Anostostomatidae
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Anostostomatidae is a family in the order Orthoptera. It is sometimes referred to as Mimnermidae or Henicidae in some taxonomies, and common names include King crickets in South Africa, and wetas in New Zealand. They are believed to be most closely related to the Jerusalem crickets of North America. Prominent members includes the Parktown prawn of South Africa, and the giant wetas of New Zealand. The cave wetas belong to another family, the Rhaphidophoridae.
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[edit] General characteristics
By virtue of their ability to cope with variations in temperature, members of the Anostostomatidae family can be found in a variety of environments including alpine, forests, grasslands, shrub lands and urban gardens. They are nocturnal and flightless, with a diet consisting of leaves, other insects, fungi, dead animals, and fruit. A giant weta species is probably the heaviest insect in the world.
[edit] Taxonomy and evolution
Members of the Anostostomatidae family have survived virtually unchanged since the Mesozoic era, possibly because they had few native predators. In this respect, they can be compared with the tuatara. Fossilized weta have been found in Australia, although they do not exist there now. This proves they were present in ancient Gondwanaland before New Zealand separated from it
[edit] The wetas of New Zealand
New Zealand had no native land mammals apart from native bats before humans arrived. Ecological niches that were filled by mammals in other parts of the world were filled by native fauna in New Zealand. The weta’s place in the ecosystem is comparable to that held by mice and other rodents elsewhere in the world. For example, like their foreign mouse equivalents, they are hunted by an owl: in this case the Morepork, New Zealand’s only surviving native owl. Weta also pass seeds of some plant species through their digestive tracts unharmed, thus acting as seed dispersers. It is yet to be seen how decreases in weta populations are affecting native plant species that rely on the weta's help.
Weta can bite. Tree weta bites are particularly common. They can also inflict painful scratches with the potential of infection. Weta are known to arc their hind legs into the air in warning to foes.
[edit] The five weta groups in New Zealand
- Giant wetas
- Tree wetas
- Tusked wetas and Northland tusked wetas
- Ground wetas
- Cave wetas (in another family)
[edit] Subfamilies and genera
- Subfamily Anostostomatinae Saussure, 1859
- Aistus
- Anabropsis
- Anostostoma
- Apotetamenus
- Apteranabropsis
- Bochus
- Borborothis
- Brachyporus
- Carcinopsis
- Cnemotettix
- Cratomelus
- Exogryllacris
- Glaphyrosoma
- Gryllotaurus
- Hemiandrus Ground wetas
- Henicus
- Hydrolutos
- Hypocophoides
- Hypocophus
- Leponosandrus
- Libanasa
- Libanasidus King crickets
- Licodia
- Lutosa
- Motuweta Tusked wetas
- Nasidius
- Neolutosa
- Onosandridus
- Onosandrus
- Papuaistus
- Paterdecolyus
- Penalva
- Spizaphilus
- Subfamily Deinacridinae
- Anisoura Tusked wetas
- Deinacrida Giant wetas
- Gryllacropsis (from India, only tentatively assigned to Deinacridinae)
- Hemideina Tree wetas
- Subfamily Leiomelinae
