Deinacrida connectens

Deinacrida connectens, often referred to as the alpine scree wētā, is a member of the Anostostomatidae family. It is nocturnal and lives under rocks between 1,200 m (3,900 ft) and 3,600 m (11,800 ft) above sea level in the South Island. The male can reach up to 3.5 cm (1.4 in) in length, whereas the female can be 7.2 cm (2.8 in), with both sexes varying substantially in colour. It is the most widespread of the eleven species of giant wētā (Deinacrida), but unlike most other giant wētā, is not a threatened species under the New Zealand Threat Classification System. It is an omnivore that feeds on plants such as Aciphylla and Gaultheria depressa. To survive the alpine environment, it is moderately freeze tolerant. The genetic structure of the species suggests that it diversified during the Pliocene mountain building that created the Southern Alps four million years ago. It was first described in scientific literature in 1939 by Swedish entomologist Kjell Ernst Viktor Ander.

Taxonomy

Deinacrida connectens, commonly referred to as the alpine scree wētā, was first described scientific literature in 1939 by Swedish entomologist Kjell Ernst Viktor Ander as Deinacridopsis connectens, which was the only species of Deinacridopsis. However, Deinacridopsis was later recognized to be the same as the genus Deinacrida by New Zealand entomologist Graeme William Ramsay in 1961 and the species was transferred to the genus Deinacrida.