''Sepiana sepium'', common name sepia bush-cricket, is a species of bush crickets belonging to the tribe

Platycleidini The Tettigoniinae are a subfamily of bush crickets or katydids, which contains hundreds of species in about twelve tribes. Distribution The greatest diversity is in the Palaearctic region and many of the familiar European species of bush cricke ...

and genus group ''Platycleis''. It is the only species within the

monotypic genus In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

''Sepiana''.Orthoptera Species File
/ref>

Distribution

This widespread species is present from southwestern to southeastern

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and in the

Near East The Near East () is a transcontinental region around the Eastern Mediterranean encompassing the historical Fertile Crescent, the Levant, Anatolia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, and coastal areas of the Arabian Peninsula. The term was invented in the 20th ...

. It can be found from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and

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, southern

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and the

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along the

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and to south-west

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Habitat

These bush crickets usually live in not too xerothermic areas on the edge of the forests and in bushland, but also on grassy meadows.

Description

''Sepiana sepium'' can reach a length of . The ovopositor reaches . These bush crickets have very long enlarged hind legs, with small spines on the lower legs. The ground colour of the body ranges from gray-brown to reddish. The sides of the pronotum are almost triangular-shaped, usually black or dark brown, and they are clearly delineated by a bright longitudinal line. The head is usually reddish coloured. Above the eyes there is a dark patch, which is crossed by a whitish line. The legs are dark brown or dark gray. On the hind legs there is a dark brown stripe. The cerci of the males are flattened. In the females the 6th and 7th abdominal segments have a pair of cusps. This species is quite similar to '' Metrioptera roeselii''.Linnea
/ref> The bush crickets of this species, similarly to the species within the genus ''

Platycleis ''Platycleis'' is a genus of bush crickets described by Fieber in 1853, belonging to the subfamily Tettigoniinae. The species of this genus are present in Europe, North Africa and temperate Asia. Biology Studies conducted in 2010 at the Univer ...

'', have the largest

testicle A testicle or testis ( testes) is the gonad in all male bilaterians, including humans, and is Homology (biology), homologous to the ovary in females. Its primary functions are the production of sperm and the secretion of Androgen, androgens, p ...

s in proportion to body mass of any animal recorded.Biggest testicles record set by bushcricket
/ref>

Biology

Adults appear from July to September. Their vocals consist of highly scratching sounds, which are performed at a very short distance from one another.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q14331201, from2=Q166553 Tettigoniinae Orthoptera of Europe Ensifera genera Monotypic Orthoptera genera Taxa described in 1941