruturas dos complexos fálicos e substituiu os nomes de alguns elementos em Grylloidea. Essa terminologia, baseada na homologia dos escleritos fálicos, válida para toda a subordem Ensifera é utilizada atualmente por diversos autores (de Mello & de Andrade, 2003;Mews et al, 2010;Bolfarini et al, 2012;Desutter-Grandcolas & Felix, 2012;Sperber et al, 2012;Zefa et al, 2012;Souza-Dias et al, 2014Campos et al, 2015). A descrição do macho de Eidmanacris paramarmorata é importante para complementação dos dados, uma vez que, em Grylloidea, os machos costumam ser mais informativos do que as fêmeas, no que diz respeitos a caracteres morfológicos.…”