''Macropathus'' is a genus of

cave wētā Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance underground (such as rock sh ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Rhaphidophoridae The orthopteran family Rhaphidophoridae of the suborder Ensifera has a worldwide distribution. Common names for these insects include cave crickets, camel crickets, spider crickets (sometimes shortened to "criders" or "sprickets"), and sand trea ...

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 ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Distribution and habitat

''Macropathus'' are only found in

, and can be found in both the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

and the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. There are yet to be any observations on the offshore islands. They live in caves, and in the open, under rocks.

Threats

''Macropathus'' face the same threats as most species of wētā, predation by introduced species, and

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

by humans.

Species

This genus was revised a number of times before

Aola Richards Aola Mary Richards (16 December 1927 – 2 November 2021) was a New Zealand entomologist specialising in the study of New Zealand and Australian cave crickets, or wētā (Rhaphidophoridae), and Australian ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae). She was ...

examined the type material from the British Museum of Natural History (London) and clarified how if differs from the genus ''Pachyrhamma''. Genetic data suggests that ''Macropathus filifer'' is sister to New Zealand and Tasmanian and Falkland Island species. * '' Macropathus filifer'' Walker, 1869 * '' Macropathus huttoni'' Kirby, 1906

References

Ensifera genera Cave wētā {{rhaphidophoridae-stub