Abstract:

During 2013ndash;2017, assemblages of bush-crickets and grasshoppers were surveyed in two neighbouringnbsp;flysch mountains ndash; #268;ergov Mts (48 sites) and Levo#269;skeacute; vrchy Mts (62 sites) ndash; in northern part ofnbsp;Western Carpathians. Species were sampled mostly at grasslands and forest edges along elevationalnbsp;gradient between 370 and 1220 m a.s.l. Within the entire area (ca 930 km2) we documented 54 species,nbsp;representing 38% of Carpathian Orthoptera species richness. We found the same species number (45)nbsp;in both mountain ranges with nine unique species in each of them. No difference in mean species richnessnbsp;per site was found between the mountain ranges (mean plusmn; SD = 12.5 plusmn; 3.9). Elevation explainednbsp;2.9% of variation in site species richness. Elevation and mountain range identity explained 7.3% ofnbsp;assemblages composition. We found new latitudinal as well as longitudinal limits in the distributionnbsp;for several species. Occurrence and distributional patterns of some noteworthy species (Isophyanbsp;stysi, Pholidoptera transsylvanica, Poecilimon schmidtii, Polysarcus denticauda, Pseudopodisma nagyi,nbsp;Chorthippus tatrae), as well as habitat specialists (Chorthippus pullus, Tetrix tuerki) are discussed.

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