Stauroderus scalaris, the large mountain grasshopper, is a species of 'short-horned grasshoppers' belonging to the family Acrididae subfamily Gomphocerinae.[2][3]

Stauroderus scalaris
Stauroderus scalaris, male
Female
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Suborder: Caelifera
Family: Acrididae
Subfamily: Gomphocerinae
Tribe: Gomphocerini
Genus: Stauroderus
Species:
S. scalaris
Binomial name
Stauroderus scalaris
Synonyms
  • Chorthippus scalaris (Fischer von Waldheim, 1846)

Subspecies

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Stauroderus includes the following subspecies:[2]

  • Stauroderus scalaris demavendi Popov, G.B., 1951
  • Stauroderus scalaris scalaris (Fischer von Waldheim, 1846)
  • Stauroderus scalaris znojkoi (Miram, 1938)

Description

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The adult males grow up to 18–20 millimetres (0.71–0.79 in) long, while the females reach 24–27 millimetres (0.94–1.06 in) of length.[4] It is the largest species of grasshopper in Europe. The basic coloration of the body varies from pale or bright green to yellow, with dark-brownish wings and tegmina. Femora of hind legs vary from yellow to reddish. In the males median and ulnar wing cells are quite large, with parallel veins. The adults usually live in colonies and the males emit whirring stridulations to attract females.[4]

These grasshoppers can be encountered from July through September especially in high-altitude alpine meadows and pastures.[4]

Close-Up of a Stauroderus scalaris

Distribution

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This species is present in most of Europe, in the Near East, and in the eastern Palearctic realm.[2][3]

References

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  1. ^ Fischer von Waldheim. 1846. Nouv. mem. Soc. Imp. natur. Moscou 8:317
  2. ^ a b c Otte, Daniel; Cigliano, Maria Marta; Braun, Holger; Eades, David C. (2021). "species Stauroderus scalaris (Fischer von Waldheim, 1846)". Orthoptera species file online, Version 5.0. Retrieved 2021-09-10.
  3. ^ a b "Stauroderus scalaris". GBIF. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  4. ^ a b c Linnea Archived 2014-01-10 at the Wayback Machine