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Anderus brucei

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Species of wētā

Anderus brucei
Conservation status

Not Threatened (NZ TCS)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthoptera
Suborder: Ensifera
Family: Anostostomatidae
Genus: Anderus
Species: A. brucei
Binomial name
Anderus brucei
(Taylor-Smith, Trewick, Morgan-Richards 2016)
Synonyms

Hemiandrus brucei Taylor Smith, Trewick & Morgan-Richards, 2016

Anderus brucei is a species of ground wētā in the family Anostostomatidae endemic to New Zealand. These insects are nocturnal and found in forests in the North Island and northern South Island.

Taxonomy

Previously encompassed under Hemiandrus maculifrons, A. brucei is similar in appearance but genetically distinct. This species was moved to the genus Anderus in 2024 when genetic data showed the species within Hemiandrus were not monophyletic. Anderus brucei is named in memory of Briar Taylor-Smith's grandfather, Bruce Edwin Smith.

Habitat and distribution

Anderus brucei is found in native forests in the North Island and northern South Island of New Zealand and is often sympatric with other wētā species. Having such a broad range is uncharacteristic of most ground wētā, which are often endemic to very small areas.

Morphology

Anderus brucei has a high level of morphological variation. The head and body of A. brucei is mostly brown but sometimes with small pale patches on the lateral and dorsal surfaces of the pronotum. Anderus brucei has fine microsetae on the three apical segments of the maxillary palps; four spines on the inferior retro lateral angle of the mid tibiae; a single inferior articulated spine on the hind tibiae; males with a V- or U-shaped apical margin on the subgenital plate, blunt cerci, and ninth abdominal termite with two obtuse curved lobes; females with a long, gently curved ovipositor.

Conservation

Andrus brucei is classified as Not Threatened in the New Zealand Threat Classification System.

Type information

  • Taylor-Smith, BL; Trewick, SA; & Morgan-Richards, M (2016). Three new ground wētā species and a redescription of Hemiandrus maculifrons. New Zealand Journal of Zoology.
  • Type specimen: adult female; March 2012; BL Taylor-Smith; deposited at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
  • Paratype: adult male, same collection data as holotype; deposited at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
  • Type location: Collected from the Kahuterawa Valley, Wellington −40.47190°, 175.61417°

References

  1. ^ Taylor-Smith, BL; Trewick, SA; Morgan-Richards, M (2016-10-01). "Three new ground wētā species and a redescription of Hemiandrus maculifrons". New Zealand Journal of Zoology. 43 (4): 363–383. doi:10.1080/03014223.2016.1205109. ISSN 0301-4223. S2CID 88565199.
  2. Trewick, Steven A.; Taylor-Smith, Briar L.; Morgan-Richards, Mary (2024). "Wētā Aotearoa—Polyphyly of the New Zealand Anostostomatidae (Insecta: Orthoptera)". Insects. 15 (10): 787. doi:10.3390/insects15100787. ISSN 2075-4450. PMC 11508991.
  3. "Meet Bruce, he's a musician". New Zealand Geographic. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  4. Trewick, Steve; Hegg, Danilo; Morgan-Richards, Mary; Murray, Tara; Watts, Corinne; Johns, Peter; Michel, Pascale (2022). "Conservation status of Orthoptera (wētā, crickets and grasshoppers) in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2022" (PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series 39: 20.
Taxon identifiers
Hemiandrus brucei
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