Sphingonotus savignyi
Sphingonotus savignyi
hchavez · Aoujeft
Key facts in one look
- Size
- Males 22–32 mm, females 29–38 mm
- Group
- Insect, grasshopper
- Family
- Acrididae
- Habitat
- Sandy and stony deserts and semi-deserts
- Status in Georgia
- Occurs; localities not specified
- IUCN
- Not Evaluated (NE)
Sphingonotus savignyi is a desert grasshopper whose range stretches over more than 8,000 km: from the Canary Islands and North Africa to Central Asia and Mongolia. In Transcaucasia it occurs in Azerbaijan and Georgia. Females measure 29–38 mm and males 22–32 mm. It flies fast and nimbly, so it is hard to catch. It is easiest to recognise as it takes off, when a black arc flashes on the colourless wing.
Identification
Sphingonotus savignyi: how to identify it
A medium-sized grasshopper of open ground. The key feature is on the hindwing: completely colourless at the base, followed by a narrow, strongly curved black band. The inner side of the hind femur is yellow with one dark band, and the hind tibia is pale.
The hindwing is transparent and colourless at the base. A narrow, strongly curved black band follows, reaching almost to the lower edge of the wing in a semicircle. Some individuals also have a dark wing tip, but this feature varies.
The inner side of the hind femur is yellow with one dark band. The hind tibia is yellow or whitish, a pale sulphur colour. The related Sphingonotus rubescens may have bluish tibiae.
Males measure 22–32 mm and females 29–38 mm; the forewing is 23–31 mm in males and 29–37 mm in females. A smaller form lives in south-eastern Kazakhstan. Its size overlaps with other Sphingonotus species, so the wing remains the main feature.
It most resembles Vosseleriana paradoxa, which has been confused with it; that species lives in western Pakistan and south-eastern Iran. Sphingonotus satrapes also has a dark-banded wing, but it is much larger and has a big dark spot on the wing tip. Sphingonotus species can often be told apart only by comparison with accurately identified specimens.
Colour
The hindwing is colourless at the base, with a narrow black arc in the middle and sometimes a dark tip. The inner side of the hind femur is yellow with a dark band, and the hind tibiae are yellow or pale sulphur.
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
Often confused with
It is an insect of sandy and stony deserts and semi-deserts. In the Mongolian Gobi it was found on pebbly ground with very sparse vegetation, where it lived only on light-coloured soil among dark pebbles. It was scarce there: about one individual per 20 × 20 m. Its range runs from the Canary Islands, North Africa and Malta through Arabia, Iran, Central Asia, Kazakhstan and China's Xinjiang to Mongolia. In Transcaucasia it occurs in Azerbaijan and Georgia. The Mongolian record is its most north-easterly site and may point to a recent spread eastwards.
Like most Sphingonotus species, it lives on the surface of open ground, where there is no dense plant cover. It flies fast and nimbly, which makes it hard to catch. In Tunisia adult males and females were collected in April and June.
Related guides
Continue with related pages
Yes. In Transcaucasia it occurs in Azerbaijan and Georgia. Its exact localities and numbers in Georgia are not specified. It favours dry, sandy and stony places with sparse vegetation.
By the hindwing: completely colourless at the base, with a narrow, strongly curved black band in the middle. The inner side of the hind femur is yellow with a dark band, and the tibia is yellow or whitish. The wing shows best as it takes off. Similar Sphingonotus species are often told apart only by a specialist.
Males measure 22–32 mm and females 29–38 mm. Females are generally larger than males. A smaller form lives in south-eastern Kazakhstan.
No. It has not been evaluated on the global IUCN Red List (NE) and is not on the 2014 Red List of Georgia. Not being assessed does not mean the species faces no threat.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
