Schistocerca gregaria gregaria is the northern subspecies of the Desert Locust, the one that carries the same name as the species.[1][2]
Names and classification
The species was first named Gryllus gregarius by Forskål in 1775.[1] The subspecies that carries the same name as the species is the northern one, Schistocerca gregaria gregaria.[1][2]
Description
It differs from the southern subspecies, flaviventris, in its DNA and in the shape of the male’s tail parts.[3]
Range
This is the Desert Locust of Africa north of the equator and of Asia. It is the form that lives in the recession area monitored by FAO.[4][5]
Status
The two subspecies can be told apart by their DNA (94% by mutations in the COI gene) and by the shape of the male’s tail parts (100%). The southern subspecies forms a single branch of the family tree, and the two rarely interbreed.[3] See the Desert Locust page for both.
Sources
- GBIF backbone, Schistocerca gregaria
- Orthoptera Species File, Schistocerca gregaria gregaria
- Chapuis et al. 2016, Systematic Entomology (the two subspecies)
- Orthoptera Species File, Schistocerca gregaria
- Meynard et al. 2017, Global Change Biology (the southern African subspecies)