Journal Articles

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    Molecular phylogenetics illuminates the evolutionary history and hidden diversity of Australian cave crick ets (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae)
    (John Wiley and Sons Ltd on behalf of Royal Entomological Society., 2025-06-23) Beasley-Hall PG; Trewick SA; Eberhard SM; Zwick A; Reed EH; Cooper SJB; Austin AD; Blaimer B
    Cave crickets (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae) are a globally distributed group of insects found in dark, humid microhabitats including natural caves, alpine scree, and forest litter. Ten extant subfamilies are currently recognised, of which Macropathinae, which comprises the entirety of the fauna in South America, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, is thought to be the most ancient. New Zealand comprises high phylogenetic diversity of Rhaphidophoridae throughout its mesic zone, with most species occurring above ground. In contrast, the Australian fauna is poorly known and contains an apparently greater relative proportion of species utilising caves as refugia. A robust phylogenetic framework is needed to underpin future taxonomic work on the group and uncover potentially contrasting patterns of taxonomic diversity. Here, we performed fossil-calibrated phylogenetic analysis using whole mitochondrial genomes and nuclear markers to reconstruct the evolutionary history of Macropathinae with a focus on the Australian fauna. By dramatically increasing taxon sampling relative to past studies, we recovered the Australian fauna as rampantly polyphyletic, with the remaining Macropathinae nested among six distinct Australian lineages. Deep divergences between major clades imply additional Australian lineages remain undetected, either due to extinction or sampling bias, and have likely confounded past biogeographic signal. We inferred the radiation of Macropathinae began during the Lower Cretaceous prior to the fragmentation of Gondwana with a potential Pangaean origin for Rhaphidophoridae. Finally, we found evidence for several undescribed species and genera of Australian Macropathinae, all of which qualify as short-range endemics, and discuss the conservation implications of these restricted distributions.
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    Three new species of flat mites (Acari: Tetranychoidea: Tenuipalpidae) from alpine New Zealand
    (Acarologia, 2025-01-27) Khaustov AA; Minor MA; Auger P
    Female, male and deutonymph of Acaricis brevicaudus sp. nov., female and deutonymph of Dolichotetranychus tuberculatus sp. nov., and female of Pentamerismus corniger sp. nov. are described and illustrated from alpine cushion fields in New Zealand. Both A. brevicaudus sp. nov. and D. tuberculatus sp. nov. are associated with the cushion-forming ultra-dwarf shrub Dracophyllum muscoides Hook. f. (Ericaceae). The host plant for P. corniger sp. nov. is currently unknown. The diagnosis of Acaricis Beard and Gerson is modified. Additionally, Pentamerismus is recorded from New Zealand for the first time.
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    Revision of the New Zealand cave wētā genus Isoplectron Hutton (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae), with synonymy of Petrotettix Richards and Setascutum Richards, and the description of a new genus
    (EJT Consortium, 2024-12-10) Hegg D; Morgan-Richards M; Trewick SA; Robillard T; Tan MK; Pepe F
    The New Zealand cave wētā genus Isoplectron was first described by Hutton (1896) and included two species, Isoplectron armatum and I. calcaratum. Two more species, I. cochleatum and I. aciculatum, were described by Karny in 1935 and in 1937, respectively. The species I. cochleatum was later moved to the genus Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893. Here we clarify the status and appearance of all known species of Isoplectron, and of other closely related cave wētā. Based on morphology and mtDNA sequences we determine that the genera Petrotettix Richards, 1972 and Setascutum Richards, 1972, belong in Isoplectron, and are thus synonymised with the latter. We also infer that Isoplectron aciculatum Karny, 1937 does not hold species rank, and that it should be considered a subspecies of Isoplectron armatum instead. The male of Isoplectron pallidum (Richards, 1972) comb. nov. and the female of Isoplectron armatum aciculatum Karny, 1937 are described here for the first time. Using molecular data, we also establish that two new species that are morphologically similar to Isoplectron are in fact more closely related to Pharmacus. These species are assigned to a new genus, Praecantrix gen. nov. We describe seven new species and two new subspecies of New Zealand rhaphidophorids belonging to the genera Isoplectron Hutton, 1896 and Praecantrix: Isoplectron bicolor sp. nov., I. maculatum sp. nov., I. virgatum sp. nov., I. ferratum sp. nov., I. parallelum sp. nov., Praecantrix silvatica silvatica gen., sp. et subsp. nov., P. silvatica lutea gen., sp. et subsp. nov. and P. saxicola gen. et sp. nov. Species demoted to subspecies rank: Isoplectron aciculatum Karny, 1937 becomes Isoplectron armatum aciculatum Karny, 1937. New combinations: Setascutum pallidum Richards, 1972 becomes Isoplectron pallidum (Richards, 1972) comb. nov.; Petrotettix serratus Richards, 1972 becomes Isoplectron serratum (Richards, 1972) comb. nov. New synonyms: Isoplectron calcaratum Hutton, 1896 = Isoplectron armatum Hutton, 1896 syn. nov.; Setascutum ohauensis Richards, 1972 = Isoplectron armatum Hutton, 1896 syn. nov.; Petrotettix spinosus Richards, 1972 = Isoplectron serratum (Richards, 1972) syn. nov.; Petrotettix cupolaensis Richards, 1972 = Isoplectron serratum (Richards, 1972) syn. nov.; Petrotettix nigripes Richards, 1972 = Isoplectron serratum (Richards, 1972) syn. nov.
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    Wētā Aotearoa-Polyphyly of the New Zealand Anostostomatidae (Insecta: Orthoptera).
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2024-10-09) Trewick SA; Taylor-Smith BL; Morgan-Richards M; Heller K-G
    The Anostostomatidae of Aotearoa New Zealand are well-characterized at the genus and species level, but the higher-level systematics of the family as a whole remain poorly resolved. We tested the hypothesis that the New Zealand anaostostomatid fauna consists of a single monophyletic group consistent with a single common ancestor. For phylogenetic analysis, we sampled the genera in Aotearoa New Zealand as well as representatives of the family from Australia and New Caledonia. Maximum likelihood analyses including topological comparison statistics with a DNA alignment of thirteen mitochondrial and four nuclear protein coding genes rejected the monophyly of lineages in New Zealand. We found phylogenetic support for four separate New Zealand lineages; three with their closest relatives in Australia and one in New Caledonia. The New Zealand genus Hemiandrus is paraphyletic and the establishment of a morphologically distinct genus is justified. We determined that six of the valid species previously placed in Hemiandrus form a distinct clade that we designated here as Anderus gen. nov. The putative Hemiandrus that we sampled from Australia was sister to neither of the New Zealand lineages.
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    High alpine sorcerers: Revision of the cave wētā genus Pharmacus Pictet & de Saussure (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae: Macropathinae), with the description of six new species and three new subspecies
    (Consortium of European Natural History Museums, 2022-04-04) Hegg D; Morgan-Richards M; Trewick SA; Robillard T; Tan M-K; Fernández P
    The New Zealand alpine cave wētā genus Pharmacus was first described by Pictet & de Saussure (1893) as a monotypic taxon. Three species were added to the genus by Richards in 1972. Here we clarify the status and appearance of all known species of Pharmacus. Based on morphology and mtDNA sequences we determine that the species Pharmacus brewsterensis Richards, 1972 is better placed within the genus Notoplectron Richards, 1964. We also resolve the species Isoplectron cochleatum Karny, 1935 and show that it belongs to the genus Pharmacus. Additionally, we describe six new species and three new subspecies from the southern regions of South Island, New Zealand. We provide key traits and known distributions for all known species and subspecies in this alpine genus. New combinations: Pharmacus brewsterensis Richards, 1972 becomes Notoplectron brewsterense (Richards, 1972) comb. nov.; Isoplectron cochleatum Karny, 1935 becomes Pharmacus cochleatus (Karny, 1935) comb. nov. New species and subspecies: Pharmacus cochleatus rawhiti subsp. nov., Pharmacus cochleatus fiordensis subsp. nov., Pharmacus cochleatus nauclerus subsp. nov., Pharmacus concinnus sp. nov., Pharmacus cristatus sp. nov., Pharmacus notabilis sp. nov., Pharmacus perfidus sp. nov., Pharmacus senex sp. nov. and Pharmacus vallestris sp. nov. New synonyms: Pharmacus dumbletoni Richards, 1972 = Pharmacus montanus Pictet & de Saussure, 1893 syn. nov.; Pharmacus chapmanae Richards, 1972 = Pharmacus cochleatus (Karny, 1935) syn. nov.