Parvotettix
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Parvotettix | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Orthoptera |
| Suborder: | Ensifera |
| Family: | Rhaphidophoridae |
| Subfamily: | Macropathinae |
| Tribe: | Macropathini |
| Genus: | Parvotettix Richards, 1968 |
Parvotettix is an extant[1] genus of cave cricket[2] from the order Orthoptera in the family Rhaphidophoridae, endemic to Tasmania, Australia.[3][1] The genus was established in 1968 by Aola Richards and contains six species she described.[4] Parvotettix is a sister group to the subfamily Macropathinae, forming a paraphyletic Australian grouping.[1][5]
Parvotettix occupy epigean, subterranean habitats.[6] Parvotettix were initially discovered in limestone caves.[3] Various species within the genus Parvotettix inhabit environmental structures such as mine adits, large rock crevices, tree logs, caves, burrows created by other animals and within houses.[6] Parvotettix thrive in dark, moist environments in colder temperatures[6][3] at sea level.[2]
There is no threatening conservation risk associated with Parvotettix.[7] Environmental factors that increase vulnerability for Parvotettix include predation by rodents that are introduced to the area, interspecific competition, climate change impacts and illegal capture by humans.[7]
Geographical origin
The lineage Parvotettix is sister to all cave cricket species in the Southern Hemisphere,[1] suggesting dispersal from Tasmania around the globe.[8] None of the Macropathinae have wings so their distribution has been suggested to date to Gondwana breakup.[8][1] The six species of Parvotettix are not closely related to other Australian genera in Tasmania (e.g. Micropathus) or genera in south-eastern mainland (e.g. Novotettix).[2][1] The dispersal of Parvotettix from or to Tasmania may have been facilitated by a land bridge which connected the areas of Wilson's Promontory, Victoria and Flinders Island, Tasmania in the Pleistocene period until approximately 10,000 to 15,000 years ago.[2] Species of Parvotettix have been observed on Cape Barren Island and Flinders Island.[2] Relationships among the six Parvotettix species might be explained by geographic isolation and connection as during the Pleistocene era the Furneaux Islands and north-eastern Tasmania were joint together,[2] and 1,500 years after the linkage between Wilson's Promontory and Flinders Island, a land bridge formed joining Flinders Island and Tasmania.[2]