Cavernotettix Explained

Cavernotettix is a genus of cave crickets in the family Rhaphidophoridae, in South-Eastern Australia and Tasmania. There are five species in the genus Cavernotettix.^{[1] [2]} The genus was first described by New Zealand entomologist Aola Richards in 1966.^[3]

Cavernotettix species are mostly found in cool dark damp spaces such as limestone caves, wombat burrows and walls of old sheds.^[4] They usually appear in cave entrances at twilight,^[5] and are sensitive to temperature changes and require a high degree of humidity to survive.

Morphology

All species in the genus Cavernotettix have bodies covered by short setae. They have long and slender legs. Their antennae are very long and tapering which almost touch at their bases.^[6]

The body length of Cavernotettix craggiensis is (males) and (females). It has a distinctive brown colour that extends across the body. The ventral valve of the ovipositor is armed with 8 small teeth gradually reducing in size. Fore and middle legs are sub-equal long, while hind legs are 1.9 times longer.

Distribution

Most species in the genus Cavernotettix are found on mainland Australia, but two species are also found on islands in Bass Strait (between Tasmania and Australia). As cave crickets have no wings, Richards suggested that Cavernotettix was more likely to have reached Tasmania via a land bridge during Pleistocene rather than via strong winds.^{[7] [8]}

• Cavernotettix craggiensis is found under boulders and in burrows of breeding seabirds on just one Island; Craggy Island. This species is endemic to Tasmania.^[9]
• Cavernotettix flindersensis was found by French entomologist Lucien Chopard in Flinders Island in 1944.^[10] It was first under the genus Speleotettix. However, based on its characteristics is closer to Cavernotettix, Richards put it under the genus Cavernotettix. This species is also found on Cape Barren Island in Bass Strait.

Conservation Status

Cavernotettix craggiensis

According to Threatened Species Protection Act 1995, Tasmania government has listed Cavernotettix craggiensis as a threatened species. Illegal collection, natural predation and climate change are threatening the population of Cavernotettix craggiensis.

Notes and References

1. Richards . A. M. . 1974 . Arthropoda of the subantarctic islands of New Zealand . New Zealand Journal of Zoology . 1 . 4 . 495–499 . 10.1080/03014223.1974.9517849. free .
2. Web site: genus Cavernotettix Richards, 1966: Orthoptera Species File . 2023-09-04 . orthoptera.speciesfile.org.
3. Richards . A. M. . 1966 . The Rhaphidophoridae (Orthoptera) of Australia. Part 3. A new genus from south-eastern Australia. . Pacific Insects . 8 . 617–28.
4. Richards . Aola M. . 1974 . The Rhaphidophoridae (Orthoptera) of Australia. PArt II. New Species from the Bass Strait Islands and Tasmania . Pacific Insects . 16 . 2–3 . 245–260.
5. Eberhard, S. M., Smith, G. B., Gibian, M., Smith, H. M., & Gray, M. R. . 2014 . Invertebrate cave fauna of Jenolan. . Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales . 136 . 35–68.
6. Richards . A. M. . 1968 . The Rhaphidophoridae (Orthoptera) of Australia. Part 6. Two new species from northern Tasmania . Pacific Insects . 10 . 1 . 167–176.
7. Richards . A. M. . 1972 . The distribution and possible origins of Tasmanian cave crickets. . Proceedings 8th National Conference, Australian Speleological Federation . 85–87.
8. Jennings . J. . 1971 . Sea level changes and land links. . Aboriginal Man and Environment in Australia . 1–13.
9. Web site: Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania . 2023 . Craggy Island Cave Cricket (Cavernotettix craggiensis): Species Management Profile for Tasmania's Threatened Species . Threatened Species Section.
10. Chopard . L. . 1944 . Description de deux Sténopelmatides cavernicoles d'Australie [Orth. Gryllacridae] . Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France . 49 . 4 . 52–55. 10.3406/bsef.1944.15753 . 1944AnSEF..49...52C . 222519396 .