Supersonus
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| Supersonus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Supersonus aequoreus male in Colombia | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Orthoptera |
| Suborder: | Ensifera |
| Family: | Tettigoniidae |
| Tribe: | Phisidini |
| Genus: | Supersonus Sarria-S. et al, 2014 |
| Species | |
Supersonus is a genus of katydids in the order Orthoptera first described in 2014. The genus contains three species which are endemic to the rainforests of South America. Its name is an allusion to the fact that the males, in order to attract the females, produce a very high frequency noise which can reach 150 kHz (using only the right wing). This has been considered the highest frequency ultrasonic noise of the animal kingdom. The noise is imperceptible to human hearing, which is only capable of detecting up to 20 kHz.
Supersonus species inhabit tropical to lowland rainforest environments at heights between 10 and 15 m (33 and 49 ft) above the forest floor, often a few meters below the forest canopy. They live on and among the epiphytal growth such as bromeliads and orchids on tree trunks and limbs.[1]
Populations of Supersonus aequoreus are known on the islands of Gorgona and Gorgonilla in the National Natural Park (PNN) Gorgona, which are isolated 35 km (22 mi) off the mainland Colombian coast. The rainforest of the islands is similar to that of the mainland, with an average annual temperature of 26 °C (79 °F) and rainfall averaging 6,891 mm (271.3 in).[1]
The Supersonus piercei population is known from Watershed Pericos around the small community of El Salto, in the Valle del Cauca Department of mainland Colombia. Like the rainforest of National Natural Park (PNN) Gorgona, the Watershed Pericos forest is a lowland tropical rainforest though is location on the western edges of the Andean Cordillera result in more rainfall and temperature fluctuation. Rainfall amounts in the watershed range between 4,000 and 10,000 mm (160 and 390 in) and the temperature range is between 18 and 25 °C (64 and 77 °F) annually.[1]
The population of Supersonus undulus inhabits a lowland rainforest environment at Tinalandia, in a private forest preserve between Quito and Santo Domingo de los Colorado in Pichincha Province. The elevation of the rainforest is 600 m (2,000 ft), the highest of the three population habitats, with a forest typical of the western Andean slopes.[1]