Chorthippus parallelus
Encyclopedia
Chorthippus parallelus, the meadow grasshopper, is a common species of grasshopper
found in non-arid grasslands throughout the well vegetated areas of Europe and some adjoining areas of Asia. It is a well-studied organism in the discipline of Evolutionary biology and was an early and important model system for the study of European phylogeography
.
in the south. It prefers moist vegetation and in southern regions is typically found in river valleys and at altitude (up to approx 2000m), not being found in arid areas.
Females grow to approximately 2 cm and are larger and less active than males that grow to approximately 1.5 cm. Both sexes are flightless. In females the wing cases (covering vestigial wings) extend only a short way down the abdomen while males have longer wing cases extending to almost the tip of the abdomen. They can be variable in colour with green, brownish, purple-red and pink forms recorded, although green forms are most common. Colour forms are genetically determined and some populations can show high frequency of pink grasshoppers.
Chorthippus parallelus is told from similar species by the approximately parallel nature of the bars (pronotal side-keels) on the back of the neck which gives the species its name.
(C.p.erythropus) and central European (C.p.parallelus) forms described as separate subspecies
. These subspecies are the result of the allopatric separation of Chorthippus parallelus populations into separate southern European refugia during the Pleistocene
ice ages.
The most widespread subspecies, C.p.parallelus, is found throughout much of Europe but is replaced by C.p.erythropus in Iberia. The Iberian erythropus subspecies is characterized in the field by red hind tibiae and differences in the mating song although other studies demonstrate additional differences in morphological, behavioural, chromosomal and DNA sequence characters. There is a hybrid zone
between C.p.erythropus and C.p.parallelus running along the ridge of the Pyrenees
mountains between Spain and France.
A similar hybrid zone
has been described between forms in France an Italy that runs along the Alps
.
Grasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
found in non-arid grasslands throughout the well vegetated areas of Europe and some adjoining areas of Asia. It is a well-studied organism in the discipline of Evolutionary biology and was an early and important model system for the study of European phylogeography
Phylogeography
Phylogeography is the study of the historical processes that may be responsible for the contemporary geographic distributions of individuals. This is accomplished by considering the geographic distribution of individuals in light of the patterns associated with a gene genealogy.This term was...
.
Distribution
The range of the Meadow Grasshopper extends from the Atlantic coast of Europe to the Urals. It is found from Scandinavia in the north to southern Spain and AnatoliaAnatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
in the south. It prefers moist vegetation and in southern regions is typically found in river valleys and at altitude (up to approx 2000m), not being found in arid areas.
Physical appearance
Chorthippus parallelus is told from similar species by the approximately parallel nature of the bars (pronotal side-keels) on the back of the neck which gives the species its name.
Geographic races
There are at least five races of the meadow grasshopper described in different regions with the Greek (C.p.tenuis), IberianIberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...
(C.p.erythropus) and central European (C.p.parallelus) forms described as separate subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
. These subspecies are the result of the allopatric separation of Chorthippus parallelus populations into separate southern European refugia during the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
ice ages.
The most widespread subspecies, C.p.parallelus, is found throughout much of Europe but is replaced by C.p.erythropus in Iberia. The Iberian erythropus subspecies is characterized in the field by red hind tibiae and differences in the mating song although other studies demonstrate additional differences in morphological, behavioural, chromosomal and DNA sequence characters. There is a hybrid zone
Hybrid zone
A hybrid zone exists where the ranges of two interbreeding species meet. For a hybrid zone to be stable, the offspring produced by the cross have to be less fit than members of the parent species, although this condition does not need to be met in the very first hybrid generation...
between C.p.erythropus and C.p.parallelus running along the ridge of the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
mountains between Spain and France.
A similar hybrid zone
Hybrid zone
A hybrid zone exists where the ranges of two interbreeding species meet. For a hybrid zone to be stable, the offspring produced by the cross have to be less fit than members of the parent species, although this condition does not need to be met in the very first hybrid generation...
has been described between forms in France an Italy that runs along the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
.