''Cooloola'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

ensifera Ensifera is a Order (biology), suborder of insects that includes the various types of crickets and their allies, including cricket (insect), true crickets, Rhaphidophoridae, camel crickets, Tettigoniidae, bush crickets or katydids, Prophalangops ...

orthoptera Orthoptera () is an order of insects that comprises the grasshoppers, locusts, and crickets, including closely related insects, such as the bush crickets or katydids and wētā. The order is subdivided into two suborders: Caelifera – gras ...

ns known as Cooloola monsters. It is the only genus in the subfamily Cooloolinae and family Cooloolidae of the superfamily

Stenopelmatoidea Stenopelmatoidea is a superfamily of insects in the order Orthoptera; in some older classifications this group was referred to as Gryllacridoidea. Classification The classification and constituency of Stenopelmatoidea is an ongoing source of co ...

. Four species are known from this family, all

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The name originated from the discovery of the best-known member of the family, the Cooloola monster (''Cooloola propator''), in the Cooloola National Park. Little is known about their life histories as they lead an almost entirely subterranean existence, but they are believed to prey on other soil-dwelling invertebrates. Cooloola monsters are unusual in comparison with other members of the primitive superfamily Stenopelmatoidea in that the ' antennae are considerably shorter than their body lengths.

Classification

While often treated as a family, molecular evidence suggests that are in fact aberrant members of the family

Anostostomatidae Anostostomatidae is a family of insects in the order Orthoptera, widely distributed in the southern hemisphere. It is named Mimnermidae or Henicidae in some taxonomies, and common names include ''king crickets'' in Australia and South Africa, an ...

, and the genus ''Cooloola'' might not be monophyletic.Vandergast, A.G., Weissman, D.B., Wood, D.A., Rentz, D.C., Bazelet, C.S., and Ueshima, N. (2017) Tackling an intractable problem: Can greater taxon sampling help resolve relationships within the Stenopelmatoidea (Orthoptera: Ensifera)? ''Zootaxa'' 4291, no. 1, p. 1. DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.4291.1.1 Species include: *'' Cooloola dingo'' Rentz, 1986 – dingo monster *'' Cooloola pearsoni'' Rentz, 1999 – Pearson's monster *'' Cooloola propator'' Rentz, 1980 – Cooloola monster *'' Cooloola ziljan'' Rentz, 1986 – sugarcane monster

References

*''Grasshopper Country: The Abundant Orthopteroid Insects of Australia'', by David C. Rentz. 1995.

External links

Species synopses
by the Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage {{Taxonbar, from1=Q2710963, from2=Q13553678 Stenopelmatoidea Ensifera genera Orthoptera of Australia