New Pygmy Grasshopper Discovered In Mindanao
NEW PYGMY GRASSHOPPER – A local and international scientists’ group have recently discovered a new species of pygmy grasshopper in Mindanao.
According to a report from Manila Bulletin, the species was identified as Mindanao horned pygmy devil, with the binomial name Tegotettix derijei.
The grasshopper species was described by scientists Victor B. Amoroso, Alma Baguhin Mohagan, and Romeo Rogano Patano Jr. of Central Mindanao University (CMU), Josef Tumbrinck of University of Münster, and Josip Skejo of University of Zagreb.
The group published the study in the international peer-reviewed scientific journal Zootaxa in its February 2021 issue.
Tegotettix derijei is described as a “new peculiar, spiky, and yellowish species” under the genus Tegotettix Hancock from Davao region.
Now among the Tegotettix species, the pygmy devil is the third known species in the Philippines, with the other two being Tegotettix corniculatus and Tegotettix sagittarius.
“Spiky, horned, and moderately large species for the genus, 16.02 mm (millimeters) long from the tip of the vertex to the tip of the pronotum. Body greenish-yellowish-white with dark markings on certain parts of the body. Chitinous surfaces smooth and shiny, not armed as in other species of the genus,”
“T. derijei sp. n. is one of the pygmy devil species with the highest number of pronotal projections situated at the median carina, as altogether it has 11 of them. This is, however, not the only new species we know about at the moment,”
The scientists also pointed out the two more species have not yet been described due to absence of material for further examination.
“One is a spiky black-and-white species from Bukidnon, related to T. armatus, and the other one is a green species with very high horns from Negros Oriental, related to T. corniculatus,”
Based on the report, Mindanao horned pygmy devil was named after in honor of CMU President Jesus Antonio G. Derije, who was known for his valuable contribution and support to the implementation of biodiversity and conservation research projects of the Center for Biodiversity Research and Extension in Mindanao.
The said study was backed by the Applied Research and Extension for Trans/Interdisciplinary Opportunities of the Commission on Higher Education. It was entitled “Saving Terrestrial Biodiversity: Inventory, Assessment, Conservation and Capability Building in Marilog Forest Reserve, Southern Mindanao, Philippines.”
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