A Tale's blade: Understanding evolutionary features of oviposition behavior based on Tettigoniidae (Insecta, Orthoptera, Ensifera) ovipositor morphology.

A remarkable characteristic of katydids (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae) is the elongated ovipositor, which is associated with oviposition behavior. The high degree of complexity of both sclerites and muscles arrangement of the ovipositor, is only similar to the ovipositor of Hymenoptera. Here we describe the morphology of the ovipositor within Tettigoniidae, and add descriptions of known oviposition behavior. Fifteen skeletal structures can be recognized, of these, three pairs of muscles are new while nine pairs were already described in the literature. The new muscles are ap2vf, anterior projection of second valvifer; bcov, blade complex of the ovipositor; and dbl, dorsal blade. The morphology of the ovipositor blade complex (bcov), the shape of the first valvifer (1vf), posterior intervalvular sclerite (piv), tergite IX (T9), anterior projection of the second valvifer (ap2vf), and the second valvifer (2vf), and their related muscles affect oviposition in Tettigoniidae. This contribution helps to understand katydid's oviposition behavior. Additionally, the new descriptions help in the search for new characters in Tettigoniidae.

Mating behavior of the long-legged cricket Eidmanacris meridionalis Desutter-Grandcolas, 1995 (Orthoptera: Phalangopsidae)

ABSTRACT Pair-formation, courtship, copulatory, and post-copulatory behaviors of Eidmanacris meridionalis Desutter-Grandcolas, 1995, were described under laboratory conditions and compared with congeneric species and other Phalangopsidae crickets whose mating behavior has been previously studied. Field observations for the species are also reported. Mating behaviors were observed in E. meridionalis couples: they first remained motionless, and then began walking through the arena screening the substrate. Mating behavior started with antennal contact, followed by males positioning themselves in front of females, that, when receptive, mounted on the males back and started feeding on metanotum secretions of the males. Copulation (female-above-male position) started with the engaging of copulatory structures and stopped with couple detachment. The end-to-end position was observed once, right after couple detachment. Males always remained with the spermatophore, which was eaten after removal or, alternatively, left in the substrate. The main differences in mating behavior of Eidmanacris species regard the mating position and the duration of the reproductive stages, suggesting that other reproductive repertoires can be observed in the genus since 27 species have not yet been studied in regards their reproductive behavior. We can also assume that the morphological, genetic, and chemical diversity found among the species of Phalangopsidae reflects in the behaviors of pair-formation, courtship, copulation, and post-copulation, leading to a diversity of copulation positions, duration of the stages, methods of attracting partners and parental investment. The description of Phalangopsidae mating patterns can provide important information for future evolutionary and phylogenetic studies, apart from useful for distinguishing cryptic species.

Katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) from the Iguau National Park, Brazil.

Katydids were surveyed in the Iguau National Park (ParNa Iguau), the largest preserve of the Interior Atlantic Forest in Brazil. Sampling was carried out in three different areas of the ParNa Iguau, including its two predominant phytophysiognomies (Seasonal Semidecidual Forest and Mixed Ombrophilous Forest), and consisted of diurnal and nocturnal active searching for katydids and also using light traps. After collected, specimens were reared until adulthood in order to record their calling songs. Almost a thousand katydids were collected, belonging to 89 species and five subfamilies. Phaneropterinae appeared as the most speciose subfamily (57 species), followed by Conocephalinae (22), Meconematinae and Pseudophyllinae, each one with four species, and Pterochrozinae (two species). Several species were recorded for the first time for the Paran State, for the South Region of Brazil, and also for the country. Calling songs of 34 species were recorded, 29 of them unknown to science. The description of the sound produced by species of some supraspecific taxa (e.g., Aniarae, Cosmophylla and Scaphurae) is here presented for the first time. Data reinforce the relevance of ParNa Iguau for the maintenance of thousands of species from different taxonomic groups and also highlight the catastrophic effects that continuous pressures and threats on the preserve, despite the successive attempts to downgrade this conservation unit, may have on the outstanding biodiversity that is harboured by ParNa Iguau.

Singing crickets from Brazil (Orthoptera: Gryllidea), an illustrated checklist with access to the sounds produced.

The knowledge of bioacoustics of the Neotropical crickets (Orthoptera, Gryllidea) is incipient, despite the great species diversity in the region. There are few cricket song-files deposited in the major World Sound Libraries, compared to other groups such as birds and amphibians. In order to contribute to the knowledge of the bioacoustics of Brazilian crickets, we organize, analyze and make available at Fonoteca Neotropical Jacques Vielliard (FNJV) and Orthoptera Species File (OSF) our bank of cricket songs. We deposited 876 cricket's song files in the FNJV, belonging to 31 species and 47 sonotypes. The songs were field/lab recorded, and all individuals were collected to improve species/sonotypes taxonomic determination accuracy. We present photos (in vivo) of most recorded crickets, as well as calling song spectrograms to facilitate the species/sonotype recognition. Samples of the songs can be found online on the FNJV website, using the codes available in this work, as well as on the OSF, linked to the species name. As a result, we advance the knowledge of the songs of crickets and the current perspective of the Brazilian cricket bioacoustics. We encourage researchers to share with the public their collections of their cricket file songs both in the FNJV and the OSF.

Three new Anaulacomera species (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae) from the Iguau National Park and nearby areas, southern Brazil.

Three new species of Anaulacomera are described, Anaulacomera (Anaulacomera) mariellae sp. n. and Anaulacomera (Anallomes) arlindoi sp. n., belonging respectively to the Inermis and Lanceolata species group, and Anaulacomera angelinae sp. n., placed as incertae sedis. The individuals were collected at the Iguau National Park and adjacent small fragments of Atlantic Forest, in southwestern Paran state, Brazil. The description was based on external morphology of males. We also present distribution maps for the species of the Inermis and the Lanceolata species groups.

Nine new species of the Anaulacomerina subtribe of katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae: Phaneropterini) from Brazil.

Nine new species of katydids of the Anaulacomerina subtribe (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae: Phaneropterini) are herein described, being eight of the genus Anaulacomera Stål and one of Separatula Gorochov. The following species are described as new: A. (Anallomes) sylviae sp. n., A. (Anaulacomera.) caudata sp. n., A. (Anaul.) rubrovittata sp. n., A. (Anaul.) zefai sp. n., A. (Oecella) marshae sp. n., A. (O.) mediastina sp. n., A. (O.) spirala sp. n., A. (O.) zebrina sp. n. and S. araguaiensis sp. n. External morphological characters as tegmina venation, cerci and subgenital plate; and internal morphological characters as male genitalia are included in the descriptions.

Xenicola brauni sp. n., a new katydid species (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae:Phaneropterinae) from the Atlantic Forest, southeastern Brazil.

A new species of Xenicola Uvarov, 1940 (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae), X. brauni sp. n., is described from the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil. Morphological comparisons with all other known species of Xenicola are presented and discussed. This is the first record of Xenicola in southeastern Brazil, and is also the northernmost record of the genus within the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

On brachypterous phaneropterine katydids (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae:br />Phaneropterinae) from the Iguaçu National Park, Brazil: three new species, new record and bioacoustics.

The species of brachypterous Phaneropterinae (Tettigoniidae) inhabiting the Iguaçu National Park, Paraná, Brazil, were studied. Four species have been recognized, Anisophya melanochloris (Rehn, 1911) and three new species described here: Anisophya una sp. n., as well as Xenicola taroba sp. n. and Xenicola xukrixi sp. n. We present relevant characters used in Orthoptera taxonomy, such as male genitalia, male and female stridulatory files, cerci and subgenital plates for all four species. Calling songs of three species are also described. X. xukrixi sp. n. stands out by its high carrier frequency with a peak above 70 kHz.

New species of grasshopper genus Aptoceras Bruner, 1908 (Orthoptera, Acrididae, Ommatolampidinae, Ommtolampidiini) from Iguaçu National Park (Southern Brazil), including a taxonomic key and distribution data.

A new species of the Neotropical grasshopper genus Aptoceras Bruner, 1908 is described from individuals collected in the Iguaçu National Park, Paraná State, Brazil. Aptoceras iguassuensis n. sp. inhabits in shrubs in the Atlantic Forest. The species belongs to the genus group Nicarchae Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1893. Descriptions, photographs, and illustrations of the male and female, as well as photographs of the male phallic sclerites are presented. An identification key for the five species of Aptoceras from Brazil and a distribution map are also given.

A new Anaulacomera species (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae) from the Iguaçu National Park, southern Brazil.

A new species of Anaulacomera, A. trispinata sp. n., of the poculigera group is described from the Iguaçu National Park, a large remnant of Atlantic Forest in southern Brazil. This is the first record of the poculigera group both for Brazil and for the Atlantic Forest domain. The overall morphology of both males and females is presented, besides the calling songs of males.

New species of Poecilocloeus Bruner, 1910 (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Proctolabinae) from Paraná State, Brazil.

In this study, we describe a new species of the genus Poecilocloeus from Renascença municipality, Paraná State, Brazil. Poecilocloeus renascensis n. sp. inhabits the Atlantic Semideciduous Forest edges of Renascença and adjacent areas, and our study is the first record of this genus from southern Brazil. The species belongs to the group bullatus (Rehn, 1908), and the descriptions are based on morphological characters, mainly from male genitalia. Morphological descriptions are provided together with illustrations emphasizing the most significant diagnostic features of external morphology and male genitalia. Information is given about type specimens, examined material and geographic distribution.

Forest litter crickets prefer higher substrate moisture for oviposition: Evidence from field and lab experiments.

For insects, choosing a favorable oviposition site is a type of parental care, as far as it increases the fitness of its offspring. Niche theory predicts that crickets should show a bell-shaped oviposition response to substrate moisture. However, lab experiments with mole crickets showed a linear oviposition response to substrate moisture. Studies with the house cricket Acheta domesticus also showed a linear juvenile body growth response to water availability, thus adult ovipositing females should respond positively to substrate moisture. We used a field experiment to evaluate the relationship between oviposition preference and substrate moisture in forest litter-dwelling cricket species. We also evaluated oviposition responses to substrate moisture level in Ubiquepuella telytokous, the most abundant litter cricket species in our study area, using a laboratory study. We offered cotton substrate for oviposition which varied in substrate moisture level from zero (i.e., dry) to maximum water absorption capacity. We used two complementary metrics to evaluate oviposition preference: (i) presence or absence of eggs in each sampling unit as binary response variable, and (ii) number of eggs oviposited per sampling unit as count response variable. To test for non-linear responses, we adjusted generalized additive models (GAMM) with mixed effects. We found that both cricket oviposition probability and effort (i.e., number of eggs laid) increased linearly with substrate moisture in the field experiment, and for U. telytokous in the lab experiment. We discarded any non-linear responses. Our results demonstrate the importance of substrate moisture as an ecological niche dimension for litter crickets. This work bolsters knowledge of litter cricket life history association with moisture, and suggests that litter crickets may be particularly threatened by changes in climate that favor habitat drying.

New species of Endecous (Grylloidea, Phalangopsidae, Luzarinae) from the Iguaçu National Park (Brazil), including bioacoustics, cytogenetic and distribution data.

In this study we describe two new species of cavicolous-straminicolous crickets for southern Brazil. Endecous chape n. sp. and E. naipi n. sp. are sympatric crickets that inhabit the Atlantic Semideciduous Forest of the Iguaçu National Park and adjacent areas. The descriptions were based on morphological characters, mainly from male genitalia and tegmina of adult males. Furthermore, we describe the chromosomes and the calling song of one of the new species, E. chape n. sp., presenting a discussion about the morphology of the phallic complex of Endecous and a distribution map for the species of the genus. The type-material is deposited in the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZSP), and in the Coleção de Insetos do Departamento de Zoologia (Zoology Department Insect Collection), Universidade Estadual Paulista-UNESP-Botucatu campus.

A radiografia simples é suficiente para diagnosticar uma subluxação bilateral cervical com redução espontânea? / Can a cervical spine x-ray diagnose a bilateral facet dislocation with spontaneous reduction?

Os autores apresentam um caso de subluxação traumática bilateral de faceta articula cercial da quinta vértebra com redução espontânea no intuito de alertar a classe médica quanto à importância dos atendimentos pré-hospitalar e hospitalar nos pacientes traumatizados, independente da presença ou não de alterações clínicas e neurológicas e de estabelecer rotinas de investigação radiológica