The Cooloola monster (''Cooloola propator'') is a large burrowing

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 – grass ...

n of the family

Cooloolidae ''Cooloola'' is a genus of ensiferan orthopterans known as Cooloola monsters. It is the only genus in the subfamily Cooloolinae and family Cooloolidae of the superfamily Stenopelmatoidea. Four species are known from this family, all endemic to ...

, a family erected to accommodate it because it is so dissimilar to other

ensiferan Ensifera is a suborder of insects that includes the various types of crickets and their allies including: true crickets, camel crickets, bush crickets or katydids, grigs, weta and Cooloola monsters. This and the suborder Caelifera (grasshop ...

s. It was discovered in 1980 in the

Great Sandy National Park Great Sandy National Park is a coastal national park in the Fraser Coast Region, Queensland, Australia. Geography The park features untouched beaches, large sand dunes, heathlands, rainforests, swamps, creeks, freshwater lakes and mangrove fores ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia, by

David C. Rentz David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

. Further members of the genus '' Cooloola'' were later discovered at other locations in Queensland.

Description

The Cooloola monster is a robust subterranean insect, characterised by very short antennae with ten bead-like segments. This contrasts with other members of the suborder

Ensifera Ensifera is a suborder of insects that includes the various types of crickets and their allies including: true crickets, camel crickets, bush crickets or katydids, grigs, weta and Cooloola monsters. This and the suborder Caelifera (grasshop ...

which have thirty or more segments. The sexes are different, the male being brownish and well-sclerotized (armoured), while the female has a relatively soft

exoskeleton An exoskeleton (from Greek ''éxō'' "outer" and ''skeletós'' "skeleton") is an external skeleton that supports and protects an animal's body, in contrast to an internal skeleton ( endoskeleton) in for example, a human. In usage, some of the ...

and is usually whitish in colour, as are the juveniles. Males have short wings and fully functional eyes, while females have no wings and their eyes have a flat cornea and few facets. The mouthparts are also unusual for ensiferans, having a knife-shaped lacinia (tip of the maxilla) and small elongated mandibles. These mouthparts suggest that the insect is

predatory Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill t ...

. In the related species ''

Cooloola ziljan Cooloola may refer to: ;Animals * ''Cooloola'' (insect), a genus of the insect family Cooloolidae ** Cooloola monster (''Cooloola propator''), a species of the genus * Cooloola sedge frog (''Litoria cooloolensis'') ;Places * Cooloola Great Walk, ...

'', the lacinia has been observed in use as a digging tool. The legs are adapted for burrowing and the hind legs bear flattened spines for this purpose. The fore and mid-legs are about the same length and the hind-legs rather larger. The shape of the femur and the degree of spination of the tibia differ between males and females. The tarsus is elongate and dorso-ventrally flattened in males, and shorter and less flattened in females. The male has a slender abdomen but the female's abdomen is bulbous with a very short

ovipositor The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typica ...

Behaviour

Very little is known of the natural history of this insect. The male is sometimes seen on the surface at night but the female seems to remain permanently underground. The insects live in sandy soil near streams under Australian sheoak trees and are occasionally found hiding under stones or logs.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4350733 Stenopelmatoidea Orthoptera of Australia Insects described in 1980