Abbas Mol

Comparison of chitin structures isolated from seven Orthoptera species.

Differences in the physichochemical properties of the chitin structure of the exoskeleton of seven species from four genera were investigated in this study. The same method was used to isolate the chitin structure of the seven species. The physicochemical properties of the isolated chitins were revealed by ESEM, FTIR, TGA and XRD analyses. The FTIR, TGA and XRD results from the chitin samples were similar. The surface morphologies of the chitins were investigated by ESEM and interesting results were noted. While the surface morphologies of the chitins isolated from two species within the same genus were quite different, the surface morphologies of chitins isolated from species belonging to different genera showed similarity. It was determined that the dry weight chitin contents of the grasshopper species varied between 5.3% and 8.9%. The results of molecular analysis showed that the chitins from seven Orthoptera species (between 5.2 and 6.8 kDa) have low molecular weights. Considering that these invasive and harmful species are killed with insecticides and go to waste in large amounts, this study suggests that they should be collected and evaluated as an alternative chitin source.

Song and morphology of the three Anatolian endemic species of the genus Chorthippus (Orthoptera: Acrididae, Gomphocerinae)

Abstract Song and morphology of the three endemic Anatolian species of the genus Chorthippus are presented. A new species, C. helverseni n. sp. is described. Descriptions of C. bozdaghi Uvarov and C. ilkazi Uvarov are supplemented both on the basis of morphology and of male calling song, and characters supporting the descriptions are illustrated. The new species C. helverseni n. sp. shows affinities with C. ilkazi and C. bozdaghi in morphological characters and with C. demokidovi-group in the song.

A new species of Psorodonotus (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae) from Anatolia, Turkey

Descriptions of a new species of Tettigoniinae; Psorodonotus suphani sp. n. from Turkey were given. The relationships between the new species and closest taxa (morphologically and geographically) were evaluated by using morphological characters. Ultimately, some remarkable points of the distribution pattern of the species were presented.

The Morphological and Behavioral Analysis of Geographically Separated Rammeihippus turcicus (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Gomphocerinae) Populations: Data Result in Taxonomical Conflict

ABSTRACT. Rammeihippus Woznessenskij, 1996 (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Gomphocerinae) is a genus represented by two species. Rammeihippus turcicus (Ramme, 1939) is the only known species of the genus from Anatolia. As for most of the Gomphocerinae species in Anatolia, all populations of the species are intermittently distributed at high altitudes. In this study, three populations of R. turcicus were studied for the first time to determine the song and mating behavior. Males of the species produce typical calling song for Gomphocerinae and complex courtship songs and mating behavior. Thus, an accurate taxonomy requires extensive material and different character sources. In this study, the Anatolian Rammeihippus was re-examined on the basis of qualitative and morphometric morphology, male songs, and behavioral characteristics. There was no agreement between the results of the song and morphology. Acoustic analysis suggested one species and patchy distribution in the area, whereas morphology pointed out that each population was a different taxonomical unit. The results of the study show that the aberrant morphology does not necessarily indicate a new species in the Gomphocerinae genus.

Extraction of high thermally stable and nanofibrous chitin from Cicada (Cicadoidea): First extraction chitin from Cicada

Due to the increasing interest in natural biopolymers including chitin, the exploitation of economic and easily accessible chitin sources with good physicochemical properties is nowadays required. In view of this fact, in the current study chitin was extracted and physicochemically characterized from six Cicadas (Hemiptera: Homoptera: Cicadoidea) species collected from Mediterranean region of Turkey (2014–15). Chitin was extracted using a classic extraction method that includes acid and base treatment. TGA results revealed a remarkable increase (410–412°C) for all the six Cicada species compared to other chitin samples extracted from various sources. For all of the six selected species the chitin contents on the dry basis were determined as 6.7% for Cicadatra atra, 5.51% for C. hyalina, 8.84% for C. platyptera, 4.97% for Cicada lodosi, 6.49% for C. mordoganensis, and 5.88% for Cicadetta tibialis. The surface morphology of chitin isolates from Cicada species was observed to consist of nanofibers and nanopores.

Contribution to the knowledge of two endemic species of Anatolian Gomphocerinae Fieber, 1853 (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

This study focuses on two endemic Anatolian Gomphocerinae Fieber, 1853 species, which are evaluated in terms of nomenclature and taxonomy using biogeographical, morphological, and acoustical data. The original description of Eremippus zeybekoglui is supplemented by the data on new specimens collected from type locality, and the female of this species is described for the first time in this study. Based on the new specimens of Stenobothrus weidneri (Demirsoy, 1977) comb. nov., which were collected at the type locality, the species is transferred from Eremippus Uvarov, 1926 to Stenobothrus Fischer, 1853. Additionally, male calling songs of both species are described for the first time in this study. Also, the biogeography of these species is presented and discussed.

First song descriptions of some Anatolian species of Tettigoniidae Krauss, 1902 (Orthoptera, Ensifera)

Abstract Fourteen endemic and two sub-endemic species belonging to three subfamilies of Tettigoniidae (Tettigoniinae, Bradyporinae and Saginae) were sampled during field trips throughout the different ranges of Anatolia between the years of 2004 and 2013. Acoustic parameters of these 16 species affiliated to 8 genera (Anterastes, Apholidoptera, Gampsocleis, Parapholidoptera, Pezodrymadusa, Psorodonotus, Bradyporus and Saga) have been described for the first time in this study. Acoustical analysis showed that song characters are species-specific in the genera Saga and Psorodonotus. On the other hand, we could not find big differences among species of the genus Pezodrymadusa and Parapholidoptera castaneoviridis species-group.