A faunal survey of the Oedipodinae (Acrididae: Orthoptera) of the Menoua Division in Cameroon

Abstract

Menoua Division is geographically located between 5° - 5.5° latitude north and 9.4° to 10.25° longitude east on the map of the world in the West Region of Cameroon. This division is separated by a steep forested elevation into two main sectors, a lowland plain called Santchou at altitude 600m and a hilly, savannah-type Dschang with a peak of 2200 m above sea level at Djuttitsa. The Menoua Division is one of the important bread baskets of Cameroon. Short-horn grasshopper species belonging to the subfamily Oedipodinae collected from six localities in the Menoua Division of Cameroon included: Gastrimagus africanus Saussure 1888, Heteropternis thoracica (Walker, 1870), Morphacris fasciata (Thunberg 1815) and Trilophidia conturbata (Walker 1870). The main objective of this study was to explore the grasshopper species belonging to the subfamily Oedipodinae (Family: Acrididae; Order: Orthoptera) from the Menoua Division in Cameroon along with data on habitat, altitudinal zonation, cytogenetics and description of the species.