View source for Anostostomatidae

{{Short description|Family of cricket-like animals}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2024}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = knights.weta.750pix.jpg
| image_caption = Poor Knights giant wētā, ''[[Deinacrida fallai]]''<br />Overall length 20 cm (8 in)
| taxon = Anostostomatidae
| authority = Saussure, 1859 
| subdivision_ranks = Subfamilies and genera
| subdivision = [[#Subfamilies and Genera|See text]]
}}

'''Anostostomatidae''' is a family of [[insect]]s in the order [[Orthoptera]], widely distributed in the southern hemisphere.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Johns |first=P. M. |date=1997 |title=The Gondwanaland Weta: Family Anostostomatidae (Formerly in Stenopelmatidae, Henicidae or Mimnermidae): Nomenclatural Problems, World Checklist, New Genera and Species |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3503546 |journal=Journal of Orthoptera Research |issue=6 |pages=125–138 |doi=10.2307/3503546 |jstor=3503546 |issn=1082-6467|url-access=subscription }}</ref> It is named '''Mimnermidae''' or '''Henicidae''' in some taxonomies, and common names include '''''king crickets''''' in [[Australia]] and [[South Africa]], and '''''wētā''''' in [[New Zealand]] (although not all [[wētā]] are in Anostostomatidae). Prominent members include the [[Parktown prawn]] of South Africa, and the [[giant wētā]] of New Zealand. 

==General characteristics==
Some members of this family can be quite large: [[Parktown prawn]] can exceed 6&nbsp;cm and [[Tree wētā|tree weta]] can exceed 8&nbsp;cm in length.<ref name=":0">{{Citation |last1=Ingrisch |first1=Sigfrid |title=Orthoptera |date=2009 |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/B978012374144800196X |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Insects |pages=732–743 |publisher=Elsevier |language=en |doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-374144-8.00196-x |isbn=978-0-12-374144-8 |access-date=2023-01-18 |last2=Rentz |first2=D.C.F.|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Some Australian and Asian anostostomatids have wings (e.g. ''[[Exogryllacris]]'', ''[[Gryllotaurus]]'', ''[[Transaevum]]''), while most lack wings (e.g. ''[[Anostostoma]]'', ''[[Hypocophoides]]'', ''[[Penalva (insect)|Penalva]]'').<ref name=":1">{{Citation |last1=Monteith |first1=G. B. |title=Australian king crickets: distribution, habitats and biology (Orthoptera: Anostostomatidae). |date=2001 |url=http://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/10.1079/9780851994086.0079 |work=The biology of wetas, king crickets and their allies |pages=79–94 |editor-last=Field |editor-first=L. H. |edition=1 |place=UK |publisher=CABI Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1079/9780851994086.0079 |isbn=978-0-85199-408-6 |access-date=2023-01-18 |last2=Field |first2=L. H.|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last1=Trewick |first1=Steven A. |last2=Taylor-Smith |first2=Briar L. |last3=Morgan-Richards |first3=Mary |date=2024 |title=Wētā Aotearoa—Polyphyly of the New Zealand Anostostomatidae (Insecta: Orthoptera) |journal=Insects |language=en |volume=15 |issue=10 |pages=787 |doi=10.3390/insects15100787 |doi-access=free |issn=2075-4450 |pmc=11508991 |pmid=39452363}}</ref>

Males of some species have highly modified heads, which they use in male-male conflicts.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Johns |first=P. M. |date=November 1997 |title=The Gondwanaland Weta: Family Anostostomatidae (Formerly in Stenopelmatidae, Henicidae or Mimnermidae): Nomenclatural Problems, World Checklist, New Genera and Species |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3503546 |journal=Journal of Orthoptera Research |issue=6 |pages=125–138 |doi=10.2307/3503546|jstor=3503546 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Diet ==
The wētā of New Zealand, such as ''[[Tree wētā|Hemideina]]'', are mostly [[herbivore]]s that feed on leaves, fruit and flowers, but may also scavenge recently killed invertebrates.<ref name=":0" /> The ground wētā ''[[Anderus maculifrons]]'' eats a range of forest invertebrates.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cary |first=Paul R. L. |date=1983 |title=Diet of the ground weta Zealandosandrus gracilis (Orthoptera: Stenopelmatidae) |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03014223.1983.10423918 |journal=New Zealand Journal of Zoology |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=295–297 |doi=10.1080/03014223.1983.10423918 |issn=0301-4223|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The king crickets of Australia include generalised [[scavenger]]s that consume various dead and decaying matter, specialised feeders (e.g. ''Exogryllacris'' feeds on fungal [[Sporocarp (fungi)|fruiting bodies]] growing on fallen trees) and [[Predation|predators]] of other invertebrates.<ref name=":1" /> There is a record of an Australian king cricket preying on a [[Australian funnel-web spider|funnel-web spider]].<ref>[http://www.australianmuseum.net.au/image/King-Cricket-eating-Funnel-web-Spider/ King Cricket eating Funnel-web-Spider] at Australian Museum website.</ref>

== Behaviour ==
Anostostomatidae are [[Nocturnality|nocturnal]]. They generally become active soon after sunset.<ref name=":1" />

Anostostomatidae communicate with sound, both through the air and as ground waves through soil, wood and sand. Adults of both sexes and also nymphs can produce sound. These crickets hear sound using foretibial [[Tympanal organ|tympana]] or other modifications to the tibiae, tarsi and perhaps [[prothorax]].<ref name=":2" />

As one example, ''[[Anostostoma]]'' can [[Stridulation|stridulate]] by rubbing its abdomen against its hind legs. The sides of the base of the abdomen have dense patches of short, sharp pegs, and there are similar pegs on the inner surfaces of the hind femurs. Sound is produced by these pegs rubbing together.<ref name=":1" />

Anostostomatidae use various behaviours to [[Anti-predator adaptation|defend against predators]]. Many hide in [[burrow]]s during the day to avoid [[Diurnality|diurnal]] predators. If disturbed by a predator, they may jump away, stridulate, eject putrid-smelling faeces, bite, fly away (done by winged ''Exogryllacris'' and ''Gryllotaurus'') or jump into water (done by ''Transaevum'' nymphs, which feed on streamsides).<ref name=":1" />

== Life cycle ==
Like other orthopterans, Anostostomatidae go through the three stages of egg, nymph and adult. Life cycles in this family are often long, with egg development taking up to 18 months, nymphal development taking 1–3 years and involving 7-10 [[instar]]s, and adults living for a year or more. Adult females may brood eggs and young nymphs in isolated chambers.<ref name=":2" />[[Image:Cratomelus sp.jpg|thumb|Chilean king cricket, ''Cratomelus'' sp.]]

==Taxonomy and evolution==
At least one Cretaceous fossil of an anostostomatid-like cricket is known from Australia but has not been described. The modern distribution of this family in the southern hemisphere has led to speculation that members of this group owe their distribution to the breakup of the ancient supercontinent Gondwana. This may be the case but evidence for the large scale if not total submergence of continental crust in the New Zealand and New Caledonian region in the Oligocene, indicates the possibility that wētā have arrived in these locations since re-emergence of land. The fact that anostostomatid crickets also occur on some Japanese islands supports this possibility.{{cn|date=September 2024}}
[[File:Libanasidus vittatus00.jpg|thumb|{{center|Male ''[[Libanasidus vittatus]]''}}]]

===Subfamilies and genera===
The ''Orthoptera Species File''<ref>[http://orthoptera.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=1131780 Orthoptera Species File (Version 5.0/5.0: retrieved 23 December 2018)]</ref> lists the following;

====Anabropsinae====
Auth.: Rentz & Weissman, 1973 – Americas, Africa, India, E. Asia, Australasia
* tribe '''[[Anabropsini]]''' Rentz & Weissman, 1973
** ''[[Anabropsis]]'' Rehn, 1901 (includes subgenera ''[[Paterdecolyus]]'' Griffini, 1913, ''[[Apteranabropsis]]'' and ''[[Pteranabropsis]]'' Gorochov, 1988)
** ''[[Exogryllacris]]'' Willemse, 1963: monotypic ''E. ornata'' Willemse, 1963 - Australia
**  ''[[Melanabropsis]]'' Wang & Liu, 2020 - China, Japan
* tribe '''Brachyporini''' Gorochov, 2001 - Southern Africa, Australia
** ''[[Brachyporus]]'' Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1888
** ''[[Penalva (insect)|Penalva]]'' Walker, 1870

====Anostostomatinae====
Auth.: Saussure, 1859 – Africa (including Madagascar), Australia, New Zealand
{{div col|colwidth=22em}}
* ''[[Anostostoma]]'' 
* ''[[Bochus]]'' 
* ''[[Borborothis]]'' 
* ''[[Carcinopsis]]''
* ''[[Gryllotaurus]]''
* ''[[Henicus]]'' Gray, 1837
* ''[[Libanasidus]]'', king crickets
* ''[[Motuweta]]'', tusked wētā
* ''[[Nasidius]]'' Stål, 1876
* ''[[Onosandridus]]'' 
* ''[[Onosandrus]]'' 
* ''[[Spizaphilus]]'' 
{{div col end}}

====Cratomelinae====
Auth.: Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1888 – South America
* ''[[Cratomelus]]'' Blanchard, 1851

====Deinacridinae====
Auth.: Karny, 1932 – New Zealand
* ''[[Deinacrida]]'', giant wētā
* ''[[Hemideina]]'', tree wētā

====Leiomelinae====
Auth.: Gorochov, 2011 – S. America
* ''[[Leiomelus]]'' Ander, 1936

====Lezininae====
Auth.: Karny, 1932 – N. Africa, Middle East
* ''[[Lezina]]'' Walker, 1869

====[[Lutosinae]]====
Auth.: Gorochov, 1988 – Central & S. America, Africa, PNG
* ''[[Apotetamenus]]'' Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1888
* ''[[Hydrolutos]]'' Issa & Jaffe, 1999
* ''[[Libanasa]]'' Walker, 1869
* ''[[Licodia (insect)|Licodia]]'' Walker, 1869
* ''[[Lutosa]]'' Walker, 1869
* ''[[Neolutosa]]'' Gorochov, 2001
* ''[[Papuaistus]]'' Griffini, 1911
* ''[[Rhumosa]]'' Hugel & Desutter-Grandcolas, 2018

====Subfamily not assigned====
* tribe '''Glaphyrosomatini''' Rentz & Weissman, 1973
** ''[[Cnemotettix]]'' Caudell, 1916
** ''[[Glaphyrosoma]]'' Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1888
* ''[[incertae sedis]]''
** ''[[Aistus]]'' Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1888
** ''[[Anisoura]]'' Ander, 1932 – monotypic Northland tusked wētā: ''A. nicobarica'' Ander, 1932
** ''[[Coccinellomima]]'' Karny, 1932 – monotypic ''C. shelfordi'' Karny, 1932
** ''[[Dolichochaeta]]'' Philippi, 1863 – monotypic ''D. longicornis'' Philippi, 1863
** ''[[Gryllacropsis]]'' Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1888 – monotypic (India) ''G. magniceps'' (Walker, 1870)
** ''[[Hemiandrus]]'' Ander, 1938 - ground wētā
** ''[[Hypocophoides]]'' Karny, 1930
** ''[[Hypocophus]]'' Brunner von Wattenwyl, 1888
** ''[[Leponosandrus]]'' Gorochov, 2001 – monotypic ''L. lepismoides'' (Walker, 1871)
** ''[[Transaevum]]'' Johns, 1997 – monotypic ''T. laudatum'' Johns, 1997

===King crickets of South Africa===
The best-known species is the [[Parktown prawn]], not to be confused with the well-known [[Acanthoplus discoidalis|''Koringkrieke'']] or [[armoured ground cricket]]s, which never have been in the family Anostostomatidae.

''[[Henicus monstrosus]]'' is a nocturnal anostostomatid. The males are unusual in their anatomy; their heads are disproportionately large and bear forward-directed prongs. They have extremely long, curved [[Mandible (insect mouthpart)|mandible]]s that are functional, but seem to play no part in the eating process.<ref>''African Insect Life'' - [[Sydney Skaife|SH Skaife]] (Longmans Green & Co,1953)</ref>

===Wētā of New Zealand===
[[Image:Defensive tree weta.jpg|thumb|right|Defensive male Wellington tree wētā]]
Six genera of New Zealand [[wētā]] are part of the family Anostostomatidae:<ref name=":3" />
* [[Giant wētā]] (''Deinacrida'')
* [[Hemiandrus|Ground wētā]] (''Hemiandrus'' & ''[[Anderus]]'')
* [[Northland tusked wētā]] (''Anisoura'')
* [[Tree wētā]] (''Hemideina'')
* [[Motuweta|Tusked wētā]] (''Motuweta'')

The cave wētā species belong to a different family, the [[Rhaphidophoridae]].
[[Image:TreeWeta female 03 col corr.jpg|thumb|Tree wētā]]

== Literature ==
* {{cite journal| author = Elizabeth Pennisi| author-link = Elizabeth Pennisi | year = 2017| title = Saving the 'god of ugly things': New Zealand battles to bring back its rodent-sized insects| journal = Science| doi = 10.1126/science.aan6940}}
* {{aut|Johns, P.M.}} 1997: The Gondwanaland weta: family Anostostomatidae (formerly in Stenopelmatidae, Henicidae or Mimnermidae): nomenclatural problems, world checklist, new genera and species. ''Journal of Orthoptera Research'', '''6''': 125–138. {{ISSN|1082-6467}}, {{JSTOR|3503546}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikispecies|Anostostomatidae}}
* [http://orthoptera.speciesfile.org/Common/basic/Taxa.aspx?TaxonNameID=1131780 Family Anostostomatidae Saussure, 1859] at Orthoptera Species File Online
* [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0013873820080084 The Families Stenopelmatidae and Anostostomatidae (Orthoptera). 1. Higher Classification, New and Little Known Taxa]

{{Orthoptera|1}}
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[[Category:Anostostomatidae| ]]
[[Category:Orthoptera families]]