Psophus

Psophus
	Mounted specimen
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Orthoptera
Suborder:	Caelifera
Family:	Acrididae
Subfamily:	Oedipodinae
Tribe:	Locustini
Genus:	Psophus
Species:	P. stridulus
Binomial name
	Psophus stridulus; (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms
	Acridium stridulum; Gryllus stridulus Linnaeus, 1758;

Psophus is a monotypic genus of grasshopper of the family Acrididae, subfamily Oedipodinae and in the tribe Locustini. The one species in the genus is Psophus stridulus, commonly known as the rattle grasshopper.

Sound of Psophus stridulus

Field recording in the Netherlands 26s

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Close-Up of a Psophus stridulus

Description edit

Psophus stridulus can reach a length of 23–25 millimetres (0.9–1.0 in) in the males, of 26–40 millimetres (1.0–1.6 in) in the females. The basic colouration of the body varies from brown to grey–ochre or black, with lighter spots. The pronotum is strongly convex. These grasshoppers are winged, but wings are short and unfit for flight in females, fully developed in males. The hindwings are bright red-orange, with a black apex. The adults occur from July or August up to October.

Subspecies edit

Psophus stridulus samniticus Baccetti, 1958
Psophus stridulus stridulus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Distribution edit

This species can be found in Central and Southern Europe, in the eastern Palearctic realm (Siberia, Russian Far East, Middle Asia, China, Mongolia, Eastern Asia), and in the Near East.

Habitat edit

This species lives mainly in arid and rocky open areas, mostly in mountainous regions, at an elevation up to 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above sea level. It is known as a xeric specialist because of this, and often interacts with other species like Zygaena ephialtes in these environments.^[1]

References edit

^ "Habitat requirements of conspicuous burnet moth Zygaena ephialtes (Linnaeus, 1767; Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae) (PDF Download Available)". ResearchGate. Retrieved 2017-11-16.