''Cooloola'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
ensifera
Ensifera is a suborder of insects that includes the various types of crickets and their allies including: true crickets, camel crickets, bush crickets or katydids, grigs, weta and Cooloola monsters. This and the suborder Caelifera (grassh ...
n
orthopterans known as Cooloola monsters.
Cooloolinae and family Cooloolidae of the
superfamily Stenopelmatoidea
Stenopelmatoidea is a superfamily of insects in the order Orthoptera; in some older classifications this group was referred to as Gryllacridoidea.
Classification
The classification and constituency of Stenopelmatoidea is an ongoing source of ...
.
Four species are known from this family, all
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
,
Australia. The name originated from the discovery of the best-known member of the family, the
Cooloola monster (''Cooloola propator''), in the
Cooloola National Park.
Little is known about their life histories as they lead an almost entirely subterranean existence, but they are believed to prey on other soil-dwelling invertebrates. Cooloola monsters are unusual in comparison with other members of the primitive superfamily Stenopelmatoidea in that the cooloolids' antennae are considerably shorter than their body lengths.
Classification
While often treated as a family, molecular evidence suggests that cooloolids are in fact aberrant members of the family
Anostostomatidae
Anostostomatidae is a family of insects in the order Orthoptera, widely distributed in the southern hemisphere. It is named Mimnermidae or Henicidae in some taxonomies, and common names include ''king crickets'' in South Africa and ''wētā'' in ...
, and the genus ''Cooloola'' may not be monophyletic.
[Vandergast, A.G., Weissman, D.B., Wood, D.A., Rentz, D.C., Bazelet, C.S., and Ueshima, N. (2017) Tackling an intractable problem: Can greater taxon sampling help resolve relationships within the Stenopelmatoidea (Orthoptera: Ensifera)? ''Zootaxa'' 4291, no. 1, p. 1. DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.4291.1.1]
Species include:
*''
Cooloola dingo''
Rentz, 1986 – dingo monster
*''
Cooloola pearsoni''
Rentz, 1999 – Pearson's monster
*''
Cooloola propator
The Cooloola monster (''Cooloola propator'') is a large burrowing orthopteran of the family Cooloolidae, a family erected to accommodate it because it is so dissimilar to other ensiferans. It was discovered in 1980 in the Great Sandy National Par ...
''
Rentz, 1980 – Cooloola monster
*''
Cooloola ziljan''
Rentz, 1986 – sugarcane monster
References
*''Grasshopper Country: The Abundant Orthopteroid Insects of Australia'', by
David C. Rentz. 1995.
External links
Species synopsesby the Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q2710963, from2=Q13553678
Stenopelmatoidea
Ensifera genera
Orthoptera of Australia