Cyrtacanthacris tatarica (Linnaeus, 1758)

Fig. 31

References for Socotra.

Burr 1903: 412, 421 [as Acridium tataricum]; Popov (in Uvarov and Popov (1957)): 376; Wranik 2003: 323, plate 156.

Diagnostic notes.

This large grasshopper has an elegant pattern of light and dark brown markings. The head and pronotum feature a mid-dorsal whitish longitudinal line extending on to the folded tegmina. The prosternal process is strongly curved backwards. The pronotum is moderately roof-like, slightly saddle-shaped, dark brown and thinly margined white. There are tiny white spots and a broad rectangular light bar on the lateral lobes. The tegmina have sharply defined dark fasciae and spots and the hind wings are pale yellowish at the base. The median external area of the hind femora bears a thin longitudinal blackish line on the dorsolateral edge. The subgenital plate is elongated and acutely conical. Cyrtacanthacris Walker, 1870 is an Asian and African genus containing seven species (Cigliano et al. 2024 a), differing from each other by the male phallic complex (Dirsh 1979).

Distribution and occurrence.

Cyrtacanthacris tatarica occurs in Africa south of the Sahara and is common in Madagascar and the Seychelles, SW Asia, S Asia to Sumatra and the Philippines (Hemp and Rowell 2020). On Socotra, it is relatively scarce, with some scattered older records in the eastern part of the island. We did not find the species in 2009 and 2010. Records are from January to May (Fig. 31).

Habitat and biology.

The species typically occurs in savannah grasslands (Hemp and Rowell 2020). Records on Socotra are from sparse dwarf and low Croton - Jatropha shrubland at elevations from 25–400 m a. s. l.