Aerotegmina kilimandjarica Hemp 2001

Aerotegmina kilimandjarica Hemp, 2001

(Fig. 8 A–C)

Distribution. Tanzania, Kenya.

Ecology and biology. Hemp C. 2001a, 2006. Canopy dweller of closed forest. Present throughout the year. Predaceous, feeds on a variety of other insects including its own species. Males were kept in captivity for about three months.

Song. The calling song of A. kilimandjarica consists of long sequences of single syllables produced at a rate of 2–3 Hz. Each syllable consists of many impulses, which are often fused with each other either due to echoes or because the vibration of the tegmen has not yet stopped before the next impulse starts. The spectrum of the song shows invariably two broad bands, the lower one between 4 and 10 kHz and the upper one with a broad peak around 25 kHz. The intensity of the song is about 100 dB SPL, one of the loudest known songs in Tettigoniidae. The unusual loudness and frequency are certainly based on the aberrant tegmen shape, since Aerotegmina species have strongly inflated tegmina with flap-like alae closing the acoustical chamber ventrally (Heller et al. 2010).

Biogeography. In the forest belt of Mt Kilimanjaro, montane forest in the North Pare Mountains (Kindoroko forest reserve, Kiverenge Hill), Marang and Nou forest reserve, Mt Meru, Mt Sabuk and Mt Kenya (Hemp 2010). A more primitive species, A. shengenae Hemp is found in the South Pare Mountains (Hemp C. 2006), and further undescribed species occur in the Taita Hills (Hemp et al., in press), and Mt Kasigau in Kenya. A morphologically very distinct species occurs in the Udzungwa Mountains in Tanzania.

Habitat. Hemp C. 2005. Submontane and montane forest communities.

Altitudinal range at Mt Kilimanjaro: 1400–1600– 2200–2600 m.

Records: 67