Pamphagus sardeus
{{short description|Species of grasshopper}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Pamphagus_sardeus_-_Uras,_Sardinia.jpg
| image_caption = P. sardeus, female
| genus = Pamphagus
| species = sardeus
| authority = (Herrich-Schäffer, 1840)
| display_parents = 4
| synonyms = *Pamphagus marmoratus var. elegans Krauss (1914)
}}
Pamphagus sardeus is a large species of Pamphagidae and one of the most massive Italian Orthoptera.
Distribution and habitat
This species can be encountered exclusively in Sardinia, and is more frequently found in spring and summer in the southern part of the island, where it lives in dry natural grassland.{{Cite book|last1=Iorio|first1=Carmine|last2=Scherini|first2=Roberto|last3=Fontana|first3=Paolo|last4=Buzzetti|first4=Filippo M.|last5=Kleukers|first5=Roy|last6=Odé|first6=Baudewijn|last7=Massa|first7=Bruno|title=Grasshoppers and Crickets of Italy|publisher=WBA Project|year=2019|isbn=-978-88-903323-9-5|location=Verona, Italy|pages=364–366}}
Description
The adult males grow up to {{convert|45.9|-|61|mm}} long, while females reach {{convert|55|-|70|mm}}. The overall shape is typical of Pamphagidae and very similar to Pamphagus marmoratus, to the point that for a long time this species was reported as P. marmoratus before the works by Harz (1969{{Cite book|last1=Harz|first1=Kurt|title=Die Orthopteren Europas/The Orthoptera of Europe Volume I|publisher=Junk B.V|year=1969|isbn=978-90-481-8512-2|location=The Hague, Netherlands}} and 1975{{Cite book|last1=Harz|first1=Kurt|title=Die Orthopteren Europas/The Orthoptera of Europe Volume II|publisher=Junk B.V|year=1975|isbn=978-90-619-3121-8|location=The Hague, Netherlands}}) definitively separated it on the basis of the longer cerci, a different profile of the ultimate tergite and the shape of male genitalia. {{Cite book|last1=Massa|first1=Bruno|last2=Fontana|first2=Paolo|last3=Buzzetti|first3=Filippo M.|last4=Kleukers|first4=Roy|title=FAUNA D'ITALIA Vol. XLVIII - Orthoptera|publisher=Calderini|year=2012|isbn=978-88-506-5408-6|location=Milan, Italy|pages=377–378}}
Biology
Pamphagus sardeus, like the other Pamphagidae, is herbivore.
Adults, especially females, rarely jump, look quite torpid and clumsy and can be easily captured with the hands.
Although relatively widespread, it's not easy to meet and it never occurs in large numbers.
A lab audio recording attributed to P. sardeus is available [http://orthoptera.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/PlaySound.aspx?TaxonNameID=1116861&SoundID=1723 on the Orthoptera Species File website].
Gallery
File:Pamphagus sardeus - Uras, Sardinia.jpg|A female specimen of Sardinia's endemic Pamphagus sardeus (Herrich-Schäffer, 1840)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Wikispecies inline}}
- {{Commons inline}}
- [https://www.sardegnanatura.com/fauna-sardegna/schede-fauna-sardegna/162-insetti/382-panfago-sardo.html Panfago Sardo su Sardegna Natura]
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJW1kA38Dhc Video of a specimen of Pamphagus sardeus]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q10615728}}
Category:Insects described in 1840
Category:Taxa named by Gottlieb August Wilhelm Herrich-Schäffer