On the origin of the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria (Forskal) (Orthoptera: Acrididae: Cyrtacanthacridinae).

ABSTRACT: The locust genus Schistocerca (Stål) has a transatlantic disjunction, which has been controversial for more than a century. Among 50 species within the genus, only one species, the desert locust (S. gregaria Forskål), occurs in the Old World, and the rest occur in the New World. Earlier taxonomists suggested that the desert locust is a migrant from America, but this view was strongly challenged when a large swarm of the desert locust successfully crossed the Atlantic Ocean from West Africa to the West Indies in 1988. The currently accepted view, supported by this incident, is that the New World species are descendants of a gregaria-like ancestor, and the desert locust would be ancestral to the rest of the genus. However, there is surprisingly little evidence to support this view other than

SUBMITTER: Song H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1691763 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature