A new cricket (Orthoptera, Gryllidae) for Castilla-La Mancha and the Iberian Peninsula

We report Tartarogryllus tartarus (Saussure, 1874), a species with disjunct distribution in the Mediterranean-Turanean area, for the first time in the Iberian Peninsula. We summarize morphological charateristics for the species identification adding some new relevant traits to distinguish it from Acheta domesticus and Eumodicogryllus bordigalensis, particularly the interior tympanic opening that is shaped like a narrow slot whereas it is almost rounded in Acheta and Eumodicogryllus. We have found the species in cereal crops and vegetation around hiper-saline lagoons of arid lands (Castilla-La Mancha, Spain). Adult emergence occurs in May with maximum sexual activity at the end of this month and in June. We suspect that this species may be more widely distributed in other regions of the Iberian Peninsula with appropriate habitat.