Sigaus collinus
Species of grasshopper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Green Rock-hopper grasshopper, Sigaus collinus is an alpine species of short-horned grasshopper in the family Acrididae.[1] It is found in New Zealand in the mountains of northern South Island, above the tree line and as high as 2000 m asl.[2][3][4][5] In New Zealand alpine grasshoppers can freeze solid at any time of the year and are alive when they thaw out when temperatures rise.[6]
| Sigaus collinus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Sigaus collinus, New Zealand | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Orthoptera |
| Suborder: | Caelifera |
| Family: | Acrididae |
| Tribe: | Catantopini |
| Genus: | Sigaus |
| Species: | S. collinus |
| Binomial name | |
| Sigaus collinus (Hutton, 1898) | |
Sigaus collinus is flightless and adults are relative large (females 32 mm),[2] and common amongst scree and tussock.[7] Although widespread in 2020, about 97% of the habitat of the green rock-hopper grasshopper will be lost due to global warming by 2070.[8] The species is variable in colour; most individuals are green with yellow markings, but some are olive-grey. In the Kaikōura Ranges (Mt Luxford) S. collinus hybridises with S. nivalis,[9] but elsewhere the two species are well differentiated.[5]
An endemic species of mite (Erythrites jacksoni) is an ectoparasite of this grasshopper.[10]
