Calling songs from males of T. josei were consistently heard in the region of Algarve, from the west Atlantic coast until the surroundings of the easternmost town, Vila Real de S. António (Fig. 3). A set of new locations and georeferenced coordinates of occurrence of T. josei are listed in Table 3, but they should not be considered as an exhaustive list. Tettigettalna josei is quite widespread in Algarve, reaching high densities (> 10 singing males) in open habitats covered with low vegetation (small bushes and dry grass) and well exposed to sunlight (Fig. 4). Consequently, their numbers were low in cultivated tree groves where herbaceous vegetation was removed but were easily found in uncultivated fields or small patches of marginal vegetation by roads, in the periphery of villages and in secondary dunes and cliffs near the sea. Tettigettalna josei was found in sympatry with two other species belonging to the same genus, T. argentata and T. mariae (Table 3). Males of T. josei were also found singing on trees, but they usually sing at heights below three meters, unlike their congenerics T. argentata or T. mariae, which often sing perched on high pine trees.

In July 2013, T. josei was also found in small numbers in Cartaya (Huelva, Spain), which extends its known distribution to Spain. This same area was visited the year before (see Simões et al. 2013), but T. josei was not found then. We surveyed other provinces of Andalusia in July of 2012 and 2013, but T. josei was not found so far in any other areas besides Huelva.

The present data clarify the currently known distribution range of Tettigettalna josei in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, encompassing the region of Algarve (Portugal) and the province of Huelva (Spain). Morphological, acoustic and genetic analyses confirmed the identity of specimens collected in Cartaya (Huelva) as belonging to T. josei.

Previous records on the distribution of this small cicada species were sparse and limited to Portugal (Sueur et al. 2004). Hence the species has been considered until now as endemic to Portugal. The new record of T. josei in Spain in July 2013 refutes this status and the species must now be added to the list of the Spanish cicadas and, therefore, should be considered as an Iberian endemism.

The region of Huelva was previously surveyed in August 2012 with the detection of T. mariae (Simões et al. 2013) but not of T. josei. This could be explained by the low densities of T. josei found in Spain, since only about five singing males were detected in the region in 2013. Additionally, we have noted that the emergence peak of T. josei might be slightly earlier (June-July) as compared to other Tettigettalna species (T. argentata and T. mariae: mostly July). Consequently, the number of singing males of T. josei should decline earlier, in mid-August, justifying why we might have missed T. josei in Spain during our surveys in mid-August 2012.

Data obtained so far indicates that populations of T. josei are acoustic, morphological and genetically homogeneous throughout the distribution range of the species. The genetic analysis of COI gene showed no evidence of population structure. Haplotypes differ by single mutations from each other and form a star-like haplotype network. In spite of this, some differences in the distribution and frequency of each COI haplotype seem to reflect the expected trend for low dispersal in these cicadas. As demonstrated before in a species of genus Cicada (Simões and Quartau 2007), emerged specimens usually experience limited dispersal during the mating season, remaining near the emergence site, where the singing males may form choruses.

The distribution of T. josei overlaps with an area under severe human pressure. The coastline of Algarve has been intensively exploited for beach tourism and golf. However, land management associated with tourism facilities seem to have less impact on the persistence of T. josei than the perturbation caused by farming practices that deplete the shrub and grass cover of the soil (e.g. plowing, harvesting or intensive grazing). Fortunately for cicadas, these practices are not severely intense in the coastal region of Algarve and crops are usually small sized and patchy, allowing populations of T. josei to persist all over the region. In contrast, monocultures such as olive and stone pine woods in the Spanish region of Andalusia occupy extensive areas and are regularly maintained to restrain the growth of shrub-like vegetation under the trees. These differences in land management might help to explain the small effective numbers of T. josei detected so far in Spain, and favours instead the prevalence of Tettigettalna species that are frequently found on trees, such as T. mariae or T. aneabi.