A New Species of Melanoplus (Orthoptera: Acrididae) from an Isolated Upland in Peninsular Florida
Abstract
A new species of flightless acridid grasshopper, Melanoplus withlacoocheensis n. sp., is described from an isolated upland, the Southern Brooksville Ridge, in west central peninsular Florida. It occurs in open sandhill habitat. It appears to be closely related to Melanoplus rotundipennis Scudder, which is widespread in sandhill and Florida scrub habitats in central and northern peninsular Florida; the species are distinguished by details of the male cerci and genitalia. The new species is one of several species of flightless Melanoplus in Florida whose geographic ranges are small and biogeographically revealing. The new species is the first clear biological indicator of the long-term isolation of the Southern Brooksville Ridge from other uplands, including the Northern Brooksville Ridge.Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright for any article published in Florida Entomologist is held by the author(s) of the article. Florida Entomologist is an open access journal. Florida Entomologist follows terms of the Creative Commons, Attribution Non-Commercial License (cc by-nc). By submitting and publishing articles in Florida Entomologist, authors grant the FOJ and Florida Entomologist's host institutions permission to make the article available through Internet posting and electronic dissemination, and to otherwise archive the information contained both electronically and in a hard printed version. When used, information and images obtained from articles must be referenced and cited appropriately. Articles may be reproduced for personal, educational, or archival purposes, or any non-commercial use. Permission should be sought from the author(s) for multiple, non-commercial reproduction. Written permission from the author(s) is required for any commercial reproduction.
