Cooloola
| Cooloola | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the family | ||||||||||||
| Cooloolidae | ||||||||||||
| Rentz , 1980 | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Cooloola | ||||||||||||
| Rentz , 1980 |
Cooloola is a genus of locusts and the only member of the Cooloolidae family. Four species have been described so far in the genus known exclusively from Australia. The first described species wascalled “Cooloola Monster”by its first describer David Rentz (then CSIRO ) due to its unusual morphology and has become known under this name.
features
These are species with a burrowing way of life and a modified body structure. Males and females are built very differently ( sexual dimorphism ).
Cooloola species are between about 2 centimeters (males) and five centimeters (females) long, compactly built locusts with long, strong grave legs. The males are quite hard sclerotized and colored light brown to orange, the females and nymphs soft-skinned and cream-colored to ivory-white. The antennae are short and consist of only ten limbs (although the species is one of the long-feeler terrors ). The mandibles of the mouthparts are elongated, sickle-shaped and adapted to predatory diets. The inner shutters (Laciniae) of the maxillae are knife-shaped and, unusually for grasshoppers, longer than the mandibles; they may be used in digging. The complex eyes of the male are normally developed, in the female they are greatly reduced in size, but normally pigmented and well functional. The trunk is arched high with elongated pleurs and coxes. The males have short, scale-shaped wings and strongly reduced hind wings, the females are wingless. All three pairs of legs are strong in relation to the trunk, significantly longer in the male than in the female, and designed as grave legs. In addition, the tibiae are widened and have large, broad teeth at the end. The hind legs are about the same size as the front legs, the animals have no jumping ability. The tarsi of the males are elongated and somewhat flattened, those of the females are narrow with largely receding claws, the females are unable to walk on the surface of the earth. The abdomen of the female is hemispherical. The cerci in the male are single-limbed and rod-shaped.
Way of life
All species live burrowing in sandy soil. They dig their way through the loose ground at a depth of approx. 20 to 50 centimeters without creating permanent pipes or structures. As far as is known, neither the females nor the nymphs ever come to the surface of the earth voluntarily. The males can occasionally be found on the surface of the earth from September to December and can be detected with floor traps during this time . The life cycle and development are almost unknown, and it is generally assumed that development will be slow and possibly several years. The nymphs can secrete a sticky secretion when touched, which may serve as a defense against predators.
All species are considered to be predominantly predatory. In the laboratory they were kept alive with mealworms . Prey in the natural habitat could e.g. B. earthworms and scarab larvae . All species have a noticeably elongated foregut. This was seen as an adjustment to be able to store large amounts of food in order to survive periods of shortage.
How the sexes find one another is not known. The species have neither organs for sound production nor hearing ability.
habitat
All species prefer sandy areas with no vegetation or sparse vegetation, often shaded by trees. However, they avoid dry sand and seem to have a high need for moisture. Cooloola propator and Cooloola dingo were found on the banks of water, Cooloola pearsoni in shaded dune sand near the seashore. The findings of Cooloola ziljan come from a sugar cane plantation. It is believed that the species entered it relatively recently from bank habitats.
distribution
All species are restricted to the Australian state of Queensland. The first discovered species Cooloola propator is only known from the Great Sandy National Park . It occurs both on Fraser Island and in the coastal strip (Cooloola National Park) from which the genus got its name. Cooloola pearsoni lives on South Percy Island ( Percy Isles National Park ). Cooloola dingo was described from the hamlet of Dingo near the Blackdown Tableland . Cooloola ziljan is only known from a sugar cane field near Bundaberg .
Phylogeny
The Cooloolidae are considered to be a relatively basal Ensifera. They have a lot in common with the Anostostomatidae , Gryllacrididae and Stenopelmatidae , with which they are often united in a superfamily. It is also possible that these groups do not form a common clade , but rather represent independent lines of development. Molecular data (DNA sequences) are not yet available.
swell
- DCF Rentz (1986): The Orthoptera Family Cooloolidae, including description of two new species and observations on biology and food preferences . Systematic Entomology 11: 231-246.
- DCF Rentz (1999): Pearson's Monster, a new species of Cooloola Rentz from Queensland (Orthoptera: Cooloolidae) . Journal of Orthoptera Research 8: 25-32.
- Geoffrey M Clarke & Fiona Spier-Ashcroft (2003): A Review of the Conservation Status of Selected Australian Non-Marine Invertebrates . Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities. PDF
Individual evidence
- ↑ Darryl T. Gwynne (1995): Phylogeny of the Ensifera (Orthoptera): A Hypothesis Supporting Multiple Origins of Acoustical Signaling, Complex Spermatophores and Maternal Care in Crickets, Katydids, and Weta. Journal of Orthoptera Research No. 4: 203-218.
- ↑ MC Jost & KL Shaw (2006): Phylogeny of Ensifera (Hexapoda: Orthoptera) using three ribosomal loci, with implications for the evolution of acoustic communication. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 38: 510-530.
