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| Ellipes deyrupi Woo, 2021 |
Abstract
Pygmy mole crickets (Orthoptera: Tridactylidae) are usually associated with the edges of ponds and streams, but in the sandy uplands of Florida, at least two lineages of these insects have evolved to live in xeric scrub and sandhill habitats. Very little work has been done with scrub tridactylids since they are tiny and often difficult to collect. In this paper, the pygmy mole cricket Ellipes deyrupi sp. nov. is described from the northern Lake Wales Ridge of Florida. It is sympatric at all known locations with another scrub tridactylid, Neotridactylus archboldi Deyrup & Eisner, but has not been found co-occurring with the closely related Ellipes eisneri Deyrup. The habits of this new species are convergent with both N. archboldi and E. eisneri. In addition, new records of Ellipes eisneri are presented, extending this species’ known distribution to the Northern Brooksville Ridge. Both species of scrub Ellipes are found in restricted geographic ranges and suffer from a lack of study and recognition. Conservation implications for these two species are discussed.
Keywords: Distribution, Florida endemics, sandhill, scrub, taxonomy, Tridactylinae
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| Fig. 2. Live nymph and adult images of Ellipes deyrupi sp. nov. A. Dorsal and lateral view of adult from Tiger Creek Preserve; B. Nymph from same locality; C. Adult from Sarasota Court; D. Adult burrowing in sand at Tiger Creek; E. Nymph burrowing at same locality. |
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| Fig. 1. Habitat and traces of Ellipes deyrupi sp. nov. A. Habitat at Tiger Creek Preserve; B. Detail of same; C. Tumuli at Tiger Creek; D. Feeding burrow at Sarasota Court; E. Habitat at same locality. Note gopher tortoise burrow entrance at center; F. Tumuli at same locality. |
Family Tridactylidae Brullé, 1835
Subfamily Tridactylinae Brullé, 1835
Genus Ellipes Scudder, 1902
Ellipes Scudder, 1902: 309; Günther 1977: 47.
Type species: —Tridactylus minutus Scudder, 1862
(= Ellipes minuta), by original monotypy.
Ellipes deyrupi sp. nov.
Diagnosis:— Differs from all other known species of Ellipes, except E. eisneri in its flightless condition, pale white and brown coloration, lack of swimming plates, and occurrence in xeric habitat. Easily distinguished from E. eisneri by its larger size, distinctive coloration, and disjunct range.
Etymology:— This species is named in honor of Dr. Mark Deyrup, Emeritus Research Biologist in Entomology at the Archbold Biological Station, who first collected the species and recognized it as distinct, and who has contributed the bulk of what is known about scrub tridactylid biology. Dr. Deyrup encouraged the author to describe this new species and look for other species across the southeastern U.S. and has been enormously supportive and generous with his knowledge of Florida natural history.
Common name:— Deyrup and Carrel (2012) gave this species a provisional common name of “Broussard Pygmy Mole Cricket” due to its occurrence at the Allen David Broussard Catfish Creek Preserve, but given that the species is now known to occur at other localities, I propose the common name of “Deyrup’s Pygmy Mole Cricket” to recognize Deyrup’s contributions to the biology and conservation of Florida scrub arthropods.
Brandon Woo. 2021. A New Species of Pygmy Mole Cricket (Orthoptera: Tridactylidae) from the Lake Wales Ridge of Florida and New Records of Ellipes eisneri from the northern Brooksville Ridge. Journal of Orthoptera Research. 30(2); 131-143. DOI: 10.3897/jor.30.65603
