What’s new: A recent study has identified 16 new-to-science species of grasshoppers living in the deserts of the U.S. and Mexico. One of the grasshoppers was named after the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, while others reference actors from shows like Star Trek.
What the study says:
- The grasshopper genus Agroecotettix, known to live in very dry, scrub landscapes in the U.S. and Mexico, was first described in 1908. Until 1922, only three species of Agroecotettix grasshoppers had been described. This remained the case until JoVonn Hill, director of the Mississippi Entomological Museum at Mississippi State University, U.S, along with collaborators, decided to look closely at various Agroecotettix specimens held by other institutions: the University of Michigan’s Museum of Zoology, Drexel University’s Academy of Natural Sciences, Brigham Young University’s Arthropod Museum, and the University of Kansas’s Natural History Museum. Additionally, Hill had himself collected many Agroecotettix grasshopper specimens during his fieldwork in Texas between 2018 and 2023.
- By studying the physical characteristics of these grasshoppers, from the shapes and sizes to the colors of their body parts, the researcher found there were 16 new-to-science species of the Agroecotettix, which, Hill writes, can be commonly called the “arid scrub jumpers.” This brings the total number of known Agroecotettix species to 19.
- The newly described species have colorful names. Two were named after actors from Star Trek: The Next Generation: LeVar Burton (A. burtoni) and Michael Dorn (A. dorni). Another nod to Star Trek is A. idic, which stands for “Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations.” This name, Hill writes, “pays homage to the Star Trek principle of embracing diversity and complexity and highlights the rich biodiversity found in Mexico, the native land of this grasshopper.”
- Another is named A. texmex, as it’s the only known Agroecotettix species found on both sides of the border. Another species, A. kahloae, honors Mexican painter Frida Kahlo; A. turneri honors Ted Turner, a U.S. entrepreneur and conservationist; and A. silverheelsi honors Indigenous Canadian actor and athlete Jay Silverheels.
What this means:
The newly described grasshopper species are largely endemic to the Chihuahuan Desert, Sierra Madre Occidental, and the South Texas Plains. This “presents a significant advancement in our knowledge of desert biodiversity and the ecological complexity of this unique region,” Hill writes in the paper.
He adds the specimens from his fieldwork have been sent for DNA sequencing, which can help researchers understand when the genus split into multiple species, and how past climate change events influenced their speciation. He adds that Agroecotettix in Mexico still remain understudied.
“It is hoped that this article will stir interest in searching for more Agroecotettix species to help tell the story of the biogeographic history of this interesting region,” Hill writes.
Banner image of Agroecotettix silverheelsi from Texas courtesy of JoVonn Hill.
This story first appeared on Mongabay
This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
You may republish this article, so long as you credit the authors and Mongabay, and do not change the text. Please include a link back to the original article.