Uromenus finoti

Uromenus finoti (Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1882)

MOROCCO, N of Tanacherfi, N 34.40596, W 002.65599, 735 m a.s.l., 02 vi 2013, leg. Chobanov.

The nightly calling song consists of echemes with a variable number (3–19) of syllables (Fig. 2; syllable period 411±23 ms; SRR 2.4 Hz). In these syllables, a short opening hemisyllable (47±2 ms) is followed by a longer closing hemisyllable (163±8 ms) containing 50±2 impulses (Fig. 3), both having approximately the same amplitude.

The frequency spectrum of the male calling song has a very broad maximum around 20 kHz (Fig. 5).

The male tegmina are in shape similar to U. elegans, but the mirror in the right tegmen is oval, not roundish (Fig. 6B). The male stridulatory file carries about 90 teeth (Fig. 7; Tab. 2). In the middle of the file the inter-tooth intervals are about 65 µm. The female stridulatory file (Fig. 9D) is in structure similar to that of the other Uromenus species and in tooth density intermediate between the species of the rugosicollis group and U. agarenus.

Morphology. This species has been grouped together with U. melillae Nadig, 1994, U. tobboganensis Nadig, 1994, and U. alhoceimae Nadig, 1994, into the Finoti Subgroup. The taxa within this group are distinguished based on the shape of the genital appendages. Females of the Finoti Subgroup differ from the Robustus Subgroup by the distal protuberances of the lower ovipositor valve being hump-shaped or comb-shaped and directed downwards, but also clearly outwards over the edge of the ventral edges of the ventral valve, and the copulatory area being more or less detached from the lower edge of the eighth tergite. Male 10th tergum, epiproct, cerci and titillators are shown on Fig. 10A 1–2 and Fig. 11B.

Our record seems to be the second for Morocco after Rungs (1952). Most Moroccan records of this species before Nadig’s review refer to other species of the Finoti Subgroup (Nadig 1994).

Ecology. The species was observed in a dry ruderalized habitat dominated by bare soil with rare grass, thistles and thorny bushes (Fig. 1J). The animals usually kept on Echinops sp. and Carthamus sp. plants. The locality fits desert or semi-desert climate—Köppen climate type BSk (Cold semi-arid) to BWk (Cold desert)(Verner et al. 2018).