A new species of alpine grasshopper of the genus Podismopsis Zubovski, 1900 (Orthoptera, Acrididae, Gomphocerinae) from Central Europe

Podismopsis kristini sp. nov . (Orthoptera, Acrididae, Gomphocerinae) is described from the Tatras in Slovakia, representing the seventh European species of the genus Podismopsis Zubovski, 1900, and the first record of the genus from the Western Carpathians. The new species inhabits cold, wind-exposed alpine grasslands at 1,820–1,920 m a.s.l. in the upper part of the Žiar Valley in the Western Tatras and is known only from the type locality. It is diagnosed and distinguished from the other six European congeners ( P. frontalis , P. keisti , P. poppiusi , P. relicta , P. styriaca , and P. transsylvanica ) by a combination of morphometric and qualitative characters. A DNA barcode based on a partial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) sequence is also provided for molecular identification purposes. The European Podismopsis species exemplify the “sky island” model of allopatric speciation: the genus colonised Central Europe via ice-free Pleistocene steppes and, following postglacial climatic warming, retreated upslope into isolated mountain refugia where reproductive isolation caused by brachyptery subsequently drove species divergence. Given their strict allopatry, low molecular divergence and undifferentiated calling songs, the European species collectively represent semi-species sensu Lorković (1955) forming a superspecies, i.e., lineages in which speciation is still incomplete. We provide an updated identification key to all European Podismopsis species and discuss the biogeographic implications for understanding Quaternary diversification patterns in flightless alpine insects.