Mauro Rampini

The cave crickets of northeast Turkey and transCaucasian regions, with descriptions of two new species of the genera Dolichopoda and Troglophilus (Orthoptera, Rhaphidophoridae)

Abstract Until now, of the total 53 or so species of cave crickets in the genera Troglophilus Krauss 1879 and Dolichopoda Bolivar 1899, seven are known from Turkey. Collecting journeys in 2000 and 2001 allowed us to obtain samples from the Pontic Mountains (northeastern Turkey). Based on this material, we now describe two new species, one for each of the above genera. Dolichopoda noctivaga sp. n. is very closely related to the transCaucasian species D. euxina and D. hyrcana, but can be distinguished from them by the shape of the epiphallus, rounded not truncate apically, by the occurrence of styli on the male subgenital plate, and by the unemarginate apex of the female subgenital plate. The second newly discovered species, Troglophilus tatyanae sp. n., differs from all other Turkish species in the uniformly brown coloration of its body, and by its small size — the smallest species known for the genus Troglophilus. Both T. tatyanae and D. noctivaga are apparently limited to the Black Sea region of northeast Turkey. D. noctivaga has been found in four localities scattered across the Pontic Mountains. By contrast, T. tatyanae occurs only in one locality, that in the Artvin district where it is syntopic with D. noctivaga. Both species have only a slight degree of adaptation to cave habitats, which seem to be used only as seasonal shelter.

Four new species of Dolichopoda Bolivar, 1880 from Southern Sporades and Western Turkey (Orthoptera, Rhaphidophoridae, Dolichopodainae).

Abstract A description of four new species of Dolichopoda Bolivar, 1880 (Orthoptera, Rhaphidophoridae) from Eastern Aegean region (Southern Sporades), including Western Turkey, is reported. This brings to a total of 11 the number of Dolichopoda species recorded for caves of the Aegean area. Overall, these species show a high degree of morphological homogeneity and they are very close to Dolichopoda paraskevi Boudou-Saltet, 1973 from Crete and Dolichopoda naxia Boudou-Saltet, 1972 from Cyclades (Naxos Island). The Western Turkish species are morphologically not closely related to the other Anatolian species; this suggests an independent origin for the taxa occurring in the Southern Taurus and Black Sea regions. These new data help to better define the already high level of diversity of the Hellenic Dolichopoda and strengthen the hypothesis that the central area of dispersal for the genus would correspond to the ancient Aegean plate.

Long term stability of a terrestrial cave community

We report data on the spatial structure and seasonal variation of the community of Valmarino cave, a medium sized sandstone cave, located a few kilometres from the coast line, in Central Italy. Due to both its habitat features and its relatively recent geological history, Valmarino cave is only inhabited by terrestrial, troglophilic elements, i.e, facultative cave dwellers. By means of monthly censuses and density plot estimates we have investigated species abundance, diversity and their spatial organization, by considering separately samples from different cave sectors. Homogeneous sampling design allowed to compare series of samplings performed in 1974 and 1994. On the whole 21 arthropods and one snail species constitute the cave community. Ordination plots resulting from correspondence analyses of monthly samples outline a distinct spatial and temporal structure. Two main sub-communities can be identified: a inner subcommunity, mainly represented by eu-troglophilic species, showing a remarkable stability throughout the year and an outer sub-community, mainly represented by sub-troglophilic species, showing strong seasonal variation. Both spatial and temporal vectors show similar importance in shaping the community structure. An interesting result of this study is the long term stability of both spatial and seasonal components of the community structure which remained almost identical after 20 years, as shown by the comparison of ordination plots obtained from 1974 and 1994 sampling series. Therefore this study provides empirical evidence of a frequently hypothesised, albeit never demonstrated feature of the cave ecosystem.

Phylogeography and systematics of the westernmost Italian Dolichopoda species (Orthoptera, Rhaphidophoridae)

Abstract The genus Dolichopoda (Orthoptera; Rhaphidopohoridae) is present in Italy with 9 species distributed from northwestern Italy (Piedmont and Liguria) to the southernmost Apennines (Calabria), occurring also in the Tyrrhenian coastal areas and in Sardinia. Three morphologically very close taxa have been described in Piedmont and Liguria, i.e., D. ligustica ligustica, D. ligustica septentrionalis and D. azami azami. To investigate the delimitation of the northwestern species of Dolichopoda, we performed both morphological and molecular analyses. Morphological analysis was carried out by considering diagnostic characters generally used to distinguish different taxa, as the shape of epiphallus in males and the subgenital fig in females. Molecular analysis was performed by sequencing three mitochondrial genes, 12S rRNA, 16S rRNA, partially sequenced and the entire gene of COI. Results from both morphological and molecular analyses highlighted a very homogeneous group of populations, although genetically structured. Three haplogroups geographically distributed could be distinguished and based on these results we suggest a new taxonomic arrangement. All populations, due to the priority of description, should be assigned to D. azami azami Saulcy, 1893 and to preserve the names ligustica and septentrionalis, corresponding to different genetic haplogroups, we assign them to D. azami ligustica stat. n. Baccetti & Capra, 1959 and to D. azami septentrionalis stat. n. Baccetti & Capra, 1959.

Molecular systematics of the genus Troglophilus (Rhaphidophoridae, Orthoptera) in Turkey: mitochondrial 16s rDNA evidences

Abstract This study focuses on the evolutionary relationships among Turkish species of the cave cricket genus Troglophilus.Fifteen populations were studied for sequence variation in a fragment (543 base pairs) of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) 16S rDNA gene (16S) to reconstruct their phylogenetic relationships and biogeographic history. Genetic data retrieved three main clades and at least three divergent lineages that could not be attributed to any of the taxa known for the area. Molecular time estimates suggest that the diversification of the group took place between the Messinian and the Plio-Pleistocene.

A recent colonization of Dolichopoda cave crickets in the Poscola cave (Orthoptera, Rhaphidophoridae)

We report a series of investigations carried out on a Dolichopoda population recently discovered in the Poscola cave and in some small caves nearby (Lessini Mountains, Vicenza). This population is located north of Po river, outside the present known geographic range of this genus in Italy. Morphology of the epiphallus corroborated by chromosome and allozyme analysis indicated that this population belongs to D. laetitiae. Study of the genetic structure of population in the Poscola area revealed high gene flow levels between Poscola and the other minor caves, suggesting the occurrence of a single expanding population. This finding as well as mark-recapture data on population size, migrations, age structure and habitat type strongly suggest that the Poscola population is the result of a recent colonization due to anthropocore dispersal.

Observations on the egg ultrastructure of some rhaphidophoridae (orthoptera) of the mediterranean area

Abstract The scanning electron microscope study of the eggs of seven species of cave Orthoptera belonging to the family Rhaphidophoridae has shown a series of characters useful for taxonomic purposes. The eggs studied belong to four species of the genus Troglophilus, one of the genus Tacbycines and three of the genus Dolichopoda. All the studied species show cylindrical eggs with an external surface formed by polygonal fields delimited by emerging ridges of different size. Aeropyles are widespread on the egg surface and cross the chorionic layers by means of little canals. In each genus, the micropylar areas are located in the equatorial zone of the eggs and are of typical ≪rosette≫ shape. However the numbers of this structure vary significantly among the different species. Furthermore, micropylar canals and the inner layer of the chorion show different patterns in the three studied genera. These results are discussed on the basis of present knowledge of the phylogenetic relationships and the biogeography...

New species of Dolichopoda Bolívar, 1880 (Orthoptera, Rhaphidophoridae) from the Aegean Islands of Andros, Paros and Kinaros (Greece)

ABSTRACT In this paper two new species of Dolichopoda Bolívar, 1880 from the Cyclades islands of Andros and Paros and one from the Dodecanissos island of Kinaros, are described, increasing the total number of Greek species to 32. The new species from Paros (D. kikladica Di Russo & Rampini, n. sp.) and Kinaros (D. margiolis Di Russo & Rampini, n. sp.) show strong similarities with D. naxia Boudou-Saltet, 1972 from Naxos forming an homogenous group limited to the central Aegean islands. On the other hand the species D. christos-nifoni Di Russo & Rampini, n. sp. from Andros shows a combination of morphological characters that partly resemble characters found in Evvian Dolichopoda, and partly in species from the Cyclades. Relationships among these three new taxa and the other adjacent Dolichopoda species are discussed on the basis of the paleogeological and paleoclimatic events that shaped the present geography of the Aegean area.