:Sigaus nitidus

{{Speciesbox

| image = Paprides nitidus 28135756.jpg

| image_caption = Sigaus nitidus, New Zealand

| genus = Sigaus

| species = nitidus

| authority = Hutton, 1898

| display_parents = 2

}}

Sigaus nitidus is a species of short-horned grasshopper in the family Acrididae, endemic to New Zealand.{{Cite journal |last1=Trewick |first1=Steven A. |last2=Koot |first2=Emily M. |last3=Morgan-Richards |first3=Mary |date=2023 |title=Māwhitiwhiti Aotearoa: Phylogeny and synonymy of the silent alpine grasshopper radiation of New Zealand (Orthoptera: Acrididae) |url=https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5383.2.7 |journal=Zootaxa |volume=5383 |issue=2 |pages=225–241 |doi=10.11646/zootaxa.5383.2.7 |pmid=38221250 |issn=1175-5334}} This alpine grasshopper species is flightless and silent.

Taxonomy

Sigaus nitidus was described by Hutton in 1898{{Cite journal |last=Hutton |first=F. W. |date=1898 |title=Notes on the New Zealand Acrididae |journal=Proceedings and Transaction of the New Zealand Institute |volume=31 |pages=44-50}} but in the genus Paprides. "Nitidus" means shiny. In 1967 Bigelow added P. dugdali to this genus. In 2023 thirteen species of New Zealand cold-adapted grasshopper were combined into the genus Sigaus, creating the new combination Sigaus nitidus.

Biology and description

Sigaus nitidus is adapted to alpine conditions. This grasshopper eats a wide range of alpine herbs but avoids tussock grass.{{Cite book |last=Watson |first=R. N. |title=The feeding behaviour of alpine grasshoppers (Acrididae: Orthoptera), in the Craigieburn Range, Canterbury, New Zealand. |date=1970 |publisher=Unpublished MSc thesis, University of Canterbury |location=Christchurch NZ}}{{Cite journal |last1=Nakano |first1=Mari |last2=Park |first2=Kye Chung |last3=A. Trewick |first3=Steven |last4=Morgan-Richards |first4=Mary |date=2024 |title=Food plant odor perception in three sympatric alpine grasshopper species (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Catantopinae) in Aotearoa New Zealand |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00049-024-00403-8 |journal=Chemoecology |language=en |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=71–81 |bibcode=2024Checo..34...71N |doi=10.1007/s00049-024-00403-8 |issn=1423-0445|doi-access=free }} Females are larger than males{{Cite journal |last1=Meza-Joya |first1=Fabio Leonardo |last2=Morgan-Richards |first2=Mary |last3=Trewick |first3=Steven A. |date=2022 |title=Relationships among body size components of three flightless New Zealand grasshopper species (Orthoptera, Acrididae) and their ecological applications |url=https://jor.pensoft.net/article/79819/ |journal=Journal of Orthoptera Research |language=en |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=91–103 |doi=10.3897/jor.31.79819 |issn=1937-2426 |doi-access=free}} but their antenna have the same number of sensilla.{{Cite journal |last=Nakano |first=Mari |last2=Morgan-Richards |first2=Mary |last3=Clavijo-McCormick |first3=Andrea |last4=Trewick |first4=Steven |date=2023 |title=Abundance and distribution of antennal sensilla on males and females of three sympatric species of alpine grasshopper (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Catantopinae) in Aotearoa New Zealand |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00435-022-00579-z |journal=Zoomorphology |language=en |volume=142 |issue=1 |pages=51–62 |doi=10.1007/s00435-022-00579-z |issn=1432-234X|doi-access=free }} Sigaus nitidus has a variable life-cycle of two or three years, overwintering as egg, nymph or adult.

Distribution

Sigaus nitidus is found above the tree line on mountains in South Island New Zealand from Mt Arthur in the north to Canterbury, where it is the most abundant grasshopper species.{{Cite book |last=Bigelow |first=R. S. |title=The grasshoppers (Acrididae) of New Zealand |date=1967 |publisher=University of Canterbury Publications.}}{{Cite journal |last1=White |first1=E. G. |last2=Sedcole |first2=J. R. |date=1991 |title=A 20-Year Record of Alpine Grasshopper Abundance, with Interpretations for Climate Change |url=https://newzealandecology.org/nzje/1905 |journal=New Zealand Journal of Ecology |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=139–152}} During the Last Glacial Maximum S. nitidus would have had a wider distribution.{{Cite journal |last=Meza‐Joya |first=Fabio Leonardo |last2=Morgan‐Richards |first2=Mary |last3=Koot |first3=Emily M. |last4=Trewick |first4=Steven A. |date=2023 |title=Global warming leads to habitat loss and genetic erosion of alpine biodiversity |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jbi.14590 |journal=Journal of Biogeography |language=en |volume=50 |issue=5 |pages=961–975 |doi=10.1111/jbi.14590 |issn=0305-0270|doi-access=free }} Species distribution models predict that global warming will result in more fragmented habitat and loss of approximately 20% of suitable habitat for S. nitidus.