Bioacoustics of Ammopelmatus sakai

Figs 676–685 , Table 3 Distribution. ( Fig. 676 ). Only known from coastal sandy areas at Ballona Dunes, by Playa del Rey; and the El Segundo Dunes, by Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Recognition characters. A small to medium-large, light colored, slow drumming (0.5 drums/s) JC only known from the coastal dunes at Ballona and the adjacent LAX El Segundo Dunes. 2n ♂ =23. Rear leg tibial calcar #2 is generally longer than calcar #1. These rear leg calcars can be a little spatulate. Easily separated from darker, sympatric A. ballonadark by color, drum rate, rear leg calcars, and DNA . Holotype . Male (in alcohol, Fig.677 ). California, Los Angeles Co ., Playa del Rey , Ballona Wetlands , 33.961457° -118.449110°, 3m , 20-xii-1992 (S92-143) DBW & DW Weissman. R 93-93. Molted to adult 9-x-1993 . Deposited CAS , Entomology type #20121. Measurements in mm: Body length 29.93, hind femur length 10.25, hind femur width 3.77. Fore leg tibia with 3 ventral spurs; middle leg tibia with 7 and 8 calcars, 2 ventral spurs; hind leg tibia ( Fig. 678 ) with 3 and 4 inner and 3 and 4 outer spines, 2 ventral spurs. Allotype . Female (in alcohol, Fig. 679 ). Same collection information as holotype except 29-xi-1997 (S97-137). R98-183, F809. Molted to adult 11-x-1998 . Deposited CAS , CASENT #9080606 . Measurements in mm: Body length 37.27, hind femur length 10.75, hind femur width 4.20. Fore leg tibia with 3 ventral spurs; middle leg tibia with 8 calcars, 2 ventral spurs; hind leg tibia ( Fig. 680 ) with 4 inner (although the 4 th spine in different locations on the tibias) and 3 & 4 outer spines, 2 ventral spurs. Ovipositor Fig. 681 . Paratypes . ♂ 6 ♀ 25. CALIFORNIA, Los Angeles Co ., type locality except 23-ii-1985 (S85-18) WH Sakai ♀ 1; 21-ii-1986 (S86-10) W. Sakai ♀ 1; 23-xii-1986 (S86-172) ♀ 2; 21-xii-1987 (S87-129) ♂ 1 ♀ 3; 9-ii-1988 (S88-4) ♀ 1; late February , 1989 (S89-5) W. Sakai ♂ 1; 28-ii-1990 (S90-20) W. Sakai ♀ 2; 2-ii-9-iii-1991 (S91-5) W. Sakai ♂ 1 ♀ 2; 14-ii-1992 (S92-2) W. Sakai ♂ 1; 13-vi-1992 (S92-54) W. Sakai ♀ 1; 25-xii-1992 (S92-143) ♂ 1 ♀ 3; early December , 1994 W. Sakai ♀ 1; 29-xi-1997 (S97-137) ♀ 1; 20-xii-1998 (S98-131) ♀ 3. El Segundo Dunes adjacent to LAX, 33.937751° -118.435586°, 40m , all R. Matoni , mid-December, 1989 (S89-96) ♀ 1; March-1993 (S93-19) ♀ 2; early November , 1993 (S93-85) ♂ 1 ♀ 1. Drum. Calling drum similar in both sexes except series longer in females. Male: Holotype R93-93 ( Fig. 682 ) 16 drums over 28.5s (0.56 drums/s) at 16.5°C. Topotypic male R88-72, S87-129, with calling drum rate between 0.52–0.54 drums/s at 20°C. Female: Allotype R98-183 ( Fig. 683 ) 34 drums over 60.8s (0.56 drums/s) at 17.5°C. Derivation of name. Named after Walter H. Sakai, who first discovered this restricted species, and who has collected many other JCs for the senior author. Habitat. Low coastal sand dunes, where most easily found under debris during the cold, wet winter months. Life cycle and seasonal occurrence. Apparent typical 2-year life cycle. Variation. Of 20 individuals, all had 3 ventral fore leg tibial spurs; 4 had 7 and 16 had 8 middle leg tibial calcars, all with 2 ventral spurs; 4 had 3, 10 had 4, 5 had 5, and 1 had 6 inner rear leg tibial spines, while 1 had 2, 17 had 3, and 2 had 4 outer rear leg tibial spines, all with 2 ventral spurs. DNA . Fig. 650 , p. 378. F 0654 ( type locality S97-137, one of karyotyped [T98-8] males); F0911 and F0912 (both type locality S98-131) all recovered in Group 11 Southern California #1, and closest to A. etiwanda and A. sangabriel . Karyotype. 2n ♂ =23. Two males from the type locality examined, with similar results: T89-29 ( Fig. 684 , S 87- 129 ) & T98-8 ( Fig. 685 , S 97-137 ) both show 6 metacentric or submetacentric autosomal pairs; 5 acrocentric or telocentric autosomal pairs; and 1 metacentric X chromosome. Discussion. For every individual of A. sakai collected at the type locality, probably 2 or 3 individuals of A. ballonadark were seen. Both taxa were also collected in pitfall traps at nearby Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). Those 2 localities, separated by some 3 km , currently appear protected, but we chose Ballona as the type locality because we have more individuals, with karyotype and DNA information, than from LAX. On the other hand, the total area of these two sites is small, even for a JC species. And the easiest way to collect individuals is by turning over man-made debris, such as slabs of asphalt and cement, such that “cleaning up” these localities could make the study of A. sakai difficult. The technique perfected by Prentice et al. (2011) might be a good, alternative methodology to employ. The LAX dunes are part of the once larger El Segundo Dunes, and are one of only 3 remnants for the El Segundo blue butterfly (https://xerces.org/endangered-species/species-profiles/at-riskbutterflies-moths/el-segundo-blue), one of the first insects listed under the 1973 Endangered Species Act.